Strings of Time hones two-part guitar to perfection

Father and son guitar duo Marvin and Troy Higgins have several gigs around the area, occurring regularly at Novak's Hungarian Restaurant in Albany, and the Book Bin and Gracewinds Music in Corvallis.

You'd think venues would tire of having the same band over and over again, but no.

"It's kind of gone the other way, people like you so much that you can kind of play whenever you want," Marvin said.

Marvin, who at 65, is retired from Hewlett-Packard and 42-year-old Troy, who works as a technical support analyst for Symantec in Springfield are known for their particularly mellow, amazingly tonally clear renditions of classic standards.

Marvin and Troy have about 75 songs on their request list, including "Misty," "All My Loving," "Beer Barrel Polka," "Tuxedo Junction," "Frankie and Johnnie," "Blue Skies" and "Unchained Melody," but they actually know about 125 songs by heart.

Their name, Strings of Time, is a nod to six generations of musicians in their family, according to Troy. It's also references the style of music that they play, said Marvin, which is mostly from the first part of the 20th Century - the 1920s to 1960s.

The pair usually performs in their trademark Hawaiian shirts.

"We like to help people kind of relax. We're going for that peaceful sense," Marvin said. "We're allergic to loud," he added.

The pair's focus when playing together is something akin to mediation.

"It's always good to be focused on the music. Ideally, it's very simple minded," Troy said.

"In general, I like to keep total concentration on the music," Marvin added. "I have to, because we don't have exact arrangements -. We have to be in sync together."

After Marvin spent years playing professionally with small combos, he and his son teamed up a few years ago to form Strings of Time in 2002.

"The real surprise there, was that a style emerged that was unusually clean," Marvin said. "I began to learn that the spaces between the notes were just as important."

"I think it's a treat to see a father and song duo. It's uncommon," Troy said. It's also pretty uncommon for a bass player to play something different than rock, he noted.

Marvin, who has exemplary guitar skills, is full of praise for his son's accomplishments. One of Troy's great strides ahead musically in this last year was teaching himself to play 'walking bass' - transition notes that create a melody behind a melody in their pieces, Marvin said.

"Troy's part is a really critical part," Marvin said. "Drop the bass, it's like the foundation goes away."

"More and more, I realize that there is a lot of value in the clarity you get with just a bass and guitar," he said.

Marvin and Troy Higgins will teach a workshop on their particular brand of music, which they dubbed "melodic jazz" from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at Gracewinds Music in Corvallis.

CHECK IT OUT

Upcoming shows:

• 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29, Gracewinds Music, 137 S.W. Third St., Corvallis.

• 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29, Book Bin, 215 S.W. Fourth St., Corvallis.

• 6 p.m., every Sunday at Novak's Hungarian Restaurant, 2835 S.E. Santiam Highway, Albany.

• 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 6, Holiday Marketplace, Memorial Union, Oregon State University.

• 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, Book Bin, 215 S.W. Fourth St., Corvallis.

• 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, Gracewinds Music, 137 S.W. Third St., Corvallis.

Workshop:

Melodic Jazz Guitar workshop, 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, Gracewinds Music, 137 S.W. Third St., Corvallis. Call to register: 800-584-4970.