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Technique, Technique, Technique


daveinspain

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I have thought it about this a fair amount over the years, and I don' think the two are in any way mutually exclusive. I know lots of guys who have technique to die for AND soul/melody. Sure there are some soulless shredders out there, but there are guys who have poor technique and no soul too! (sometimes it seems there are a lot of them ^_^ ) Slow and sloppy does not equal soulful for sure! I guess I think it's like any other art form in that you need technique to allow your soul to show.

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What surfpup said...

 

 

I will add this, in my case, my technique sucks (IMO) but I'm happy with my playing and so was my audience when I played live and so are my customers now that I'm a session/recording musician. I can shred and used to (ok, still do when Im alone), but as I spent too much time trying to achieve the speed I ended up into, I overlooked some things that I lack now, so now Im aiming at more slow and tasty licks... to add a lot of soul to my playing instead of just playing faster and faster... (not that my playing was soulless... but I want it to be 50-50 instead of 35-65 it is now, and the 10-90 it used to be).

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I like playing both.

I dont want to be a one trick pony.

 

If you want to do session playing (like I hope to do one day), then its probably best to explore many different styles and become efficient in as many as possible, that way you will be able to get more and more sessions come your way.

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Man I used to try to see how many notes I could fit into a measure , Now I try to make them "fit" in where they belong , sometimes it just works out that you throw a speedy lick in there if you can, follow it up with feeling ,

Play from the gut , not the head ,

 

Thats how SLASH does it ....O:)

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Speed will come in time. I strive for accuracy and feeling.

Speed does not impress me at all.

Okay, technically it might be dazzling, but VH, Vai, Satriani, Malmsteen, all the shredders put me to sleep.

Seriously, I get tired just listening....

 

It's gotta have feeling, a melody of SOME sort is a must.

Blues and southern rock are my first love, and all the "classic" rock from the seventies.

 

I've had fellow players give me sh!t because I don't have the fast fingers to do blazing solo stuff.

I'm content to play rhythm, riffs, grooves and such - and the occasional solo.

Never aspired to be a prodigy, I just like to play - and play it RIGHT.

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Man I used to try to see how many notes I could fit into a measure ' date=' Now I try to make them "fit" in where they belong , sometimes it just works out that you throw a speedy lick in there if you can, follow it up with feeling ,

Play from the gut , not the head ,

 

Thats how [b']SLASH[/b] does it ....=D>

 

+1

 

In fact... from now on, every comment you make gets +1 from me AXE...

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"Technique" is the foundation. It needs to be good/great. But, it needs to be practiced, to the

point that it's automatic, too...

So that one can play from the heart, and the technique will be there, to support "soulful,

and melodic" playing. You can teach "technique" to anyone (within their obvious personal limitations).

Teaching "Soul" is impossible. You can develop what one has, already, but you either have it,

or you don't. And, you can pretty much tell, who does, and who are the "posers!" IMHO.

 

CB

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I read "finger of fire" to mean an extreme version of speed and accuracy. Sure, any player needs to have some degree of chops and accurate technique. It won't sound soulful or melodic if your fingers aren't hitting the right frets or your other hand isn't picking a little cleanly. But I would pass on the ability to play with blazing speed if I had to choose.

 

When playing live, I try to concentrate on playing appropriate parts at the right time. Also I try to know when to not play. It's also good to know when to hit the strings hard or gently strum or maybe finger pick etc. Even knowing when to strum up instead of down. These things are also "technique" but they are used to get the right feel or soul of the song.

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I would have to say feel and soul, some of the best solo's are not Petrucci speed (albeit he is really skilled and I love to watch him in action on the fretboard), a Lester sounds so much better when you let it sing, forget about sweep picking etc just let her sing!

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