The session guitarist as a collaborator and arranger in the analogue and digital eras of recording

This thesis combines a portfolio of creative work with an analysis of interviews with established recording session guitarists. It asks what skills the session guitarist needs in the digital era of recording. It examines the work practice and skill set required of the session guitarist in the analogue era of recording and examines the changes to both in the digital era. The research project employed a qualitative methodology involving mixed methods in three parts. Part One presents the interview process with six prominent session guitarists possessing significant recording experience in both the analogue and digital eras. Referring to concepts from the theorists, Michael Polanyi, Pierre Bourdieu, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Part Two details a conceptual framework for interpreting the interviews. Lastly, Part Three presents the application of this conceptual framework to the author’s creative work in three case studies.