SlagJones Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 There is a definition for guitarist. It is a musician that plays the guitar or a musician that performs with a guitar. I.e. Pete Townsend is the guitarist for The Who. Nowhere in the definition of guitarist does it quantify someone's proficiency with the guitar. You can be a total hack in a garage band that plays 1 chord badly, yet you are still a guitarist by definition. Your samurai analogy falls short because samurai is a title for military nobility in Japan. They just happened to use swords/katanas but swordsmanship is not specifically involved in the definition. If the english language is so malleable, I could say "apple" means you are a god with a guitar. I guess I aspire to be an apple and so do you. Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenrirlupus Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 imo, a guitarist is a person who diddn't give up playing guitar after they couldn't play their favorite song in the first few weeks of having a guitar. seriously, the pawn shops around here are full of brand-new guitars. (there's even some real fender strats and a Rickenbacker hollowbody) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenrirlupus Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 There is a definition for guitarist. It is a musician that plays the guitar or a musician that performs with a guitar. I.e. Pete Townsend is the guitarist for The Who. Nowhere in the definition of guitarist does it quantify someone's proficiency with the guitar. You can be a total hack in a garage band that plays 1 chord badly' date=' yet you are still a guitarist by definition. Your samurai analogy falls short because samurai is a title for military nobility in Japan. They just happened to use swords/katanas but swordsmanship is not specifically involved in the definition. If the english language is so malleable, I could say "apple" means you are a god with a guitar. I guess I aspire to be an apple and so do you. Peace [/quote']it doesn't have to be a person in a band either, you can be a total hack in your parents basement with no band that can only play one chord badly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlagJones Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Exactly! :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpkg Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 They need to get out more. One of the great philosophers said something like : "very few things actually matter' date=' and of the ones that do, very few matter [i']much[/i]". Labels don't matter. Tell them to shut up and play. +1 What a pompous load of malarkey. do your guitarist buddies think hendrix gave a hot damn about this issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssgfowler Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Those are just labels.......based on some of the deffinitions there are "guitar players" out there who only play a few notes but do it with passion and soul...and there are "guitarists" who can rip off a furious flurry of theoretically correct phrases. I'd rather hear the former. Exactly, I would much rather listen to 2 hours of Angus Young (whom many consider to be a 3 chord simpleton) than listen to 2 minutes of Yngwie Malmsteen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpkg Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Exactly' date=' I would much rather listen to 2 hours of Angus Young (whom many consider to be a 3 chord simpleton) than listen to 2 minutes of Yngwie Malmsteen.[/quote'] two minutes of malmsteen is two and a half too many. but man! what a guitarist! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlagJones Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Pretty good guitar player too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Norm Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 If you play guitar...you are a guitarist...to me, it's simple as this.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doth Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 In the words of the great Joe Perry, "Let the music do the talking" Who cares if it is guitarist or guitar player? I just grab the thing with strings on it and rock. What I am called while I am doing it is not important (my wife usually calls me "loud"). Have a good one guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesstringer Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 "The guitarist' date=' IMHO has the ability to animate the instrument in such a way that it becomes, or acts like a living, breathing thing, and communicates as such." I appreciate the distinction you are trying to make,but I think some of that ability is an innate talent...not a learned academic process......that's where the analogy breaks down for me.[/quote'] Exaxctly LB, my sentiments - The guys intiallydescribed in the the op are the type that keep me away from most other forums! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captmidnight Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 well.....I think there are two kinds of both guitarist and guitar players Guitarist 1st kind of guitarist: 3 other guitar players watching and listening and going "WOW now there is a guitarist" 2nd kind: one guy playing like he was the one who invented the guitar and looks down his nose at everyone else and says "now I am one of the greatest guitarist" Guitar player 1st kind: 3 guys listening and watching and saying "damn that guy can play the paint of that ax" 2nd kind: some guy who plays and may not be to good but enjoys the hell out of playing his guitar and if anyone ask him he says "aww heck I just enjoy strumming this old thing" Now the question is...who would you want to sit and make a little music with??? I know which I am and who I would enjoy jamming along with:-$ Capt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 This is a very DEEP question. To truly comprehend it, one must first be able to articulate the difference between a fiddle and a violin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svet Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 A Guitarist considers Noel Gallagher a performer who holds a guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 I dunno...."Practice, Practice, Practice?" ;>) CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - semantics The scientific or philosophical study of the relations of words and their meanings. Note: Semantics is commonly used to refer to a trivial point or distinction that revolves around mere words rather than significant issues: “To argue whether the medication killed the patient or contributed to her death is to argue over semantics.” [Chapter:] World Literature, Philosophy, and Religion The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. As far as I know there was only one guitarist who added "CGP" (certified guitar player) to his name as in the form of an educational degree and while he was certainly a guitarist by anyone's measure, he didn't seem to mind the "player" designation as well.. Much of this discussion is down to semantics but to some degree I think for one to refer to them self as a "guitarist" has a bit of pomposity and vanity involved as opposed to someone who merely states they "play" the guitar. On the other hand, I suppose the "guitarist" designation when referring to someone else could be a form of respect and acknowledgment of their proficiency level again as opposed to someone with a rudimentary knowledge who is simply "playing" the guitar...and I do like the the Noel Gallagher definition but you're going to get some little girl's knickers in a twist with that kind of thing lol. Now, if I think about it I haven't been in a band where I only played a single instrument (either being exclusively a bass player or a guitar player) since perhaps high school so in my self-referential and more egotistical moments ( and as credited on the only real recordings I was ever involved ) I guess I call myself a "multi-instrumentalist" or "utility musician" when I'm being more realistic...Now my ex-wife remarried and this guy is an "artist" which to me means...doesn't really have a job (oh, I guess he does but you know what I mean lol)...sorta like those guys who are "writers'...or "musicians"...or worse..."drummers"...who are guys who like to hang around with musicians..." lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 It's almost nonsense to answer this...but here goes... I think a guitarist is someone who makes their living from playing the guitar. A guitar player is the rest of us, even if you can only play two or three open open chords. A similar question, at what point in your study of music do you consider yourself a musician? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodeMonk Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Guitar Player or Guitarist? To me, not as whole lot of difference between the two, if any. A Guitarist is a Guitar Player while he/she is playing with other musicians (Bassist, Drummer, Keyboardist, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Svet Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 and I do like the the Noel Gallagher definition but you're going to get some little girl's knickers in a twist with that kind of thing lol. :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cujo Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 If women start taking their clothes off while you're playing.....then you my man , are a guitarist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Lister Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 If women start taking their clothes off while you're playing.....then you my man' date=' are a guitarist.[/quote']In that case, I'm just a player. The only G strings I've dropped while I was playing have been the ones on my LP. Oh well..., a person needs to have goals. ¿Toutes les distinctions sans différence, droite? Hit every BLUE NOTE baby..., I'm going to play on:-" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotcanX Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 A good thing in my French language is there is only one word to name a guitar player and it's "guitariste". So I don't see no difference...In my point of view' date=' a guitarist is a guitar player..lollllSo am I for 42 years now.[/quote'] Pas vrai. Vous avez des 'guitaristes' puis vous avez des 'joueurs de guitare'. Pas le même chose. Betcha Stevie Ray Vaughan never thought of himself as a 'guitarist'. That pretty much answers the question as far as I'm concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Sentry Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Pas vrai. Vous avez des 'guitaristes' puis vous avez des 'joueurs de guitare'. Pas le même chose. Betcha Stevie Ray Vaughan never thought of himself as a 'guitarist'. That pretty much answers the question as far as I'm concerned. Hahahha. (pokes head in) I'm not a guitarist.... But I aspire to be one!!! HA! (runs away laughing) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 There are famous guitar players who I consider to be neophytes. Neil Young is one. (sorry Neil). He plays great Rhythm, but don't let him start playing solos...there's just no sense of melody or progression there. Keith Richards once said of Mick Jagger, "Mick's a great fontman, but don't let him get his hands on a guitar...all he does is fram the thing un-musically." Timing is another thing. You can learn all the tabs in the world, but if you have no sense of timing, they will sound like crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochet Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 There are famous guitar players who I consider to be neophytes. Neil Young is one. (sorry Neil). He plays great Rhythm' date=' but don't let him start playing solos...there's just no sense of melody or progression there. [/quote'] Somewhat true. But he has a lot of heart and emotion and it comes through when he plays. There are a lot of far more accomplished players out there. Jazzrock, fusion-types who will have your head spinning with all the progressions, turnarounds and whatnot. But while a admire their technical and theoretical abilities, it's just not tickling me in the right places... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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