Guitarists, how do they do it?

Ive just started learning Piano. I have a book that states “Learn Piano in 24Hrs”

All this 10000hr talk is utter tripe.

Come back tomorrow and let us know how it went.

ononononon

yes its that easy but! you didnt do it, nobody but the Edge did it so he wins

I happen the think he is extremely talented – not so much as a guitarist but more a great songwriter and someone who has explored existing technology and found a completely uniquie voice

OK thanks – it sounds amazing (to me) and I always thought it must be incredibly difficult – it does sound as if (to a non-musical ear) there are three parts playing at once.

Essentially it is 3 or more slightly different parts at once as the delay or echo is repeated under the new notes so in that respect you are quite correct

It’s sympathy, I believe, which defines an exceptional player. Lots and lots of practice (playing), of course, to ingrain the technical abilities and provide opportunity for learning; but sympathy for the instrument, accompaniment and audience and the self are present in all of those who have ‘it’.

While your post is good, I’d argue all of those things are something others put upon the musician. To my mind, the musician is simply trying to ‘get it right’, where ‘right’ is an endless quest with no defined goal, with criteria they’re unsure of, shaped by snippets of ‘Yeah, that sounds good’. The audience is just along for the ride.

hat Bill Bailey thing – is it really that easy to create that sound or was he miming?

He is playing it and he is playing that tune with pedals/effects
If you listen carefully you can hear the tune through the distortions till he switches them off

Same with Floyd sounds great but it requires technological input to “create” the sound.

scuzz,

Not sure that’s 100% true about the audience – I’ve read plenty of interviews where musicians have said that a ‘good’ crowd energises
a good performance, and vice versa.

On the talent / technique / feel thing, it’s kinda pointless to discuss because it’s so subjective – I quite like listening to U2, Dire Straits does nothing for me, but try and convince me that Knopfler isn’t a more proficient player of his instrument…

Or this: Steve Vai will play more notes in a second than most, BB King might play a whole solo that’s two notes. Vai leaves me cold, King touches my soul. Who is the ‘better guitarist’ ?

Finds new found respect for Dez …yours classical/flamenco player

You realise you could make me cry then Junky? 😥

Or this: Steve Vai will play more notes in a second than most, BB King might play a whole solo that’s two notes. Vai leaves me cold, King touches my soul. Who is the ‘better guitarist’ ?

Vai is quite clearly a better guitarist – BB is more suited to your taste and possibly a better musician

I’d rather not hear either of them again

Vai leaves me cold, King touches my soul. Who is the ‘better guitarist’ ?

Neither. It’s not a competition.

Think Gilmour, Clapton, King, Knopfler and Green are superb guitarists, but have never been able to see why edge (not a real name!) is rated at all. Certainly not in the same league as the others mentioned in this thread.

no idea why clapton, gilmour,king are rated as they continually regurgatate the same old pentatonic boxes

I have a bit of time for knopfler and green as songwriters

Certainly rather watch The Edges blinking boxes of doom and his explorer than any of the above though

SRV, man….. RIP

Going to put him on now…

My playing may be as bad as my spelling and youmay be crying for the wrong reasons 😉

The audience is just along for the ride.

I once played to a crowd in a pub in Paisley, near Glasgow, where the audience was curiously unresponsive. We asked the landlord afterwards about it and he said: “Think yersel’s lucky, boys. You went down really well. Normally, they just throw bottles…”

I also played (for the last time at) The Paradiso in Amsterdam where, so giving and connected were the audience that, during an intense song about an S&M relationship, a couple at the front of the stage proceeded to put on a floor show for us. Spontaneous. Full-on.

You just never know.

Killed that stone dead, then!

Anyway – let’s tie up a couple of the thread examples and chuck in a Dimeola…

Technique and passion.

The people that influence me are the musicians that make it sound sooooo simple Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) Andy Hull ( Manchester Orchestra, Polly Jean 🙂 . So talented so effortless. Oldies maybe Johnny Marr and John Squire.

You really need to go back further than the late 80’s/early 90’s though they are not bad guitarists.

Check out John Mayer, Good Love Is on the Way

Vai is quite clearly a better guitarist

See, I just can’t find myself thinking that. More proficient, probably, but I can’t help agreeing more with Dez

Neither. It’s not a competition.

although the world doesn’t seem to see it that way, what with industry awards, magazine awards, tv station awards…. we do seem to want judge and rank.

John Mayer would be better if he could sing.

John Mayer would be better if he could sing.

Just think what Gilmour would be like if he could sing too!
Saw Floyd at Earls Court in 1994 & the only ‘minus’ was Dave’s singing, his guitar work however was exceptional (IMO)

Passion and persistence. Ultimately having a creative spirit which requires some belligerence and courage because 99/100 people will put you down for trying. No one is a natural at anything. To get good at something you must keep doing it over and over. It can be done. So pick up a guitar today and start learning.

Not sure that’s 100% true about the audience – I’ve read plenty of interviews where musicians have said that a ‘good’ crowd energises
a good performance, and vice versa.

The best rides are the ones you’re a part of 😉

Take yer plugs out Molgrips. 😉

I used to play guitar a lot. I’d get in from school and play until I went to bed at night. When I wasn’t at school I’d sometimes play for 8 or 9 hours a day.

What I learned from this, is that talent is essential if you want to get very good at something. And that I had very little of it 🙁

MINIMUM 10,000 hours practice over 10 years !!

http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/10000-hours-of-practice/

Have been watching this guy a bit lately, I think it probably took more than 10,000 hours to get this good. I can’t believe fingers can move so fast…

Mayer desperately wants to be this guy but he just ain’t a patch on him. 3:30 onwards is grin inducing.

Come back tomorrow and let us know how it went.

Badly

As it goes I feel conned, apparently they mean 24hrs total learning time. Barstad’s. that’ll take me literally weeks.

Read the warnings!

Just saw this and thought of this thread:

“As a guitarist, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper’s cemetery in the back country. As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost.

I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch.

I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late. I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn’t know what else to do, so I started to play.

The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I’ve never played before for this homeless man.

And as I played ‘Amazing Grace,’ the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished I packed up my guitar and started for my car. Though my head hung low, my heart was full.

As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, “I never seen nothin’ like that before and I’ve been putting in septic tanks for twenty years.”

Apparently, I’m still lost”