MySpace a place for friends

Download CD here:

Download TABS here:

SKYPE GUITAR LESSONS!

Live, one-on-one guitar lessons for all levels and styles. Great rates and the first lesson/meeting is free! Send me a message for further details. Download Skype

Kelly Valleau is a spanish fingerstyle guitarist hailing from the "Great White North", that's Canada if yeah didn't know eh!....the breeding ground for spanish fingerstyle guitarists. A performer, composer, arranger, transcriber, teacher and student. This multi-dimensional guitarist has forged a unique solo guitar style, firmly rooted in classical composition with modern guitar techniques.

"Musica para la Guitarra"

- is the first solo cd from Kelly Valleau. Nine originals and two arrangements. Dark, dissonant, melodic, rhythmic music.

Minor7th review

Kelly Valleau "Musica para la Guitarra," 2008

Those Canadians at Candy Rat Records are putting out some nice guitar music. Here's yet another debut CD that isn't just a throwaway, but offers some great guitar music played well by Kelly Valleau. As the title suggests, "Musica para la Guitarra" (Spanish for "Music for the Guitar") is a collection of nylon string instrumentals in a Spanish traditional sound. Nine of the 11 tracks are originals, with Valleau providing intriguing arrangements of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" and Queen's "We Will Rock You". These tunes on a nylon-string guitar give the listener another texture for these well-worn rock anthems, and Velleau does a fine job with each one. The darker tones Valleau employs at various places reminds me of some of Evan Hirschelman's work. Dance of the Dead" is a good example of these darker tones in a dance form that is both light and moody at the same time. "Requiem" is a beautiful, haunting tune that creates a space for reflection. Valleau shines on the playful, contrapuntal "Matador", where you can feel the face to face encounter between man and beast. "Hommage to Barrios" pays tribute in a waltz rhythm to Agustin Barrios Mangore, one of classical guitar's most influential figures, and a composer whose creations reflected the folklore of his native Paraguay. The disc ends with "The Duel", with quick arpeggios and shifting tempos. Throughout "Musica para la Guitarra", Valleau displays solid technical skill and a fine sense of musicality. These compositions may not be classics, yet they are songs well conceived and played. © Kirk Albrecht