***The Official Guitar Thread***

Again, I think Slash is great at that. He does a whole load of *******, but if you listen to Guns n' Roses, most of the old songs open with a simple acoustic guitar chord structure, and he embellishes that later on. It's a real blues mastery that enables that, I think.
 
It's just about restraint really... I notice it myself when I am just laying down a few loops or noodling over a backing track (especially if I record it and listen back after) - very easy to play without a lot of purpose/melody and a lot of "flash" but no substance and get carried away. Sometimes I try things like forcing myself to only use, let's say, a maximum of 3 notes per bar or something like that - not enough to bust out any overused licks or waffle-y bloated stuff and actually can sound quite bad if you don't try hard to make an impact with phrasing, melody, choosing those 3 notes very wisely and thinking about how they fit into what's going on in the backing. A bit similar to the whole "solo on 1 string" idea - restrict yourself to force yourself into exercising your mind/ear in a way that you normally wouldn't
 
uncle_rufus said:
It's just about restraint really
Click to expand...
To me, all the shreddy "scream if you want to go faster!" twiddly-diddly showing off is the equivalent of liquidising your Christmas dinner so that you can eat it quicker.

I'm old fashioned, I like to chew my food... while I've still got a few teeth left. :-)
 
uncle_rufus said:
It's just about restraint really... I notice it myself when I am just laying down a few loops or noodling over a backing track (especially if I record it and listen back after) - very easy to play without a lot of purpose/melody and a lot of "flash" but no substance and get carried away. Sometimes I try things like forcing myself to only use, let's say, a maximum of 3 notes per bar or something like that - not enough to bust out any overused licks or waffle-y bloated stuff and actually can sound quite bad if you don't try hard to make an impact with phrasing, melody, choosing those 3 notes very wisely and thinking about how they fit into what's going on in the backing. A bit similar to the whole "solo on 1 string" idea - restrict yourself to force yourself into exercising your mind/ear in a way that you normally wouldn't
Click to expand...

Study Scott Ian. The man will happily sit there and blast rhythm as a backbone.
 
a1ex2001 said:
I'd agree, there is so much on youtube and the likes that is just willy waving about how fast someone can navigate the fret board and while it is incredibly impressive it is more akin to a computer game for me. I'd much rather listen to someone play something simple that sounds great and like most things with music you need the light and shade be it in the form of loud v's quiet or fast v's slow or a combination.
Click to expand...

Albert King would agree with you. Pick up his album with SRV and there's a great track intro where they chat and Albert is applauding SRV for being someone who goes fast because it suits the song, but can play slow, and always plays with passion, with soul. There's real respect there. He also berates people who turn up to jam with him but "they just learned my licks, they got no feel, no touch" or something along those lines. He's so right. EVH is all well and good, but it's a tool for a specific task and IMO a good guitarist needs a lot more in their locker. Otherwise it's a bit like having a tool kit with only one power tool in it.
 
uncle_rufus said:
It's just about restraint really... I notice it myself when I am just laying down a few loops or noodling over a backing track (especially if I record it and listen back after) - very easy to play without a lot of purpose/melody and a lot of "flash" but no substance and get carried away. Sometimes I try things like forcing myself to only use, let's say, a maximum of 3 notes per bar or something like that - not enough to bust out any overused licks or waffle-y bloated stuff and actually can sound quite bad if you don't try hard to make an impact with phrasing, melody, choosing those 3 notes very wisely and thinking about how they fit into what's going on in the backing. A bit similar to the whole "solo on 1 string" idea - restrict yourself to force yourself into exercising your mind/ear in a way that you normally wouldn't
Click to expand...

Agreed. Another interesting one is to solo using just five notes and then just three notes. That's it. In one position. It really makes you think about how to structure it and more importantly to use rests. You know those bits when you're not playing. Budding lead guitarists we're looking at you... why the confusion?
 
ik9000 said:
Agreed. Another interesting one is to solo using just five notes and then just three notes. That's it. In one position. It really makes you think about how to structure it and more importantly to use rests. You know those bits when you're not playing. Budding lead guitarists we're looking at you... why the confusion?
Click to expand...

When I'm showing people how to solo I show them the pentatonic scale and then start solo'ing just using two notes, then three, then four and so on until I reach all ten in that position.
 
ik9000 said:
Agreed. Another interesting one is to solo using just five notes and then just three notes. That's it. In one position. It really makes you think about how to structure it and more importantly to use rests. You know those bits when you're not playing. Budding lead guitarists we're looking at you... why the confusion?
Click to expand...
So many people seem to forget rests and giving the music space to breath, sometimes not playing a note is so much better than playing one for the sake of it, similar with repeated notes some people seem to think you need to jump 4 frets between each pick! Sorry didn't mean to turn this thread into a bitch about bad guitar habits thread! I'm terrible at improv for the record, I always have been what ever instrument I play!
 
mindless 'shredding' gets boring really quick but my favourite players are the ones who can blaze it when they want...as mentioned - restraint, having said that I listen to Far Beyond The Sun by Yngwie every now and again but would never make it through an entire album!

Slash is one of my favourites too...The outro solo on November Rain combined with the build up through the whole song is pretty amazing!

there's loads of examples of but some solos I really like are Dream Theatres Another Day, Whitesnake Here I Go Again and Megadeth Tornado of Souls...you don't need to be super technically proficient to play most of each (maybe not so much Tornado of Souls) but there's those couple of lines in each that require some shreddies :D

I've timestamped these but I suppose a lot of the joy is listening to the whole song, just waiting for that solo :D

https://youtu.be/WyF8RHM1OCg?t=171

https://youtu.be/LYtiDCXLAcQ?t=170

https://youtu.be/Lcm9qqo_qB0?t=183
 
Last edited:
Pete Townshend is basically a rhythm shredder!

was just thinking...Steve Morse is another player that can rip it and also sound so melodic, Throw My Bones solo has that and think it'll always make me think of lockdown last year!
Sometime I Feel Like Screaming has that same kind of balance of mostly slow paced stuff (even tho he does that pinch/artificial? harmonic tapping technique thing!) but there's a few bars of complete fire :D
 
YouTube just served me an ad for this. I'd be happier if I could actually see him playing live rather than recording a video over what sounds like more than one guitar, but... well... I'll cut him some slack, because this is... Well, it's THIS!
Ok, after a bit more Youtubery I think I could get exhausted by his playing quite quickly, a bit like Tommy Emmanuel in full flow. But... grief, he's got some skill!

Ok, last edit... The kid was obviously in a league of his own. Have you ever seen so many young people look so cheesed off? :-)
 
Last edited:
Andrew_McP said:
YouTube just served me an ad for this. I'd be happier if I could actually see him playing live rather than recording a video over what sounds like more than one guitar, but... well... I'll cut him some slack, because this is... Well, it's THIS!
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, I've just wasted over an hour watching him.
I was lucky to see Tommy Emmanuel at the Robin 2 and stood about 10 foot from him.
After the show I talked with mates for a while and just before leaving went to the outside bog, as I came out of the bog, Tommy had sat down at a table and played around 5 songs to about 7 of us - magical.
 
builder22 said:
Haha, a mate sent me a link to the Kashmir cover the other day...I’d seen that classroom vid before but never realised it was the same guy!
Click to expand...

He seems to play a simpler version than Page.
Page's tuning is in DADGAD and he plays the ascending scale low where Marcin plays it high.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
After the show...
Click to expand...
What a glorious experience and a typically Tommy tale. I didn't know he existed until YouTube threw him at me about three years ago, but what an inspiration... the incredibly talented 'guitar uncle' every aspirational guitar player needs in their life.

He should have been performing over the hill at Buxton Opera House some time around now, and last year I almost booked on the off chance things would be 'normal' by now. It's a logistical and economic nightmare for me to get time away from looking after Mum, but Tommy's not young and to have him so close and not make the effort if and when that tour eventually happens feels like something I could live to regret, even if I'm only able to stay for part of the show.

SexyGreyFox said:
He seems to play a simpler version than Page.
Click to expand...
I am unfamiliar with this definition of 'simpler'. :-)
 
Andrew_McP said:
They grow up so soon... pesky talented bloomin' child prodigies!

My reaction to watching it was the same as the kid in the blue jacket his Mum told him would make him play better...
https://youtu.be/oPd7wMYVYYo?t=202
Click to expand...
i think it was a long recording session. The kids look even more fidgety in this one. At least different people appear to have been given a chance:


It must have been some kind of end-of-term concert for the parents by the look of it in this video where they all finally get to do something:


Now that's my kind of school. Wtf was that when I were a lad? Music "lessons" weren't all that serious when I went through secondary school. Kind of a token nod to tick a box rather than anything constructive or, to be frank, educational.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom