Is it just me?

[Witmer]

Nope - not just you. Me too.

 

At least in jazz, which some people mentioned as being similar, the solo moves from instrument to instrument.

[FirstMeasure]

If it's Good I like it. If it's a well crafted instrumental, it Rocks. If it's a poorly Crafted Neo-Punk tune, where the lack of solo or lead is as gratuitous as a Guitar Solo in an 80's metal tune, it sucks.

 

Just wondering, and I'm not making a blanket statement or trying to step on any toes, but how many players who say "I find long instrumentals or Shred Fests boring" say that because they can't play one. It happens more often than not, a player will mask shortcomings with words like "Preference and Taste", when you know they'd love to be able to pull out Eruption when they're at a party.

 

Also, I don't see Shredding or instrumentals as Masturbation. A large part of the overall Rock Audience loves a good Shredfest. Certainly not a whole night of it, but they like to see a guitarist make the instrument do what it does, all that it does. They like to see you showing off.

 

Music is a lot like skiing, it's not spectator sport until you get into the advanced stuff. No one wants to watch an intermediate Skier avoid steeps and moguls, and no one wants to watch an intermediate Guitarists Avoid solos and instrumentals.

[pippy]

Vai, Satriani, Malmsteen and Co. leave me feeling the same way as you mentioned; a couple of mins is fine then I get really bored really fast.

 

People like BB King, Django Reinhardt and Peter Green I could listen to all day.

 

It's not that they are necessarily better musicians than those others I mentioned. I simply I prefer the music they play.

[duane v]

I saw Satriani in the early 90's and was bored by the the third song....... He's the only guitar player solo act I have seen

 

I prefer to see bands with vocals, but those type of guitar players (Beck, Vai, Moore and Sat) have thier place... I'll take it over rap and hip-hop any day of the week....

[SGSpecialguy]

Just wondering' date=' but how many players who say "I find long instrumentals or Shred Fests boring" say that because they can't play one. .

 

[/quote']

 

speaking for myself, Ive found the thousand note a minute dude plays without any feel,, its not that I cant do it, even though I cant and dont want to, it just doesnt do anything for me,, I like FAST players if they are saying something, if there is expression, if they can take time between runs, if its tastefull, but just ripping fast solos as fast as humanly possible, while is impressive loses its appeal REAL fast, I would much rather hear a tastey run with emotion then a million notes

now, Im not talking about Eruption style playing either, I like Eruption because its tastey

now this gets OLD VERY quick for me, while I can appreciate his abilities I dont wanna listen to it long,, there is no feel or expression

 

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmvTqR_Sx8k[/YOUTUBE]

[tlsmith]

Instumentals are music to me. Vocals I can take or leave. When I think of Instrumentals one word comes to mind "CHET".

[ShredAstaire]

Depends on the guy.

[Kimbabig]

Come to think of it, and not being racist, no asian guitarists I've ever seen has had emotion.

[djroge1]

I prefer instrumental over vocal music. What I like about it is the fact that instrumental music is like one long solo.

 

However, just as we all prefer some "vocal" songs over others it is the same way with instrumentals. There are some players I listen to all of the time but others I don't care for at all ~ and everything inbetween.

 

I love how the instrument interacts and harmonizes with the rest of the music ~ the composition as a whole.

 

Here are some other great instrumental players:

 

Chet Atkins

Larry Carlton

Jeff Golub

Wes Montgomery

Joe Pass

Grant Green

[FirstMeasure]

speaking for myself' date=' Ive found the thousand note a minute dude plays without any feel,, its not that I cant do it, even though I cant and dont want to, it just doesnt do anything for me,, I like FAST players if they are saying something, if there is expression, if they can take time between runs, if its tastefull, but just ripping fast solos as fast as humanly possible, while is impressive loses its appeal REAL fast, I would much rather hear a tastey run with emotion then a million notes

now, Im not talking about Eruption style playing either, I like Eruption because its tastey

now this gets OLD VERY quick for me, while I can appreciate his abilities I dont wanna listen to it long,, there is no feel or expression

[/quote']

 

I totally agree. Technique for techniques sake sounds sterile and unrewarding. My point was, Lack of technique for "arts sake" is usually a cop out. The old, "Leads are just Wanking so we don't do 'em," excuse. It's so weak and self centered.

 

Joe Walsh is a great example of what I'm talking about. Songs like "Rocky Mountain Way" have a big, tastey lead section, while Funk #49 has a drum solo and a tastey guitar lick instead of a Lead. He's not hung up on a formula that panders to his abilities or lack of abilities.

 

As a guitarist, the first thing on my mind is always, "The Audience Is Listening". I'm here for them, they're not here for me.

[jimmiJAMM]

In my experience' date=' when someone feels it necessary to ask "is it just me?", it usually is! [cool']

 

And if you have to look around before saying something, you probably shouldn't say it.

[ZenKen]

True that Neo. Maybe Kimbabig shoulda looked around......

[Kimbabig]

That was a crack at Dragonforce not asians. I probably should have worded it better. I really am sorry if I offended anyone.

[milod]

I've just about concluded that unless you're into a specific artist and/or "style," yeah, a solo guitar thing seems to have a very limited audience.

 

Case in point: Sunday I did a benefit. Older crowd - average age older than me but with the cash for the bennie. I did a decent instrumental "Misty" that brought some applause - then a pretty simple "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" that obviously went over better but certainly required much less musicianship.

 

It seems to come back to the "entertainer" vs. "musician" thing and I think the entertainer wins every time, even if it's the same person. I would have bet money that the instrumental of a classic would go over better with a crowd of that age group - and I would have lost. Even we guitar pickers are "consumers" and that's an interesting concept. <grin>

 

BTW, I think the "Asian" thing depends on the music and the musician. After living in an "Asian-American" community for more than a cupla years, I'd note that musical traditions are reflected even among excellent technicians.

 

An Asian-American brought up with "European" music is pretty much the same as everybody else. However the Asian in Asia doing rock, jazz, classical, whatever, will reflect the current iteration of his/her own culture's perspective on emotional content in a given style of music.

 

In short, hey, there's emotional content, just not in the same "language." It's kinda like some folks figure you can't do blues if you're not "black" or flamenco unless you're from a specific ethnicity...

 

In ways I think there's a bit of truth to that; in other ways I think it's a matter of each of us interpreting music through our own environmental upbringing. I was brought up on Bach, you were brought up on Bach - we're still gonna have a different "feel" for what we want it to sound like. Ditto Beatles or Chuck Berry...

 

m