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Richard Perks

The Academy Of Contemporary Music (Acm), Musician, Associate Dean of Research

University of Kent, Centre for Music and Audio Technology, Faculty Member

ICMP, Music, Faculty Member

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Richard Perks is Professor of Music and Associate Dean of Research at the Academy of Contemporary Music (UK), Professor of Music Performance at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (UK), and Honorary Associate (Music) at the University of Kent (UK). He is one of Europe’s leading exponents of the fretless electric guitar, has extensive experience as a session musician and has performed all over the world. A graduate in Mathematics (University of Southampton) and Popular Music Performance (London College of Music), he went on to postgraduate study at Brunel University of London, obtaining an MMus in Contemporary Music and a PhD, Combining Musical Identities through Composition and Improvisation. His research and publications span the extended performance possibilities of the fretless electric guitar, guitar-focused musicology/analysis, the combination of composition with improvisation, and intercultural collaboration. He co-edited the book 21st Century Guitar: Evolutions and Augmentations (Bloomsbury Academic) and in 2023 won first prize in the prestigious International Microtonal Guitar Competition.

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Papers by Richard Perks

The Expanding Fretless Guitarscape: Practice and Progress

21st Century Guitar – Evolutions and Augmentations (eds. Perks, Richard and McGrath, John), 2023

The fretless guitar inhabits a range of musical genres and cultures around the world. Its applica... more The fretless guitar inhabits a range of musical genres and cultures around the world. Its application ranges from sonic or aesthetic novelty to ‘serious’ artistic experimentation, to routine engagement within niche idioms. Due to its physicality, the fretless guitar affords the guitarist alternative performance possibilities, including innovative techniques, diverse forms of articulation and distinctive timbres. By examining the fretless guitar in relation to different performance environments – from concentrated idiomatic, cultural and/or geographic locales, to global interconnectivity realized primarily via online dissemination, social media and virtual networks – this chapter considers an array of playing approaches and techniques, highlights any recent developments and offers possible explanations for the instrument’s increased pervasiveness of late. In addition, using ‘affordance’ (Gibson) as a critical lens, the author presents an autoethnographic account of his experiences of working with the fretless electric guitar and provides insights into the ways in which ‘fretlessness’ – when viewed as a ‘state of practice’ – might benefit the modern guitarist.

21st Century Guitar – Evolutions and Augmentations: Introduction

21st Century Guitar – Evolutions and Augmentations (eds. Perks, Richard and McGrath, John) , 2023

In the 21st century, the guitar, as both a material object and tool for artistic expression, cont... more In the 21st century, the guitar, as both a material object and tool for artistic expression, continues to be reimagined and reinvented. From simple adaptations or modifications made by performers themselves to custom-made instruments commissioned to fulfil very specific creative needs, to the mass production of new lines of commercially available instruments, the extant and emergent forms of this much-loved musical instrument vary perhaps more than ever before. As guitars sporting multiple necks, a greater number of strings and/or additional frets become increasingly common, so too do those with reduced registers, fewer strings and fretless fingerboards. Furthermore, as we approach the mark of the first quarter-century, the role of technology in relation to the guitar’s ever-changing identity is proving key. On-board processing units, external synergies with computers and the use of ultra-modern peripheral musical devices – ranging from EBow and effects processing, to engagement with laptops, robots and AR headsets – are allowing players to augment their performance setup and, in doing so, exponentially expand the guitar’s corporeal and timbral functionality. Such wide-ranging evolutions and augmentations of the guitar reflect the advancing performative and expressive needs of the modern guitarist and simultaneously afford them new creative potentialities; ultimately creating a feedback loop between artist and device, which further propels the guitar in fresh directions.

This collection comprises an assortment of contributions from academics, performers and dual-practitioners which examines the diverse physical manifestations of the guitar across the modern performative landscape and explores the creative possibilities these new forms afford. Musicological insights spanning performance practice, contemporary organology and technological augmentation are interwoven with interviews featuring leading practitioners from an array of performance cultures from around the world, with each chapter exploring a different model of – or approach to performing with – the guitar from the emic perspective of the performing musician.

Published in Bloomsbury’s Music & Sound Studies Series, this volume provides significant insights into the rich array of guitar-based performance practices emerging and thriving in the 21st century, and in doing so, invites the reader to reassess the guitar in terms of its identity, physicality and sound-creating potentialities.

Touching the Apple without Gloves: Interview with Cenk Erdoğan

21st Century Guitar – Evolutions and Augmentations (eds. Perks, Richard and McGrath, John) , 2023

Cenk Erdoğan is a celebrated virtuoso of nylon-string, electric and baritone perdesiz [fretless] ... more Cenk Erdoğan is a celebrated virtuoso of nylon-string, electric and baritone perdesiz [fretless] guitars. As well as being a highly prolific recording artist, he has performed concerts and delivered masterclasses using fretless guitar all over the world. In this interview, Erdoğan discusses his fretless guitar journey to date – from his initial pursuit and study of the instrument, influenced by master Erkan Oğur, to the development of his own highly distinctive approach and style – and articulates his feelings about how the fretless guitar allows him to reflect and emphasize his identity as a Turkish musician on the international stage.

I Should Have Just Learned How to Play the Organ: Interview with Charlie Hunter

21st Century Guitar – Evolutions and Augmentations (eds. Perks, Richard and McGrath, John) , 2023

Charlie Hunter is widely considered the pioneer of six-, seven- and eight-string – ‘hybrid’ – gui... more Charlie Hunter is widely considered the pioneer of six-, seven- and eight-string – ‘hybrid’ – guitar playing. His distinctive technique combines guitar parts with bass lines and percussive elements, allowing him to function as a complete rhythm section. He has worked alongside an array of celebrated artists, spanning jazz, funk, soul and fusion settings, and has fronted many successful solo, duo and trio projects of his own. In this interview, Hunter reveals his general philosophy towards music-making, discusses his distinctive playing technique and unpacks his personal approach to learning to play – and advancing – ‘hybrid’ guitar. Furthermore, he elaborates upon more general performative concepts such as developing interdependence and the consideration of role within an ensemble and stresses the importance of continually maintaining a presence with the drummer.

Transforming the Microtonal Fingerboard: ‘Small’ Frets, LEGO and Robots: Interview with Tolgahan Çoğulu

21st Century Guitar – Evolutions and Augmentations (eds. Perks, Richard and McGrath, John), 2023

Tolgahan Çoğulu is one of the world’s leading microtonal classical guitarists. He is also a profe... more Tolgahan Çoğulu is one of the world’s leading microtonal classical guitarists. He is also a professor at Istanbul Technical University (Turkish Music State Conservatory), where he founded the world’s first microtonal guitar department. In 2008 he designed the Adjustable Microtonal Guitar which won first place in the highly prestigious Guthman Musical Instrument Competition in 2014. Since then, his work has taken the microtonal guitar into even more exciting and novel territories, with recent projects encompassing LEGO, automated/robotic and electric guitar fingerboard designs. In this interview, Çoğulu reflects upon his microtonal guitar journey – from his initial explorations of Just intonation to the incorporation of Turkish/Anatolian makam into classical guitar performance, to employing movable LEGO frets as a potential pedagogical device to teach students about microtonality – and divulges his thoughts, plans and predictions regarding the future of the (fretted) microtonal guitar.

David Gilmour: Defining the ‘melodic’ guitarist

The Routledge Handbook of Pink Floyd (eds. Hart, Christopher and Morrison, Simon), 2022

David Gilmour is frequently referred to by fans, journalists and musicians alike as the quintesse... more David Gilmour is frequently referred to by fans, journalists and musicians alike as the quintessential ‘melodic’ guitarist. His seamless interweaving of lyrical lines juxtaposed against edgy, raw, powerful outbursts provides an assortment to satisfy the most ardent guitar critic, and his voice on the instrument is arguably recognisable as one of Pink Floyd’s primary ‘calling cards’ – But what exactly do we mean by ascribing him the accolade ‘melodic’ guitarist? This chapter explores Gilmour’s guitar playing, from his initial musical influences through to his role within Pink Floyd, and contemplates how his highly individual style manifests itself within the milieu of the band. His use of sound/s and equipment, phrasing, note choice, playing technique and compositional strategies are examined in detail, with direct reference to studio recordings, live performances, documentaries, interviews, guitar magazines, tuition materials, and supplementary notated examples. To conclude, a musicological and aesthetic discussion – which is reinforced by an original analytical model – considers Gilmour’s guitar playing in terms of ‘melodic functionality’ to assess the ‘level of impact’ it has on the identity of the music; suggesting that his guitar-based contributions are inextricably connected to the work of Pink Floyd on an aesthetic, structural and compositional level; providing further insights as to why Gilmour is regarded by so many as the ultimate melodic guitarist.

Strung Together: Realizing Music-cultural Hybridity within a Limited Time Frame

Music and Practice, 2021

This article discusses the creative practice behind Strung Together, an intercultural collaborati... more This article discusses the creative practice behind Strung Together, an intercultural collaboration combining three non-congruent improvisation-based musics. An account of my experience as ‘musical-facilitator’ is framed with reference to theoretical constructs of cultural integration, compositional practice and collaborative creativity. By focusing on the process (comprising rehearsals, continual dialogue, co-composition, and coalesced methods of improvisation) and the development of an innovative working methodology (using notated ‘starting points’, which often evolve into ‘collective backbones’), this practice-led case study demonstrates that by inaugurating a democratic environment – where manifold approaches to music-making are properly considered and respected at a structural level – music-cultural hybridity is achievable within a limited time frame. Through pre- and post-project reflection, this account posits the notion that music-cultural hybridity may assume and traverse various forms; and furthermore, these forms – termed here as ‘hybridity strains’ – are likely to be in constant flux throughout intercultural–improvisatory collaborations. Counterpart definitions from other disciplines have been modified to classify the various hybridity strains examined, which together form an analytical model and critical framework that may be applied by others to evaluate future creative works; and thus, contribute to the wider discourse surrounding hybridity.

Fretless Architecture: Towards the Development of Original Techniques and Musical Notation Specific to the Fretless Electric Guitar.

Music and Practice, 2019

This article discusses the development of original performance techniques specific to the fretles... more This article discusses the development of original performance techniques specific to the fretless electric guitar through diverse musical practice(s) and proposes a standardized system of musical notation. An autoethnographic account of personal performance experience is framed with reference to theoretical constructs of performative practice and collaborative creativity. The article focuses on the process behind an evolving practice: combining practical and theoretical aspects of contemporary music performance, and demonstrating that the collation, archiving and subsequent dissemination of both established and emerging techniques into the wider musical community is essential in order to promote the fretless electric guitar as an independent musical force.

Books by Richard Perks

21st Century Guitar - Evolutions and Augmentations

21st Century Guitar - Evolutions and Augmentations (eds. Perks, Richard and McGrath, John), 2023

In the 21st century, the guitar, as both a material object and tool for artistic expression, cont... more In the 21st century, the guitar, as both a material object and tool for artistic expression, continues to be reimagined and reinvented. From simple adaptations or modifications made by performers themselves to custom-made instruments commissioned to fulfil very specific creative needs, to the mass production of new lines of commercially available instruments, the extant and emergent forms of this much-loved musical instrument vary perhaps more than ever before. As guitars sporting multiple necks, a greater number of strings and/or additional frets become increasingly common, so too do those with reduced registers, fewer strings and fretless fingerboards. Furthermore, as we approach the mark of the first quarter-century, the role of technology in relation to the guitar’s ever-changing identity is proving key. On-board processing units, external synergies with computers and the use of ultra-modern peripheral musical devices – ranging from EBow and effects processing, to engagement with laptops, robots and AR headsets – are allowing players to augment their performance setup and, in doing so, exponentially expand the guitar’s corporeal and timbral functionality. Such wide-ranging evolutions and augmentations of the guitar reflect the advancing performative and expressive needs of the modern guitarist and simultaneously afford them new creative potentialities; ultimately creating a feedback loop between artist and device, which further propels the guitar in fresh directions.
This collection comprises an assortment of contributions from academics, performers and dual-practitioners which examines the diverse physical manifestations of the guitar across the modern performative landscape and explores the creative possibilities these new forms afford. Musicological insights spanning performance practice, contemporary organology and technological augmentation are interwoven with interviews featuring leading practitioners from an array of performance cultures from around the world, with each chapter exploring a different model of – or approach to performing with – the guitar from the emic perspective of the performing musician.

Published in Bloomsbury’s Music & Sound Studies Series, this volume provides significant insights into the rich array of guitar-based performance practices emerging and thriving in the 21st century, and in doing so, invites the reader to reassess the guitar in terms of its identity, physicality and sound-creating potentialities.

The Expanding Fretless Guitarscape: Practice and Progress

21st Century Guitar – Evolutions and Augmentations (eds. Perks, Richard and McGrath, John), 2023

The fretless guitar inhabits a range of musical genres and cultures around the world. Its applica... more The fretless guitar inhabits a range of musical genres and cultures around the world. Its application ranges from sonic or aesthetic novelty to ‘serious’ artistic experimentation, to routine engagement within niche idioms. Due to its physicality, the fretless guitar affords the guitarist alternative performance possibilities, including innovative techniques, diverse forms of articulation and distinctive timbres. By examining the fretless guitar in relation to different performance environments – from concentrated idiomatic, cultural and/or geographic locales, to global interconnectivity realized primarily via online dissemination, social media and virtual networks – this chapter considers an array of playing approaches and techniques, highlights any recent developments and offers possible explanations for the instrument’s increased pervasiveness of late. In addition, using ‘affordance’ (Gibson) as a critical lens, the author presents an autoethnographic account of his experiences of working with the fretless electric guitar and provides insights into the ways in which ‘fretlessness’ – when viewed as a ‘state of practice’ – might benefit the modern guitarist.

21st Century Guitar – Evolutions and Augmentations: Introduction

21st Century Guitar – Evolutions and Augmentations (eds. Perks, Richard and McGrath, John) , 2023

In the 21st century, the guitar, as both a material object and tool for artistic expression, cont... more In the 21st century, the guitar, as both a material object and tool for artistic expression, continues to be reimagined and reinvented. From simple adaptations or modifications made by performers themselves to custom-made instruments commissioned to fulfil very specific creative needs, to the mass production of new lines of commercially available instruments, the extant and emergent forms of this much-loved musical instrument vary perhaps more than ever before. As guitars sporting multiple necks, a greater number of strings and/or additional frets become increasingly common, so too do those with reduced registers, fewer strings and fretless fingerboards. Furthermore, as we approach the mark of the first quarter-century, the role of technology in relation to the guitar’s ever-changing identity is proving key. On-board processing units, external synergies with computers and the use of ultra-modern peripheral musical devices – ranging from EBow and effects processing, to engagement with laptops, robots and AR headsets – are allowing players to augment their performance setup and, in doing so, exponentially expand the guitar’s corporeal and timbral functionality. Such wide-ranging evolutions and augmentations of the guitar reflect the advancing performative and expressive needs of the modern guitarist and simultaneously afford them new creative potentialities; ultimately creating a feedback loop between artist and device, which further propels the guitar in fresh directions.

This collection comprises an assortment of contributions from academics, performers and dual-practitioners which examines the diverse physical manifestations of the guitar across the modern performative landscape and explores the creative possibilities these new forms afford. Musicological insights spanning performance practice, contemporary organology and technological augmentation are interwoven with interviews featuring leading practitioners from an array of performance cultures from around the world, with each chapter exploring a different model of – or approach to performing with – the guitar from the emic perspective of the performing musician.

Published in Bloomsbury’s Music & Sound Studies Series, this volume provides significant insights into the rich array of guitar-based performance practices emerging and thriving in the 21st century, and in doing so, invites the reader to reassess the guitar in terms of its identity, physicality and sound-creating potentialities.

Touching the Apple without Gloves: Interview with Cenk Erdoğan

21st Century Guitar – Evolutions and Augmentations (eds. Perks, Richard and McGrath, John) , 2023

Cenk Erdoğan is a celebrated virtuoso of nylon-string, electric and baritone perdesiz [fretless] ... more Cenk Erdoğan is a celebrated virtuoso of nylon-string, electric and baritone perdesiz [fretless] guitars. As well as being a highly prolific recording artist, he has performed concerts and delivered masterclasses using fretless guitar all over the world. In this interview, Erdoğan discusses his fretless guitar journey to date – from his initial pursuit and study of the instrument, influenced by master Erkan Oğur, to the development of his own highly distinctive approach and style – and articulates his feelings about how the fretless guitar allows him to reflect and emphasize his identity as a Turkish musician on the international stage.

I Should Have Just Learned How to Play the Organ: Interview with Charlie Hunter

21st Century Guitar – Evolutions and Augmentations (eds. Perks, Richard and McGrath, John) , 2023

Charlie Hunter is widely considered the pioneer of six-, seven- and eight-string – ‘hybrid’ – gui... more Charlie Hunter is widely considered the pioneer of six-, seven- and eight-string – ‘hybrid’ – guitar playing. His distinctive technique combines guitar parts with bass lines and percussive elements, allowing him to function as a complete rhythm section. He has worked alongside an array of celebrated artists, spanning jazz, funk, soul and fusion settings, and has fronted many successful solo, duo and trio projects of his own. In this interview, Hunter reveals his general philosophy towards music-making, discusses his distinctive playing technique and unpacks his personal approach to learning to play – and advancing – ‘hybrid’ guitar. Furthermore, he elaborates upon more general performative concepts such as developing interdependence and the consideration of role within an ensemble and stresses the importance of continually maintaining a presence with the drummer.

Transforming the Microtonal Fingerboard: ‘Small’ Frets, LEGO and Robots: Interview with Tolgahan Çoğulu

21st Century Guitar – Evolutions and Augmentations (eds. Perks, Richard and McGrath, John), 2023

Tolgahan Çoğulu is one of the world’s leading microtonal classical guitarists. He is also a profe... more Tolgahan Çoğulu is one of the world’s leading microtonal classical guitarists. He is also a professor at Istanbul Technical University (Turkish Music State Conservatory), where he founded the world’s first microtonal guitar department. In 2008 he designed the Adjustable Microtonal Guitar which won first place in the highly prestigious Guthman Musical Instrument Competition in 2014. Since then, his work has taken the microtonal guitar into even more exciting and novel territories, with recent projects encompassing LEGO, automated/robotic and electric guitar fingerboard designs. In this interview, Çoğulu reflects upon his microtonal guitar journey – from his initial explorations of Just intonation to the incorporation of Turkish/Anatolian makam into classical guitar performance, to employing movable LEGO frets as a potential pedagogical device to teach students about microtonality – and divulges his thoughts, plans and predictions regarding the future of the (fretted) microtonal guitar.

David Gilmour: Defining the ‘melodic’ guitarist

The Routledge Handbook of Pink Floyd (eds. Hart, Christopher and Morrison, Simon), 2022

David Gilmour is frequently referred to by fans, journalists and musicians alike as the quintesse... more David Gilmour is frequently referred to by fans, journalists and musicians alike as the quintessential ‘melodic’ guitarist. His seamless interweaving of lyrical lines juxtaposed against edgy, raw, powerful outbursts provides an assortment to satisfy the most ardent guitar critic, and his voice on the instrument is arguably recognisable as one of Pink Floyd’s primary ‘calling cards’ – But what exactly do we mean by ascribing him the accolade ‘melodic’ guitarist? This chapter explores Gilmour’s guitar playing, from his initial musical influences through to his role within Pink Floyd, and contemplates how his highly individual style manifests itself within the milieu of the band. His use of sound/s and equipment, phrasing, note choice, playing technique and compositional strategies are examined in detail, with direct reference to studio recordings, live performances, documentaries, interviews, guitar magazines, tuition materials, and supplementary notated examples. To conclude, a musicological and aesthetic discussion – which is reinforced by an original analytical model – considers Gilmour’s guitar playing in terms of ‘melodic functionality’ to assess the ‘level of impact’ it has on the identity of the music; suggesting that his guitar-based contributions are inextricably connected to the work of Pink Floyd on an aesthetic, structural and compositional level; providing further insights as to why Gilmour is regarded by so many as the ultimate melodic guitarist.

Strung Together: Realizing Music-cultural Hybridity within a Limited Time Frame

Music and Practice, 2021

This article discusses the creative practice behind Strung Together, an intercultural collaborati... more This article discusses the creative practice behind Strung Together, an intercultural collaboration combining three non-congruent improvisation-based musics. An account of my experience as ‘musical-facilitator’ is framed with reference to theoretical constructs of cultural integration, compositional practice and collaborative creativity. By focusing on the process (comprising rehearsals, continual dialogue, co-composition, and coalesced methods of improvisation) and the development of an innovative working methodology (using notated ‘starting points’, which often evolve into ‘collective backbones’), this practice-led case study demonstrates that by inaugurating a democratic environment – where manifold approaches to music-making are properly considered and respected at a structural level – music-cultural hybridity is achievable within a limited time frame. Through pre- and post-project reflection, this account posits the notion that music-cultural hybridity may assume and traverse various forms; and furthermore, these forms – termed here as ‘hybridity strains’ – are likely to be in constant flux throughout intercultural–improvisatory collaborations. Counterpart definitions from other disciplines have been modified to classify the various hybridity strains examined, which together form an analytical model and critical framework that may be applied by others to evaluate future creative works; and thus, contribute to the wider discourse surrounding hybridity.

Fretless Architecture: Towards the Development of Original Techniques and Musical Notation Specific to the Fretless Electric Guitar.

Music and Practice, 2019

This article discusses the development of original performance techniques specific to the fretles... more This article discusses the development of original performance techniques specific to the fretless electric guitar through diverse musical practice(s) and proposes a standardized system of musical notation. An autoethnographic account of personal performance experience is framed with reference to theoretical constructs of performative practice and collaborative creativity. The article focuses on the process behind an evolving practice: combining practical and theoretical aspects of contemporary music performance, and demonstrating that the collation, archiving and subsequent dissemination of both established and emerging techniques into the wider musical community is essential in order to promote the fretless electric guitar as an independent musical force.

21st Century Guitar - Evolutions and Augmentations

21st Century Guitar - Evolutions and Augmentations (eds. Perks, Richard and McGrath, John), 2023

In the 21st century, the guitar, as both a material object and tool for artistic expression, cont... more In the 21st century, the guitar, as both a material object and tool for artistic expression, continues to be reimagined and reinvented. From simple adaptations or modifications made by performers themselves to custom-made instruments commissioned to fulfil very specific creative needs, to the mass production of new lines of commercially available instruments, the extant and emergent forms of this much-loved musical instrument vary perhaps more than ever before. As guitars sporting multiple necks, a greater number of strings and/or additional frets become increasingly common, so too do those with reduced registers, fewer strings and fretless fingerboards. Furthermore, as we approach the mark of the first quarter-century, the role of technology in relation to the guitar’s ever-changing identity is proving key. On-board processing units, external synergies with computers and the use of ultra-modern peripheral musical devices – ranging from EBow and effects processing, to engagement with laptops, robots and AR headsets – are allowing players to augment their performance setup and, in doing so, exponentially expand the guitar’s corporeal and timbral functionality. Such wide-ranging evolutions and augmentations of the guitar reflect the advancing performative and expressive needs of the modern guitarist and simultaneously afford them new creative potentialities; ultimately creating a feedback loop between artist and device, which further propels the guitar in fresh directions.
This collection comprises an assortment of contributions from academics, performers and dual-practitioners which examines the diverse physical manifestations of the guitar across the modern performative landscape and explores the creative possibilities these new forms afford. Musicological insights spanning performance practice, contemporary organology and technological augmentation are interwoven with interviews featuring leading practitioners from an array of performance cultures from around the world, with each chapter exploring a different model of – or approach to performing with – the guitar from the emic perspective of the performing musician.

Published in Bloomsbury’s Music & Sound Studies Series, this volume provides significant insights into the rich array of guitar-based performance practices emerging and thriving in the 21st century, and in doing so, invites the reader to reassess the guitar in terms of its identity, physicality and sound-creating potentialities.