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It was okay. Not bad. But just okay. In terms of guitar work I've definitely heard a lot better, both in terms of technical ability as well as musicality. Again, it's certainly not bad at all, but I really don't see what's so great or exceptional about it.
Maybe not better the Eddie, but certainly could give him a run for his money. The best stuff starts a couple minutes in, the first 2 minutes is just an intro of sorts. Anywho, John5 is another MUCH better pick to the OP
He gets a bit what I call widgetty on the guitar. You know sometimes it sounds like a WTF is going on moment. But if you listen he has ALOT of talent and he isnt all that old. He has toured playing guitar for a ton of "famous" bands
I don't like making claims of "best ever," especially when it comes to things like music, but I think it'd be hard to top Chet Atkins, both in terms of technical ability and musicality. This guy makes it look easy.
As far as rock and roll goes, I think Dimebag Darrell has some work that illustrates a pleasant balance of very strong technical ability, while still retaining a decent share of musicality and emotion. Dimebag's solo in "Floods" is a good example of what I'm referring to here.
I think the problem that a lot of very technically skilled rock/metal guitarists face is that they go so far to showcase their admittedly very advanced technical ability, but lose out on the expressive potential of both the instrument and the genre.
Guitarists like Andy Mckee and Don Ross are just awesome. The sheer skill they have on acoustics is just amazing. Heres another guy Ive grown very fond of. He is pretty damn good, not to mention he uses a guitar pick AND picks with his fingers at the same time. This video shows that pretty well. Ill also toss in one of my fav Don Ross vids just because the emotion and power he puts in it is just amazing. I like him a smidge more then Andy simply because I think he plays more powerfully.
Jimmy Walhsteen
Hah, those are both pretty groovy KingCracker. I particularly like the Don Ross one. Just wanted to note that Chet Atkins also played with a pick and his fingers at the same time.
Guitar is really a very versatile instrument, there is a lot of good, diverse stuff out there. Here is a very nice classical guitar piece.
One of my mates topped that playing Eine Kleine Nachtmusik on an electric guitar for a music examination... and he didn't even give it a gakky punk feel!
Unfortunately, what a lot of people look for in extremely talented musicians (guitarists especially) is the ability to grind out simple chord progressions at ridiculous speeds, without any thought given to the technicality of the piece or evocation of specific harmonies. I tend to value technical guitar players to a ridiculous degree, because of the fact that technicality adds a layer of extreme mental aptitude to basic shredding. My favorite guitarists may not be the fastest on the planet, but they certainly outperform most of the fastest guitarists in terms of memorization, precision, and the sheer quality of the end result. They can certainly shred with the best of them, but only tend to when it benefits a piece of music, and they don't go all out for the hell of it.
Keep in mind that most of this music is definitely an acquired taste. I used to hate it myself.
Muhammad Suicmez has a sense of harmony and dissonance that is beyond perfect, and transcends average human comprehension. He also has nearly unrivaled precision, and plays at a consistant studio-quality level. His compositions use mathematics, time signatures, and progressions in a way that I can only describe as 'musical wordplay'. He certainly owes a lot of his sound to the rest of the incredibly awesome members of Necrophagist, but even his compositional skill alone cements his place as one of the most brilliant guitarists of all time.
Luke Jaeger is one of the most ecclectic guitarists I've ever heard. He's not afraid to fit four or five separate genres into a single song, but his extensive roots in Jazz and Classical Spanish Guitar gives him the acute knowledge of music theory that he needs to make it work. He also plays at a consistantly ridiculous tempo, but never at the expense of the intricacy of the end result. His style of play is incredibly recognizable, despite being so multi-faceted. He's one of the most prolific guitarists of his time; at one point, he was in five separate bands at once (and continues to be in four).
Michael Keene makes better use of time signature switches than any guitarist I've ever heard. Though he uses a solid jazz foundation for his work, his fantastically visceral use of time signatures and chord progressions is always self-referential and incredibly entertaining to pick apart if you're so inclined. His influences are vast and all manage to be very recognizable, as he picks from the cream of the crop of the forefathers of progressive music in order to enlighten himself. At the same time, Michael pushes the existing boundaries of progressive music to make the genre much more self-fulfilling. His skill at abusing the feth out of his Washburn during some incredibly difficult placements of muted chords certainly doesn't hurt matters any. He enhances his skill with an amazing ear for production.
Ron Jarzombek uses his incredible technique to create sprawling masterpieces of aural engineering. His skill originates from his origins in 80's metal, and as such, he's probably the most physically skilled guitarist among my favorites. He is absolutely not afraid to break boundaries to achieve results, and his memory is impeccable. His music is the most progressive metal that's ever graced my ears (without straying outside the bounds of the genre), and it is endlessly entertaining to try and pick apart the machinations of Ron's brain while you attempt to decipher his music. He is also among the upper echelons when it comes to tangible physical skill, and he never lets up or gives his ability a rest. He is truly one of the forefathers of modern progressive music, and a living legend among those that listen to both progressive and technical music.
Pain is an illusion of the senses, Despair an illusion of the mind.
The Tainted - Pending
I sold most of my miniatures, and am currently working on bringing my own vision of the Four Colors of Chaos to fruition
I wouldnt argue there. SRV could literally kick a guitars ass when he was playing. Damn that guy was good, not bad for a self taught guitarist either
The thing that is different about SRV,Hendrix,Clapton and some of these guys posted on here is that they had/have soul. I'll take a player with soul over a guy that can do guitar gymnastics any day. May as well get a computer to play the guitar.
generalgrog wrote:The thing that is different about SRV,Hendrix,Clapton and some of these guys posted on here is that they had/have soul. I'll take a player with soul over a guy that can do guitar gymnastics any day. May as well get a computer to play the guitar.
GG
Soul is a mathematical equasion, just like anything else related to music. It's a science, and it has been for literally hundreds of years. All of the most technical guitarists have an extremely strong foundation in 'soulful' music; they must in order to have such a good command of their instrument and to be able to understand greater musical concepts. Technical music is not purely gymnastic; it is often rife with brilliant mathematical and musical patterns, and it often makes reference to and revolves around specific progressions. Mentally, tech is a much more challenging form of music (even simple enjoyment of it requires much more patience and dedication than music that speaks to the heart as opposed to the brain), and it requires at least a basic grasp of fundamental musical concepts to be able to gain any form of enjoyment from it. If you can't work on transcribing the music as it's playing, then you miss out on all of the brilliance, and are left with only a physically impressive mess. It's much easier to understand the brilliance of technical music on paper; picking it apart as it's playing is a lot of the fun for most of the people that care to listen.
The fact that some musicians have reached the level of a 'machine' is incredibly impressive to me. If the human body and mind can reach the physical and mental perfection of something that has the potential to be far greater than a human should ever be, how is that not impressive? If you can expand the boundaries of music theory and use music as your canvas to create something far deeper and more mentally stimulating than what was originally intended, how is that not impressive? I'm not saying that you should enjoy technical music yourself, but it certainly has more merits than simply being physically impressive.
Pain is an illusion of the senses, Despair an illusion of the mind.
The Tainted - Pending
I sold most of my miniatures, and am currently working on bringing my own vision of the Four Colors of Chaos to fruition
Oh I think we all admire the "technical" guitarists, at least i don't knock em. They play better than I do in my opinion. I think the idea of "soulful" playing is to be able to take all that theory and translate it into a basic emotion. Go listen to Alter Bridge's "Blackbird," and wait for the solo. At the end of it try to tell me you dont hear the heartache and sadness in it. It's just knowing how to apply the foundations of music to tell a story without words. Also, go listen to some early 1900's blues from down south. A lot of those guys didn't have a lick of formal music education (or any education) but they got the point across in their music.
And I may be totally agreeing with you with this post....
If you need me, I'll be busy wiping the layers of dust off my dice.
CrashUSAR wrote:Oh I think we all admire the "technical" guitarists, at least i don't knock em. They play better than I do in my opinion. I think the idea of "soulful" playing is to be able to take all that theory and translate it into a basic emotion. Go listen to Alter Bridge's "Blackbird," and wait for the solo. At the end of it try to tell me you dont hear the heartache and sadness in it. It's just knowing how to apply the foundations of music to tell a story without words. Also, go listen to some early 1900's blues from down south. A lot of those guys didn't have a lick of formal music education (or any education) but they got the point across in their music.
And I may be totally agreeing with you with this post....
Technical music still manages to speak, but it speaks in a much more literal way that is filled with irony. It's almost like reading a poet or writer that makes strong use of wordplay or other forms of referential speech; it taps into a completely different aspect of the human mind (the analytical thought process) to create entertainment.
People tend to think that technical musicians are completely incapable of playing music that speaks to the heart, when in reality, they're better at it than the majority of musicians are. Again, the best technical guitarists are always incredibly well-versed in the genres which are known for their 'soul'. They simply seek to expand musical concepts, and create new ground in music that doesn't rely on fundamentals that have been in place for as long as music has existed.
You can certainly apply emotion without any formal education in music theory; the formal education is simply an all-encompassing way to pass this knowledge of the emotions that you can potentially create with music on to aspiring musicians. Just because music doesn't need to be boiled down into a science doesn't mean that it hasn't been. I think it's undeniable that a strong grasp of music theory gives you much more potential in evoking emotion in music.
Pain is an illusion of the senses, Despair an illusion of the mind.
The Tainted - Pending
I sold most of my miniatures, and am currently working on bringing my own vision of the Four Colors of Chaos to fruition
His band should be called Studioforce. His 'ability' is completely synthesized from short bursts of extreme skill; he doesn't really have the chops to pull off an entire song. Seeing as how his music doesn't really have any merit beyond 'Holy gak, that's impressive', it's really disappointing.
Pain is an illusion of the senses, Despair an illusion of the mind.
The Tainted - Pending
I sold most of my miniatures, and am currently working on bringing my own vision of the Four Colors of Chaos to fruition
The Tainted - Pending
