Be honest about your guitar ability...

GordyR said:
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+1

At lot of young guitarists around my age are also obsessed with being able to play fast. Anyone can play fast, you can teach a monkey to, but you can't teach one to put expression and feeling into a performance.

When I first started out (especially after hearing players like Vai and Satriani around the age of 11/12) I thought 'OMG must play fast LOLOL..' Because most people think if you can play fast, you're obviously good, playing fast is due to good technique, which as i'm sure most people know is only a small part of what you need to have to become a good musician.

If you listen to a player like Satriani, he doesn't just use speed for the sake of it, albeit in 90% of all his songs you will have a run or phrase which would be considered 'fast' but it's always there for a reason, like at the climax of a solo or in the development of a melody later on during the song.

Players like Rusty Cooley (as posted in another thread somewhere on here) have incredible technical prowess which a lot of young guitarists are now looking at as the benchmark of what they need to follow to be a 'good guitarist', i'd much rather they listened to a good mix to try and see how speed has it's place and should be used only when necessary.
 
I spent 4 years of guitar playing not even knowing about fast technical music, and suffered cause of it... had to play catch up so i spent many hours a day doing exercises. I put technique infront of everything back then, but now im breaking away from it... yet including fast shred in songs where appropriate. Something i try to put in everywhere is harmony guitar parts
 
ArmyofHarmony said:
I spent 4 years of guitar playing not even knowing about fast technical music, and suffered cause of it... had to play catch up so i spent many hours a day doing exercises. I put technique infront of everything back then, but now im breaking away from it... yet including fast shred in songs where appropriate. Something i try to put in everywhere is harmony guitar parts
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Thats exactly it, there is a time and place for everything. When used correctly and sparingly, fast, technically impressive passages can add to a piece. They can build up emotion and intensity. But equally important and equally as emotional are the points when a player moves back to a slower pace. Especially in classical music. Sometimes the space inbetween notes is more important than the notes themselves. :)

I guess the problems arise when players put too much emphasis on technicality and speed. Like anything this is but one tool in a guitarists arsenal. Neglect any one aspect and you are doing yourself a disservice.

EDIT: By the way I loved the first link you posted in the warriors thread. Clean.mp3 I think it was. I thought that was lovely. :)
 
EDIT: By the way I loved the first link you posted in the warriors thread. Clean.mp3 I think it was. I thought that was lovely. :)
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cheers, i thought people would like that one more

check out the video of the solo on the new song im working on-> www.planetcarl.com/videos/arksolo.wmv this is the type of solos im trying to do now (mixing speed with harmony and melodic lines)
 
not bad Friday !, you can certainly play the guitar better than you use to play TFC any ways ;)
 
I've been playing for almost 3 years. I can play confidantly, and i'm teaching my flatmate how to play. I never really thought I was special, but all of my flatmates think i'm brilliant.
I'm good with timing, I've never had a problem with it and I feel i'm quite adaptable and dynamic with my playing. I can usually hear what should be played or what would sound good in my head before I play it.

Although, I still can't play solo's to my desired level, so until then I don't consider myself a true guitarist :p

I'll come back in a few months when I can play Freebird's solo all the way through :)

EDIT: I'm 19 and I'm completely self taught. I had lessons when I was 8 for about a year, but my parents couldn't afford them anymore so they stopped. I decided to pick a guitar up again at 17 after years of nagging in my head :) I can't read music, I used to be able to when I was younger. My goals now are to be able to learn scales, play solos and classical to a very comfortable level. Any advice would be appreciated.

Also, to those just starting, I found the hardest thing was to just keep it up. It's so dishearting when you want to play when you're beginning and everything sounds awful. Just take some practical steps - learn songs you like and learn chords.
 
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Timing : Pretty good as i used to play in a band in the past (with smokeyadam) and have played along many hours with my stereo and have the songs down to a T.

Notes : I know the notes on the fretboard, does that make me good at them? NO. I can improvise blues solo's (got a B @ music gcse for it) thats about it.

Dynamics : Errrrrr i can play a bit of James blunt and a bit of Pantera, does that make me Dynamic?

Overall im getting back into the swing of things at the moment after not really playing for a couple of years. been playing 10 years now and i think i should be a lot better than i am. ;)
 
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