Verses w/ Vadim Kobal

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We got a chance to talk with Vadim Kobal a fingerstyle guitarist from Latvia on what inspires him, how he works on his craft and the community he surrounds himself with.

SB (StarBeat): Basics – Let’s start at the beginning: Can you explain the difference of fingerstyle guitar over traditional playing?

VK (Vadim Kobal): So I guess you would call guitar strumming as the more traditional playing – one where you just take a pick and start torturing strings until it sounds somewhat good. FIngerstyle is a bit more advanced but it can range in difficulty as well. Fingerstyle basically means picking strings with your fingers instead of using a pick which creates a more intricate sound. Some use it to play some nice and basic melody as a basis for a song, others play a whole melody line along chords and baselines. I play all of these styles, depending on the song.

SB: Inspiration: What type of songs are you drawn to playing on your guitar?

VK: It’s kinda silly but I never get attached to any song really. I think when I started out I did have some favorite songs that I would play but as the time goes it has really become just like “write -> practice -> record” and then over again. Right now I am working a lot on original stuff which I am hoping to put out this year, but the same process is also with covers that I do.

SB: Working: What techniques do you use to progress your playing?

VK: Honestly, I just play songs. I think there is nothing better than to play and play and play. With piano and singing I sometimes do some exercises like scales etc. but my main progress is hidden in playing. I think with whatever you wanna learn you just gotta do it over and over again to really master it.

SB: Grouping: The Guitar community seems very strong on YouTube – have you built a community through your channel?

VK: There are certainly quite a lot of people interested in guitar and instrumental music in general – I never even thought it’s that big to be honest. I guess, with all the pop music being thrown into our faces, we kind of forget how other genres are still relevant. Talking about community, I definitely feel like being active on YouTube has brought quite a few people that like what I do together and I am extremely grateful for all of them. Makes my day so much better when I see comments from all those people on whatever I post, whether that’s Youtube, Instagram or anything else, that really brings that feeling of community.