History Of Music

For this music presentation I have decided to write about the guitar duo Rodrigo Y Gabriella. They are a guitar duo originating from Mexico and now residing in Ireland, who are absolutely magical when they have a guitar in their hands. Their music is difficult to define, bridging the world, rock, classical, salsa and metal genres. The fire in the way they play comes from their life-long passion for metal music. Influences range from family salsa records and they claim to be the most greatly influenced by Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Queen, and Led Zeppelin. Rodrigo and Gabriela describe their style as Ð''Fusion music': "It's mainly got Latin harmonies and rhythms but the structure is rock. It's not jazz because it's structured, and we don't improvise; our solos are exactly what's on the record, as a metal fan and guitarist you always want to hear the same f**king solo!" Their music is instrumental with very lyrical themes.

I had originally discovered the duo while on vacation in Hawaii earlier this year. My fiancÐ"© and I had rented a convertible while on vacation and decided to take a road trip and "get lost". While driving down the H-1 highway on the island of Oahu, with the serene backdrop of the Pacific Ocean to the east and the massive mountains that line the west Rodrigo y Gabriella's cover of the Metallica song "Orion" came on the radio. Now, neither myself or my fiancÐ"© know the 1st thing about metal music, so to us the song was a melodic and rhythmic soundtrack to what was a surreal environment.

The song Orion is a true testament to what a gifted musician is capable of. While the song played I heard the beat of drums, the strumming of guitars and the basso continuo of bass string instruments. To my surprise, when the song was over the DJ was interviewing the talented duo and revealed that the song was only played with 2 guitars. The continuous and