What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Its all in the fingers, or is it?

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The Scarecrow
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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by The Scarecrow »

Innovation, and looking for new ways to do things. Over the years I've "past participle of get" into a lot of progressive metal and hearing the way some of those guys write stuff is very eye/ear-opening. All the weird deviations on chords and timings.
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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by Capt. Black »

HackSaw wrote:Songwriting and creativity. In the late 80s it was all kinds of other things, and I ended up admiring Vai, Satch etc. Ended up putting me off playing for years, once I realised I could never do that stuff. Now I don't care how "good" a guitarist is or not, if they can do shit in a musical way that makes for a great tune, then awesome. Now the realisation that I have the songwriting & creativity ability of a brick is putting me off. So I am going to start admiring the ability to just make noise and not giving a flying f....

Pretty much THIS. Summed up, I'd say what I genuinely admire most in any musician is an ability to combine well with others. Doesn't matter what skill level. As long as it adds up to something awesome.

Since you mentioned them, Vai and Satch are classic examples to me. Unquestionable skills but I find them unlistenable on their own. OTOH combined with another songwriter or group and they add an extra bit of zing which can produce amazing music.

SRV is another example that comes to mind. He really was just another Texas blues guitarist (A big fish in that particular pond mind) until he was picked up by Bowie. In that context his playing style was taken WAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY outside his comfort zone and pushed into a writing/production environment that he would likely never have experienced again. He even complained about it! But in Bowie's music his signature style and tone stood out in the best possible way. That defined a style that everyone can recognise now.

So distinctive, he managed to land a spot in a kiwi petrol commercial!!!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REZ55oM7HfI[/youtube]

Fark, who can remember Europa gas stations? :shock:

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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by Slowy »

mttn3 wrote:
Slowy wrote:People who can add colour and texture to a song without being, "Look, I'm the Guitar player."

A favourite exponent of this for me is Neil Finn.
I'm pretty sure he was actually a Split Enz, not an Exponent.
:P
Yep... I realised after I posted that this this was inevitable. :lol:
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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by Slowy »

Capt. Black wrote: So distinctive, he managed to land a spot in a kiwi petrol commercial!!!
Nostalgia! 8) I'd forgotten that SRV and Midge Marsden were best mates so Stevie had quite a few connections in Noo Zild.
Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.

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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by rickenbackerkid »

His wife was from the Hutt . . . I think she still lives there. I think I’ve read that they had a house in Raglan too

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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by Mini Forklift »

Innovation
Fluency, and the ability to play without the apparent need to think or pre-mediatate what to do next
Guitarists that can play one or two notes and you instantly know who you're listening to

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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by Reg18 »

I like elements from lots of different guitarists for different reasons but some things I respect the most would be:
Passion when playing, I don't care if you fit 150 notes in 30 seconds, if you played 5 with utter conviction and passion I'm all about it.
Tight sounding playing, kinda hard to describe but it's like when you see 2 drummers playing the exact same thing and one just locks into the beat and just sounds better, I find the same is true with guitarists!
Dynamics is a big one too, playing appropriately to the level and feel of the song which can be achieved by good use of boost/ OD pedals but when you have been playing for a while your fingers should be enough!

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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by sopachrga »

Oh, and one more thing...
The ability to know when not to play anything!
Ummm....

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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by Molly »

sopachrga wrote:Oh, and one more thing...
The ability to know when not to play anything!
I'm not playing anything right now!

It's lunchtime. :thumbup:

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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by HackSaw »

sopachrga wrote:Oh, and one more thing...
The ability to know when not to play anything!
When the wife tells me to mow the lawn, is quite often a good time to not play anything...

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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by Mini Forklift »

HackSaw wrote:When the wife tells me to mow the lawn, is quite often a good time to not play anything...
I'm usually playing, so I tend not to hear her when she says things like that.

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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by HackSaw »

Mini Forklift Ⓥ wrote:
HackSaw wrote:When the wife tells me to mow the lawn, is quite often a good time to not play anything...
I'm usually playing, so I tend not to hear her when she says things like that.
hmm... why is my wife saying things like that to you anyway?

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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by Moleman »

Capt. Black wrote:
I'd say what I genuinely admire most in any musician is an ability to combine well with others.
Yeh, I agree. I really like people who can play as a part of a group instead of sitting on top of it.
I am personally thinking of Brian May or maybe Steve Howe. Guys that can step forward and take focus if they want to, but also step back and be part of the foundation of the song.

I also admire people who play seemingly simple riffs, but who have a sound and style that makes it really unique. I know Jack White is a bit of a polarizing character, but even if I can put my fingers in the same places at the same times as him, it sounds like a completely different song. That's pretty cool.

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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by Mini Forklift »

HackSaw wrote:hmm... why is my wife saying things like that to you anyway?
Aw shiiiiit. Cover has been blown.

Tell her I said hi :wink:

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Re: What skills do you respect most about a guitarist?

Post by Danger Mouse »

The thing I most admire in other guitar players is a sense of melody, but that seems to be more of an inherent ability, rather than a skill.

My brother and I have been playing guitar for a similar amount of time, we're both technically capable players and have similar tastes in music. However he's way more melodic than I am as a player, in fact he can pick up any instrument, spend a bit of time working it out, then bang out some lovely melodic lines on it. His timing isn't very good, however.

Me, timing is my thing and in metal that comes in handy for those complex, slightly weirdly timed riffs that I like, but I'm about as melodic as an alarm clock. I've worked on it and my playing isn't as sterile as it used to be, but still I am nothing like my brother. It's just not in me, just like my brother's timing will never be particularly accurate.

So basically, work with what you're already good at and don't get too frustrated if you keep getting stuck on some things you're not good at. Figure out your strengths and play to those.
The older I get, the more disappointed in myself I become.

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