Hedges' first two albums for Windham Hill were "Breakfast in the Field" and "Aerial Boundaries". He wrote nearly exclusively in alternate tunings. His early recordings and most of the "Breakfast in the Field" album were recorded on the Ken DuBourg guitar and his Martin D-28 "Barbara". Some of the techniques he used include slap harmonics (created by slapping the strings over a harmonic node), use of right hand hammer-ons (particularly on bass notes), use of the left hand for melodic or rhythmic hammer-ons and pull offs, percussive slapping on the guitar body, as well as unusual strummings. He made extensive use of string damping as employed in classical guitar, and was known to insist strongly on the precise duration of sounds and silences in his pieces. He played guitar variants like the harp guitar (an instrument with additional bass strings), and the TransTrem guitar. He was a multi-instrumentalist who played piano, percussion, tin whistle, harmonica, and flute. Bassist Michael Manring contributed to nearly all of Hedges' records.