General Music Chat

... Probably not, but check this track and tell me what you think!

http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_9568955

I'm looking for other lead guitarists to work with! Let me know if you like the style and are interested!

-Alek

Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcS_DukrJSM

But is fast necesarily better?

Speed is a necessary element of playing guitar. The faster you can play, the more time you have to play your notes. It doesn't mean you need to go to the races every time you plug in your instrument.

What I'm talking about is similar to the phenomenom that hitters call 'seeing the ball.' you feel like you have all day to make your lick and can afford those short rests that give it 'feel.'

Talbot

Aren't you talking of "phrasing"?

And speed kills, especially your career because if you sound like you are sterile when you play, your music is dead.

Play as fast or as slow as you want to, but DO IT WITH FEELING.

Aren't you talking of "phrasing"?

And speed kills, especially your career because if you sound like you are sterile when you play, your music is dead.

Play as fast or as slow as you want to, but DO IT WITH FEELING.

DITTO

Aren't you talking of "phrasing"?

And speed kills, especially your career because if you sound like you are sterile when you play, your music is dead.

Play as fast or as slow as you want to, but DO IT WITH FEELING.

I'm here too. Just because you can play real fast doesn't make you a great musician, it just generally impresses other people who aren't musicians.

Chaeya

I agree to one extent or another with every post on this thread. The argument at hand seems to "Speed" versus "musical talent" as though the ideas are far away from each other. Though they do differ, they are not as far apart as it's been stated here, and the argument against speed is typically made by those who are in capable of fast and clean. (I do not believe this applies here, but I have seen this in person many times). Steve Vai is amazingly fast, so is Yngwie Malmsteen and John Petrucci. Can it even be THOUGHT that they do not surpass the musical talent and capabilities shown by the majority of the musicians posting in these forums? Michael Angelo Batio is one of the fastest players and maybe his music doesn't bear the musical dynamics of the rest cited in this post, he certainly cannot be discredited MERELY for playing at lightning speed. That was a lot of words to say:

"Music is a combination of two elements; Musical Creativity and Technical Ability. Anything beyond that is left up to opinion".

That's what I think, at least.

Thanks guys!

I like your tones. Good sounding recordings. It did seem that you were playing out of key a bit in the shredz snips. Keep it up and post em when you get em.

Musical taste is a very personal thing. Speed and articulation are just two of a long list of technical guitar skills including: hammer ons, pull offs, string bends, slide, volume swells, glissando, wah, major, minor, pentatonic scales, vibrato, sustain etc. Overuse of any one skill leads to music that is often "less interesting" to a large percentage of the population. Les Paul was pretty fast, and Chet Atkins, James Burton, Charlie Christian, and Joe Pass, but speed was just one of many tools in their gig bags and they keenly understood when to use it, and when to rein it in.

I think Steve Vai is excellent when directed by someone else (Zappa and others). On his own he gets pretty self- indulgent and goes over the top a lot. I Like most of EVH, Satriani and DiMiola but can't listen to Malmsteen or Petrucci. I just don't get the self-absorbed wanking at 400 notes per minute. I need me some theme and melody. I'd much rather listen to BB King. He could create a lot of fine music with just one note. Petrucci is clearly a better guitar technician, maybe BB is the better musician. It's all pretty subjective so who can really say?

Mozart was fast, Chopin was faster. I don't play much piano but I like Mozart better. Such is the nature of music.

If you care about phrasing, since my previous post was obviously un-intelligible, you will care about speed. your phrasing lives in a box bordered by the elments of your manual and mental dexterity, one side of which is speed. The types of phrasings you can do are of necessity limited by the dexterity available.

Different phrasing styles can vary as can the speed of players, and still work. Stevie Ray Vaugn on one hand vs Alexei Laihoi (Children of Bodom) playing his machine gun bursts of notes. Both work. In both cases it works because they utilize their available speed and dexterity to create phrasing that makes them not only sound good but gives them a unique sound.

Not a question of how fast one can play - but of how fast one needs to be able to play to get one's own music working. (or to do tricky riffs in cover tunes)

Speed and other types of dexterity are governed by practice, how you wish your music to sound, and perhaps just a bit of talent?

if you are capable of playing a volley of 1/32 notes then you are capable of exploiting the opportunities for rests in that cluttered measure. Presenting: phrasing - a function of how fast you can or wish to play and how much you got as a player.

Talbot

I like your tones. Good sounding recordings. It did seem that you were playing out of key a bit in the shredz snips. Keep it up and post em when you get em.

Thank you! I will certainly post 'em as they come!

[quote="AlekHall"]... Probably not, but check this track and tell me what you think!

http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_9568955

I'm looking for other lead guitarists to work with! Let me know if you like the style and are interested!

-Alek[/quote

Hey Alek hit me up it's Corey Walker 702)606-3034
We should definitely get together and jam this weekend if your not too busy also see you at fright dome peace out bro

LOLZ I wonder how long it will take to this thread deleted now that he posted a phone number on it.


PS: Talbot, I like your music. You'd be a hot prospect up here or in the UK, especially being a bassist.

Thanks Scott

Oddly enough I've been focusing on six string guitar for the last few years but recently got a call for a bass player and I'm fixin' to check it out this weekend.

I write my songs on guitar and like to shred with the boys but when it comes time to work a gig I'm usually the guy with the bass.

I learned early on that a bass player who couldn't find work should get himself a seeing eye dog!

Play bass in the UK? that would be wild - and me an old Mott the Hoople fan!

Talbot