General Music Chat

Is it time to face the music? Is rock-n-roll past history? Or, will this new development make guitar players as rare as they were in the 60s/70s heydays of rock and roll, causing a come-back of rock artists who are actually musicians?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics ... 3510242d97

Around 2012, the gender mix of McKnight Music Academy student base shifted dramatically. The eight to 12 girls taking lessons jumped to 27 to 59 to 119, eventually outnumbering the boys. Why? He asked them.

Taylor Swift.

Nobody would confuse the pop star’s chops with Bonnie Raitt’s. But she does play a guitar.

Andy Mooney, the Fender CEO, calls (Taylor) Swift “the most influential guitarist of recent years.”

“I don’t think that young girls looked at Taylor and said, ‘I’m really impressed by the way she plays G major arpeggios.’ ” Mooney says. “They liked how she looked, and they wanted to emulate her.”

When McKnight launched a video series on YouTube, he did an episode called “Is Taylor Swift the next Eddie Van Halen?” He wasn’t talking about technique. He was talking about inspiring younger players. The video series, in the end, grew faster than guitar sales or lessons. Earlier this year, McKnight shut down his store.

The videos? He’ll keep doing them. They’re making money.

yod, you are making me laugh.. a first..

Really? I thought I had provided better entertainment over the years than just once?

Did you read the article? Guitar popularity is falling. Probably because it requires work and patience, but falling nevertheless.

And really, the last (male) guitar hero was probably Nirvana and Cobain didn't do solos, so I can see why. Who else has come along in the meantime? Coldplay? Piano band.

POD is one of the few bands in the last 2 decades that I respect for their guitar work. Who else? Trying to think of someone who rocks (no country bands, please) on an electric guitar in the last 2o years.

hmmmm

I have been saying this for years. There are some newer bands that have great guitar work. Guitar is still respected by the talent and work it takes to master, problem is the younger generation doesn't want to work for anything anymore.

All girl guitar bands are are really popular in Japan. Mostly they are following a Ventures influence.


Strawberry Parfait wipeout
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ4J36quoJk

Driving Guitars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz2TnAuei10

The Nontures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prSO1JuAXT4

Cherry Spice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0EYaWZY4rM

Guitarist to watch. Ben Verellen of Helms Alee. A trio consisting of female rhythm section as well. All sing, all have chops. He plays heavy and light in the same song better than anyone I've ever heard and he builds his own amps that are sought after by pros.

https://youtu.be/OkkIQPfPyT8

https://youtu.be/-ckMSmGIP3w

They miss a lot of really important points.....

I don't disagree entirely yet I don't think the analysis is correct.

It seems that we are fractured as a society and that is reflected in music. What wasn't mentioned in this article was the fact that there were only 3 channels on a TV from the 50s through the 70s. When cable came along, there was one channel that specialized in music video (MTV), and eventually a "classic" channel was added (VH1). Our musical heroes were curated by record companies who invested a lot into artist development.

Rock in the 80s was either U2/Police British music, or west coast hair farmers. That was also when record companies stopped pushing boundaries as much as regurgitating a safe formula. Then along came cable, then the internet, and everyone could tune in to whatever micro-niche they wanted to hear.

Since then you can count the groups who have been experimental or innovative on your fingers and toes. I tend to think hip hop is the biggest reason for a decline in guitar students. It's just easier to talk with a drum beat than to spend time working out a song with a full band.

As far as writing, I don't think today's songwriters are as well-rounded musically. We only draw on the last 40 years at most, whereas the Beatles were drawing on everything from Beethoven to Little Richard. Literature held a higher place in lyric writing during the golden age of rock, too.

So I think it's more an overall change in society than just a phase of recorded music. We are heading towards a new "disrupter" and it's anyone's guess what that will look like...but I can tell you what it won't look like. The past.


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Who else? Trying to think of someone who rocks (no country bands, please) on an electric guitar in the last 2o years.

hmmmm

when he's not enthralling 15 yr old girls crooning sappy pop tunes....john mayer is a very respectable gtrst who always includes lots of old fashioned guitar gun slinging in his shows. no doubt he's created LOTS of interest in newbies to pick up a gtr.

you said no country, but you can't overlook brad paisley, who besides still being one of the most popular country artists, is a scary good gtr player and always features plenty gtr work in his songs and performances.

the problem as i see it with modern music is that it's moved away from BANDS performing and having their own identifiable sound to more of a homogenized, standard, sterile, and across the board uniform sound.

used to be you'd hear the first 10 seconds of a song from The Who, Stones, Deep Purple, CCR. etc....and you'd instantly know who you were listening to....sometimes just from the sound of the drums! they all had their own distinct sound. now, everything sounds exactly the same and completely faceless to me.

"now, everything sounds exactly the same and completely faceless to me."

That is the problem in a nutshell. Nobody would ever think of cutting a speaker with a knife to get a specific sound. It's all perfect. perfectly boring.

Talbot

The trend has been for less heavy guitar for years, but the good news is you can still always find what you're looking for out there. It may require a little more work to find since the radio sucks, but I love guitar music and have no prob finding tons of good stuff.