Sean Akins wrote:I agree Craig and thanks, but if someone is going to comment on techniques on guitar, especially the way colors does, he should be able to play.
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Now who is the moron? I mean, when did I ever critique your technique? Jesus, it's like your intentionally stupid or something.
I said, from the beginning, you had chops.
But it's what you do with it that counts.
I've met countless guitarists who can shred over the years; guys with technique that is so good it just blows me away. I met a kid (17 or 18) at a Guitar Center a few months back whose sweep picking technique was so clean and flawless, and he made it look so effortless, that I was seriously jealous.
You've got the technical skill. I just haven't heard you do anything with it yet that merits any accolades.
Write something that touches the soul; something with feeling; something that sinks a giant hook into the listeners heart and then tugs on it mercilessly. Feeling doesn't have to be devoid of speed and technique either. I know some old dogs on this board would like to make people think that cutting out speed and cutting down on notes somehow makes a solo "emotional" - but you and I know they're full of sh*t. Petrucci writes some of the most emotional, heartfelt solos I've ever heard, and he manages to use all the tools in his toolbox. The solos and the end of "Octavarium" and "The Best Of Times" are some of the best solos he's written, and they are chock full of emotion.
Sean, you act like you think you're the only guy on the planet with chops, so we should just be automatically blown away by what you can do. But for a lot of us who have been around for decades now, you're just another guy with chops. No big deal - until you do something special with it.
I mean, do you understand? It's like the space shuttle. Dude, putting a space shuttle in space is a big deal - but we've done it so frequently now that, as a nation, it doesn't even warrant back page news. You're launching your space shuttle all over YouTube and going "look at me, I'm awesome!" But we've already seen it so many times by so many other guitar players that it's just not impressive - especially without context!
Context is king - and that means song structure. Putting together a whole package that impresses the listener.
If you were to write a song like "Glasgow Kiss" or something with that kind of combination of technical skill and emotional power... Hey - I'd be in full-on worship mode. But so far I haven't heard anything from you that says you have any command over melody or song structure or creativity. All I hear is a bunch of licks and technique. And as I said, a thousand other guys have come before you and done that already.
If you want to impress people then do something that hits their heartstrings.
