Antoine Dufour facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Antoine Dufour
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Antoine Dufour performing live in 2008
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| Background information | |
| Born | 1979 (age 45–46) L'Épiphanie, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Folk, fingerstyle acoustic, instrumental |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 2003 – present |
| Labels | CandyRat |
Antoine Dufour (born in 1979) is a talented Canadian acoustic guitarist. He is known for his unique playing style and amazing songs. Antoine was born in L'Épiphanie, Quebec, and is currently signed with CandyRat Records.
Antoine started playing the guitar when he was fifteen years old. He later studied at a college in Joliette. There, his teacher introduced him to the music of famous guitarists like Leo Kottke, Don Ross, and Michael Hedges. These artists really inspired him!
Antoine has achieved a lot in guitar competitions. He won second place at the Canadian Guitar Festival's Fingerstyle Guitar Championship in 2005. The very next year, in 2006, he won first place! He also placed third at the International Finger Style Guitar Championship in Winfield, Kansas, in 2006.
Antoine has released many albums, including Naissance, Development, Existence, Convergences, and Sound Pictures. He has a huge number of fans on YouTube. Many of his live performance videos were filmed in the same studio as fellow guitarist Andy McKee. One of his most popular videos shows him playing "Jerry's Breakdown" with Tommy Gauthier. They play it together on a single guitar, which is super cool! Antoine also released an album called Still Strings with Tommy Gauthier.
Besides performing, Antoine also teaches guitar lessons. He even offers lessons online through Skype.
Antoine Dufour's Guitar Style
Antoine Dufour's music is special because of his percussive playing style. This means he often uses slaps and natural harmonics (special ringing sounds) on his guitar. He shares many musical ideas with other fingerstyle guitarists. These include artists like Phil Keaggy, Kaki King, Don Alder, Andy McKee, Craig D'Andrea, and Don Ross. Their music is often very complex and requires a lot of skill.
Many fans notice the red bandana or scarf tied around the top of his guitar's neck in his YouTube videos. Antoine has explained that he uses it to mute the strings. This stops them from ringing too much after he strums hard.
Antoine mainly plays a special guitar called a Mario Beauregard flat top "Orchestral model" cutaway. He uses specific strings and pickups to get his unique sound. He also uses special gear like amps, preamps, and capos. For some of his songs, he even plays a unique instrument called a Duane Noble Harp guitar.
Antoine wears acrylic artificial fingernails on his right hand, except for his thumb. These fake nails help him create a clear, crisp sound. He buys regular acrylic nails, then cuts and files them to the perfect length. He wears them on about half of the front tip of his natural nails. He also uses a Dunlop thumbpick, which he files down to a shorter, more comfortable angle. You might also notice two rings on his right index and ring fingers. These are his wedding and engagement rings. He wears them on his right hand so they don't hit the guitar neck while he plays. The rings are just for decoration and don't help with his playing.
Antoine Dufour's Albums
Studio Albums
- Naissance (2005)
- Development (2006)
- Existence (2008)
- Still Strings (2009) (with Tommy Gauthier)
- Convergences (2010)
- Sound Pictures (2011)
- Back & Forth (2017)
- Reflect (2020)
DVDs
- Antoine Dufour / Andy McKee Split DVD (2007)
- Antoine Dufour / Craig D'Andrea / Peter Ciluzzi (2008)
