Are a lot of guitarists just out to impress each other

Barney

Just saw another post and made me think about this....all this fancy guitar stuff...is the general public really bothered, you get the guitarists that play melodic and musical and the public love them ...a few that spring to mind are Gilmour ..clapton ..BB king ..

Thers a lot of guitarists now with unbelievable technique ... that the public dont really seem interested in ..the only type of audience that they seem to appeal  are other guitarists .. and even then a lot of it is getting very stale sounding ...i suppose what im trying to say is sometimes do you think we are barking up the wrong tree..in the 80s ..loads of people loved the flashy guitar stuff now nobody seems bothered apart from other guitar players ....and then only some really care....just thinking out loud here..

UnclePsychosis

Yes, and it is bloody tedious IMO. 

midlifecrisis

Definitely so. Been guilty myself, when I know other players in the audience I have played to them instead of just enjoying it and playing to the crowd

Jack_

100%.

Some guitarists seem to put being technically impressive over being musical. But unfortunately, being technically impressive is what gets you YouTube views, Insta followers etc.

Barney

midlifecrisis said:

Definitely so. Been guilty myself, when I know other players in the audience I have played to them instead of just enjoying it and playing to the crowd

Yeah me too...and iv usually ended up sounding the worse for it ...

DulcetJones

I see it all the time but can't get into it.  When I play at a local blues jam the highlight  for me is getting most of the women in the place up dancing but some of the other players that show up live for the moment they get to show off.  Sometimes when too many of these types are there I'll volunteer to play bass so somebody is keeping a solid beat going with the drummer to keep the girls dancing.

Bridgehouse

To be honest, it's one of the reasons I moved to bass as my main instrument.

I feel liberated, and I feel more like a musician than a [instrument] player.

Schnozz

Bridgehouse said:

To be honest, it's one of the reasons I moved to bass as my main instrument.

I feel liberated, and I feel more like a musician than a [instrument] player.

I was just going to say that starting out as a Bassist, they have a completely different mind set and just enjoy being at the party - Ian Hill of Judas Priest and Michael Anthony of Van Halen are perfect examples.

When I used to double up on Guitar with the Guitarist in a previous Band, it suddenly became a competition and it was still a problem when inviting in other Guitarists, who then rose to the challenge and got quite bitter. Initially I thought this was a maturity thing, but I still have problems with subsequent Guitarists even now and I genuinely have no idea why.

I'm guilty of Gear snobbery, but thoroughly believe that Non-Musicians only discern between Acoustic, Electric and Bass Guitar Tone; that said, I sometimes have a hard time telling the difference between a Superstrat and Les Paul Custom...Further to this, there's also that Jimmy Page Les Paul/Telecaster confusion. Non-Musicians know when a Guitar sounds pants too btw.

80s Virtuosos need Vocals (unless it's Jazz IMO) because I'd rather listen to Richie Kotzen than Paul Gilbert, but stick Paul Gilbert with Eric Martin and I'd have a hard time choosing.

57Deluxe

One of the very first things I tell new students is no matter what you play, your sole aim must be to make it tuneful. Even one chord played with natural harmonics bouncing off the walls can be so stirring and immediately capture the audience's imagination - Is like reading a book - your mind fills in the gaps between the unscanned words in a sentence - imagine trying to read a book where you physically read each individual word - tedious, boring and tiring. So, scan a paragraph at a time and let your mind do the rest!

57Deluxe

One of the very first things I tell new students is no matter what you play, your sole aim must be to make it tuneful. Even one chord played with natural harmonics bouncing off the walls can be so stirring and immediately capture the audience's imagination ...

Is like reading a book - your mind fills in the gaps between the unscanned words in a sentence - imagine trying to read a book where you physically read each individual word - tedious, boring and tiring. So, scan a paragraph at a time and let your mind do the rest!

samzadgan

I'm not fussed with technical playing at all...like everyone says the song is more important, then the individual instruments. If you look at the best guitarists in history, they are artists and musicians first...it just so happens they played the guitar, and that was their instrument of creative expression.

Personally I see playing guitar as something that satisfies me, first and foremost, not an audience or other guitarists...their thoughts on what i play doesn't influence what i play and how i play...I see it as a by-product of my music rather than the intention.

so if other people do the same as me, then that intrinsic motivation of self satisfaction will define how you play...if my aim was to impress people with my skills, then i would be a technical player and post stuff on youtube because that's where I'm making that impact.

I guess what I'm saying is...everyone derives happiness from playing guitar in different ways...and maybe being a musician in a band is not something that everyone see's as enjoyment, and thus their playing reflects that.

Teetonetal

I think it very much depends on what you are doing... playing covers you need decent enough chops to pull off the songs but beyond that not much will be technical if you are a party band. Yet an Iron Maiden might stretch you.

Generally it's really hard to find people who serve the song... so many drummers over play  the fills and bass players refuse to chug. It's a massive difference between a pro and an amateur.

However there is still room for massively technical playing. You just have to have the right audience. Steve Wilson does not play to a room full of guitar players

It's also not always about getting people dancing either. Go and watch Low.. deep silence and reverence from the audience it's almost spiritual.

Different things for different people.

Teyeplayer

I really dig what your saying there @samzadgan, that's meant as no disrespect to the previous posts that have suggested that making sure the audience are enjoying themselves is your primary concern, in fact I'd say for me it's a bridge somewhere between the two -there are just elements of both that I feel are of great importance.

My greatest pleasure comes from simply playing the guitar, whether sat on the sofa over a cuppa writing with friends or recording demos by myself, I just find the whole creative process a source of imense joy and in those moments I am aware the greatest pleasure often comes from the simplest melodies. I think that pleasure directly translates to an audience. The alt-country band I'm in is certainly not a get up and dance affair but I am aware that the songs that have the greatest impact are the ones that are the most melodic and have the strongest hook, these often mean another album sale for us and more importantly an audience member who has enjoyed themselves and will share that with their friends, family, etc.

However, I am also painfully aware that you can't please everyone all of the time and as a result there are always going to be those shows where you just have to appreciate that the audience on that given night simply don't get you. In terms of technicality, it always comes down to what does the song need -few songs really need an extended spinal-tap solo, although that descending from the heavens Stonehenge has to be the way forward for all of us.

impmann

It's a problem - and frankly I see it *a lot* with local covers bands. Guys with £1000s-worth of gear, playing too loudly and playing for themselves, not with the band. It's not just guitarists - there is one band where all four members are technically very good, but fight against each other trying to upstage each other as loudly as possible. It's basically a pissing competition.

Frankly, it's not playing music - it's a competitive sport played by self serving, self obsessed people. Boring.

As mentioned above, one carefully chosen note played on a Mexican Fender through an inexpensive amp can have more weight, meaning and depth than 1000 sweep picked, legato ones played through a boutique 'rig' with a fancy-topped USA made prosthetic penis. Especially if it's in time...

A lot of the guys I've seen who try carrying off these techniques they've learned don't actually fully appreciate where 'one' is, and also don't understand phrasing, with the difference between being behind or pushing the beat. Technique is great (if you like that sort of thing) but timekeeping in all its forms is actually what gives music it's soul and lifts it from being just notes.

Dont get me wrong, there are some great players who can play technically difficult stuff but by and large the majority *think* they can, but can't or don't understand the importance of just playing 'straight' to serve a song. "Twiddly bits" may make you look good but may not be appropriate during a verse where the singer is actually supposed to be the focal point...

richardhomer

There's definitely a following for what Frank Zappa called 'stunt guitarists' - but it doesn't include me. It seems more like sport - highly competitive - rather than anything really to do with music.

Once the level of stunt gets to Jeff Beck-like levels for me - that's probably far enough. 

All my favourite players 'serve the song' - Harrison, Knopfler, DG, Mike Campbell, Richard Thompson, etc. I've never had amazing chops - but I've never set out to - though I'd like greater harmonic knowledge.

Ultimtely this is all about personal taste - if shreddy stuff does it for you - fair enough. Just don't expect non-players to like what you do....

guitarfishbay

I dunno, I like it sometimes if it is good and fits the energy of a song. What I'm not a fan of is the grid quantised and/or recorded one note at a time school of modern shred that sounds like a midi guitar. It's one reason I think the classic shredders sound more exciting, because the performance was real

Teetonetal

richardhomer said:

Ultimtely this is all about personal taste - if shreddy stuff does it for you - fair enough. Just don't expect non-players to like what you do....

Yes, but: I don't expect anyone to like what I do, I hope they do, but not expect. But I don't think a technical guitar players audience is limited to other guitar players - maybe on youtube but not live.

If you play what you play, with loads of heart and passion, and it fits the song and gets the right mood for the people watching - then hopefully people will like it.

GavRichList

Thankfully I've never been anywhere near competent enough to partake, so it largely passes me by 

samzadgan

guitarfishbay said:

I dunno, I like it sometimes if it is good and fits the energy of a song. What I'm not a fan of is the grid quantised and/or recorded one note at a time school of modern shred that sounds like a midi guitar. It's one reason I think the classic shredders sound more exciting, because the performance was real

what?? recorded one note at a time? is that really the recording process?

Teetonetal

samzadgan said:

guitarfishbay said:

I dunno, I like it sometimes if it is good and fits the energy of a song. What I'm not a fan of is the grid quantised and/or recorded one note at a time school of modern shred that sounds like a midi guitar. It's one reason I think the classic shredders sound more exciting, because the performance was real

what?? recorded one note at a time? is that really the recording process?

No.

guitars4you

I love a quote by Santana - when you have nothing less to say then get the f*uck out of there - many should apply that 

However I tend to not think it is as bad now as it was for guitar gymnastics - still see some at guitar shows but not as bad as before