Guthrie truly is a gold standard to applying technical and highly advanced concepts to music, as well as just enjoy making music to begin with, as everything contributes to making music, no matter how simplistic or complex the style is! A once in a lifetime sort of musician if I may.
Breakdown Buckethead and use all his genres not just the crazy shred stuff! He’s got a lot of really chill and groove stuff that he improvises over as well. He doesn’t get enough credit for his more thoughtful compositions IMO!!!
I didn't see Petrucci smile once. James did eventually when Abasi turned to him. Abasi the only one really actually enjoying it and not feeling emasculated.
His solo at the end of Drive Home (Steven Wilson) is possibly my favorite of all time. So emotional and technical simultaneously. Just on another level.
The best description of Guthrie's playing that I've read is that it seems like his ideas get from his brain to his fingers without any friction whatsoever. He's amazing 👌🏻
It's fantastic that Hans Zimmer recognised Guthrie's stunning virtuosity, giving him some fantastic AAA time on his stage. You can see Hans' joy with Guthrie's otherworldly improvisation skills. Just as maestro jeff Beck, RIP, was a genius...a Guitarists Guitarist, then so is Guthrie for the same 'unique' reasons. There will never be another JBeck...or GGovan.
I saw the Aristocrats live last year, and even got to hang out with Marco and Guthrie after the show at a pub for about 2 hours. Truly the best musical experience of my life. Guthrie
Guthrie seems like a nice guy, also highly intelligent. I think he was originally studying English Literature at Oxford when he left, so he didn't even study music.
Generally, yes. But I think he also feels intimidated when he looks at Max Ostro or Matteo Mancuso who at their age can play any of his songs with their eyes closed.
@@alegutierrezmusic well, that's exactly what they're very good at, improvisation. They're not great composers, they don't have well-known songs. They are just very skilled at what they do, much more skilled than Govan was at their age. And it is not just my opinion, Al di Meola or Vai think the same.
@@davidderoux7552 I don't think so, Guthrie worked in Guitar techniques magazine playing rock, funk, jazz, blues, country, pop, soul, tropical, classical. Just show me those guys playing that variety. Also Erotic Cakes is one of the best albums ever.
For those curious, the guys in the thumbnail at 0:43 are Gonçalo Pereira (guitarist, left) and Dikk (bassist, right). They're absolute ducking legends.
Sorry you have to re-upload, but that just gives us a chance to watch it again! Your channel gives me hope for the future of guitar. Your analysis of the instrument, its place in the world of music, the future of music's ability to sustain itself when people don't want to pay for it anymore, is so spot on. Keep it up!
Maybe he is the most impressive guitar ever, but I can't hear his solo stuff for too long. At a composition level it gets boring for me. My favorite guitarist in that aspect is Nick Johnston: I never get bored with his compositions and guitar expression through the music.
I disagree that he is the greatest. He could have been the greatest. He maybe is the greatest at improvising and technique, but i find his compositions ( or call it: overall artistic output) lacking. Funnily enough, when i think of Guthrie i think of wasted potential, and thats just crazy. I mean come on, "Erotic Cakes" is a nice record but its nowhere near the creative level of the really great Guitar Albums like for example "Passion and Warfare". To me its just sad that a Genius like him is basically just known for a few Guest Solos and some noodling in online clips.
That level of improvisational skill that comes from having a complete understanding of the instrument, the theory behind the songs he's playing, and being able to play exactly what he hears in his head. This is why we shouldn't be afraid of theory. His use of jazz concepts and processes in his playing in a rock and prog context is amazing. Practice targeting those chord tones people! (myself included!) He's also such a great and humble guy. I got to interview him before an Aristocrats show a few years ago. The "you have a 10 minute slot" turned into a half hour chat about all sorts.
No one improvising is thinking of music theory. Or at least they shouldn't be. If you're standing there as the guy in the video suggested thinking about what scale you should be playing then it's not a surprise you'd struggle. Note too a lot of this supposed "Improvisation" has been rehearsed. He's very good but the best way of getting better is to look at what he does objectively rather than creating myths. Because you can become a stage magician only after you realise that the guy has learnt a bunch of skills to shuffle cards, hide things in his palm, misdirect etc which you can certainly obtain some or all of these skills even if you ultimately fall short of their level of skill. If you think the stage magician is doing actual magic then you'll obviously never be able to do what you think he is doing. One of the most important things to realise is that Guthrie didn't pick up the guitar, watch a few clips of some advanced guitar player and then think "That's what I'm going to do" - he learned to play the guitar by listening to a ton of records and playing along. A lot of that playing seems far easier but the temptation to skip learning it and go straight to playing Eruption should be avoided. The biggest mistakes beginners make in guitar is (a) Thinking they're not a beginner and (b) Trying to skip learning everything they perceive as somehow lesser than the music they like (even though they can't play it well), (c) Believing that a skilled players ability is unobtainable and the result of some mystical mojo (not a surprise if you tried to play it as a beginner) and (d) thinking that because they bought a guitar in 1994 they've been playing "for 30 years" and believing this proves that the kid on the internet who is playing better than them age 10 must be hugely talented because "I've been playing for 30 years and I didn't get that good" But if you have some kind of backing track and you want to play over the top : listen to the backing track, imagine a solo that fits - now play what you're imagining. Before playing it, sing it. Now find those notes on the guitar and play them. Make sure you're playing what you're singing not singing what you're playing. The former is how you will (eventually) be able to play whatever you imagine. The latter is where you end up just noodling the same Am pentatonic riffs you've played for 2 decades because you're being led by the patterns you've already learned. Remember : if the notes you play don't sound like the music you want to hear then you have to learn a different pattern of notes (without going too deep into every other aspect, obviously there's more than just the pitch, there's a ton of nuance to how notes are articulated - well here's the thing the more nuanced your imagined aural sound and the more time you spend making the sound coming out of the guitar be exactly what you're imaging, the better your improvisation will be) It's like can you pick up a guitar and play 3 blind mice? Find the tune? If you can then you obviously have some of the skill already, but there's a ton more to learn to develop this skill other than just playing the right notes in roughly the right order. That's why if you're trying to play someone else's solo throw the transcript in the bin and listen to it and then find it on the guitar - and really listen - listen to every nuance. Think about how many people have sat listening to the comfortably numb solo and they know every nuance - they go to a pink floyd gig and Dave plays a note and they think "Nah that was wrong" - that's the level of listening. The other thing is when you're playing don't just listen to your own playing and start noodling your fave riff because your playing will sound out of time, possibly out of tune too. In your head you'll think it was great but listen back to the recording and it'll suck. Listen to the drums and bass and play with them. When I play in my mind there's 2 basic ideas, one is I'm actually making the drum sounds and the snare and kick really make my notes punch - it's like when you play a First person shooter and you press the mouse button and there's a big shotgun sound, well that makes me think my click had a lot of weight and power behind it. Or the drummer plays a fill and I'm playing my notes on the fill - you can see the Aristocrats doing that all the time the drummer is playing every note guthrie is. The other thing is where I wait for the drum and then play - for syncopation. And of course, start everything on the and of the 4 not on beat 1 and when you finish a phrase, pause and then play another small motif. Do the same with any and all melodies or stuff you hear. Find it and play it on the guitar. Don't go near tab. Note here : there's no musical theory, no chords are being named, no notes are being named. You're listening to noises, imagining noises in your head and singing and playing those noises. It's entirely about sound. That's what music is. Later when you're playing at Milton Keynes bowl someone else will transcribe it and say "Eww, he's playing a secondary dominant minor arpeggio with a flat 9 - genius" but you will know that you just played what you heard in your mind. Just like when Beato grins and says to Sting some dumb thing about music theory to sound impressive and Sting just shakes his head and says "Nah, I didn't write the songs like that" Watch Paul McCartney figuring out Get back, he's just strumming a guitar, finding a couple of chords to play back and forth and singing over the top whatever he hears in his head. The creative process really isn't about music theory. That's not to say you can't do that or write to some formula or rules - in the way that some baroque music did, or 12 tone music can sometimes follow rules, or math rock might just pick a pattern and play it on the neck somewhat independently of how the result sounds. You can do anything you like is the only rule - but if your goal is to be able to listen to a backing track, or a group of other musicians playing and add something to that then the skill is pretty much entirely based on sound, real (in terms of what you hear) and imaginary (the aural image you create in your head) and developing the skill to be able to play the notes you're imagining - it's not about thinking "Mixolydian Lydian dominant whole tone arabic scale can be played over a Gm(b5) add 9 #11 chord" because by the time you've decided that they are 5 bars further along playing an Ab Maj 7 / F and you're googling on your phone for the scale to use. Guthrie has also talked at length about why the scale doesn't tell you what the right notes are or what you should play - and quite often contains several "wrong" notes. The way to improve you imagination, i.e if you get to the stage where you think "Well I can play everything I imagine, but I only imagine Am pentatonics" is to listen to lots of music - especially the music you wish you could sound like. Listen to their solos and melodies - and your imagination should be expanded. If you listen to nothing but Yngwie for several hours a a day eventually you'll start to imagine similar ideas. And that is the idea, it's not about trying to play wonderful slippery thing note for note, albeit that is a valid way of learning some guitar related stuff. Think about classical musicians their reason for existing is typically being able to play, to an extremely high standard, the repertoire of the world's greatest composers, note for note, to near perfection. If you put a piece of extremely complex sheet music they'll sight read it - but if you asked some of them to "play something over this chord progression" they'd be stuck having never improvised before. Improvisation isn't the sign of a great musician vs a bad one - it's just one particular skill that a musician can develop. Really the only trick to this is getting it to real time. i.e if you do this properly at first you're probably not going to proceed very quickly. You're going to put the start of the backing on a loop, imagine something and then spend some time trying to play it, trying not to forget what you thought (again, sing it - put a mic and record that if need be) you might even find that you can imagine sounds or playing that you lack the technique to play, so you have to develop that as well. If you're used to noodling Am pentatonic and feel like you've taken a step backwards. Eventually you will find you are playing what you're imagining with less delay, less hitting wrong notes, less effort - and then your friends will think you're magic, but you'll know that all you did was sit down for a few hours a day working on the skill.
Very much Agreed! and it's not even subjective, Guthrie is the BEST i've heard, there are very few others who are faster like (Shawn Lane), very few more technical (Bumblefoot), and very few more iconic (Yngwie), but no one has a better command of all the musical nuances of the instrument more than GG, he is the master of "textbook" musical theories, modes, key change, etc and he is also master in breaking the rules of the textbooks, always combining the right notes with those "wrong notes" that sound good with the right notes, he can practically play it ALL👍
Guthrie is in a complete different level, in my opinion the best ever. It's such a same that he's still not being fully appreciated by the guitar community, I've seen videos of people covering his songs on tiktok and the viewers are completely oblivious to who this great man is. He gets a lot of praise but for what he does and who he is he is and probably will always be underated.
If you are on social media where adult guitarists hang out, you will see Guthrie in every guitar conversation. I wouldn’t expect much from kids on tik tok but it’s great that people are doing his covers and sharing his work with a younger generation. 🤷🏻♂️
Had the pleasure of meeting Guthrie years ago before he was even remotely famous (1990, I think) at the YMCA in Chelmsford. We were both in bands at the time and one of my bandmates was saying you have to meet Guthrie - he's a guitar god in the making. We had a nice chat but we were both fanboying over the Phil Hilborne Band more than anything else. I remember he was wearing an Yngwie Malmsteen Rising Force T-shirt - he worshipped Yngwie back then.
My favourite Guthrie moment ever was during his jam-off with Kiko Loureiro when Kiko's guitar fell due to strap failure and Guthrie spontaneously played the theme from Beethoven's 5th Symphony like an epic fail theme XD
Guthrie Govan is like the cross fit of guitar players. He can play ANYTHING very well. But he is not the best in either style or genre. I'd say he is the most versitile player who have walked the earth
Of all the greats that exist Guthrie is at the tippy top of that mountain… he can do whatever he wants on the fretboard but most of all he has the tastiest of licks ALWAYS. Never a repeated phrase unless it’s called for and intentional.. just simply a brilliant soul
GG is not great. He's excellent. He has superior technical and intuitive guitar skills that make guitarist fanboys cream their pants. But greatness is influence. Greatness makes you wake your mama after you heard 'Eruption' and force her to drive you to Guitar Center to buy you an electric guitar and amp, then you spend the next ten years of your life playing 8-10 hours a day perfecting your skill. No one, but other guitar players knows who GG is. The 'Edge' can hit one note and you know it's him. What's GGs signature sound? There are at least 100 guitarists[Not technically better]who are greater than him. He's not great. He's excellent. And that's not bad.
Allan holdsworth is the greatest guitarist of all time. Govan is a fantastic shredder, if that's what turns you on. Cliches on steroids. He doesn't have the compositional depth of holdsworth. Nor the advancement & innovative use of unorthodox scales & chords etc If you can't tell this, then you are lacking in perception
IMO there is no best guitarist in the world. If I had to pick a best, it would be someone who wrote and performed music that average people (i.e. non guitarists / musicians) actually listen to and love over years. For me that might be EVH, however there are many others.
I stumbled upon Guthrie Govan yesterday while browsing on Spotify. When I heard the first track on West Coast Grooves I was astounded by the virtuosity of this guitarist. My immediate reaction was why have I never heard of this guy before, why isn't he as famous as Eric Clapton, Jeff beck or Joe Satriani. To my ears his playing style at times is very reminiscent of Walter Becker. Why isn't this guy playing to stadiums?
That's his best stuff. In any order, pick Ancestral, Drive Home and Regret. It doesn't get much better than that. Honourable mention to "Silver Tongued Devil" - a collab with Nick Johnston where they have a guitar duel at the end. Imo it's some of Guthrie's finest work. ruclips.net/video/DoKdeDkYTv0/видео.html - 7:05 here. Just listen to that. Probably improvised too!
This is just me lol, GG is a phenomenal generation talent but imo maybe due to his fusion playing he could be "all over the place" in a very short span of time. And there is no like, definitive sound that with a few notes you'll recognize its GG instantly. But again these are all subjective
I’ve been paying attention to metal music and modern music pretty intently for decades. I’ve never heard of this guy ever once. Name one great song he played on or wrote. Is this the guy in the Aristocrats? If so this totally makes sense. I went to see the aristocrats a few months ago and I literally had to leave because it was so difficult to pay attention. The pretentiousness in the room I now remember it there was a gray haired guy it was this guy. The concert was unbearable. I hope I’m wrong about who this was. It was an endless useless pointless guitar show off. Then this grey haired dude talked and talked for minutes on end. It was The only concert I left in this way in the last five years. My buddy and I joke and say boy the show wasn’t so great but at least it wasn’t as bad as the aristocrats.
his talent is only equalled by his humility ^^ He's by far the best guitarist i ever heard but he doesn't go all Malmsteen about it. What i also like about him is that he doesn't play for the audience, for fame or for money but he plays on all kinds of projects he likes for the sake of music itself.. which is precisely what got him his following and recognition (and hopefully money !) If music is an universal lenguage that talks to the soul, then by Jove is his playing witty.
great choices to show off how masterful guthrie truly is. another one of my favorites is his improv over a Larry Carlton style backing track from a JamTrackCentral youtube video. truly mind blowing what he can come up with!
I discovered Guthrie through his columns in Guitar Techniques years ago, when I was a student (early 2000's). Εven by the demos in the magazine I singled him out as an astounding musician. That was even earlier than the early YT days and I desperately searched for clips of him playing or doing other work. Eventually things picked up and he burst onto the scene. How could he not? I also met him once... you could not find a more down to earth, cool, encouraging person. Cracking dry humour as well. What would we do without Uncle Guthrie...
He is one of the most incredible players, Rick Beato also says that he hardly can hear another rock guitarist who would improvise, not shred. He said Pat Metheny and Guthri can do it indeed. Anyways, I love Alex Hutchings, Matteo Mancuso as well
What Rick says about Guthrie is exactly what I get from Max Ostro but even more so. Max has improvised everything since 2020 and if you go back and watch, you may discover it’s more refined and memorable. Even less “shreddy”. Max never over does it. He is the “less is more” guitarist for me. Not to take anything from Guthrie because he’s probably the most “technically accomplished” guitarist on earth, but listen to “groove on” by Guthrie AND Max. I feel it’s a great example of just how refined and tasteful Max is. It’s important to note that Guthrie’s was 1st take but even still, I think Max would’ve done a better 1st take. He seems to care about “restraint” a little more than Guthrie, imo.
@@thatsamazin- I think I agree with you. Some nicer melodic lines appear at Max. Maybe less repetition - oh, and , it s personal again , better guitar tones. Guthrie's sound is annoyingly icey for me
Muting Velcro bands>>>no open strings, no harmonics>>> no fun? Great video but sorry no one’s better than Scotty Anderson… Look him up…period..paragraph end of story.
YES, Syu is so damn underrated. His solos are technical and combined with that extremely good sense of melody that a lot of Japanese musicians have. Perfection
Sometimes, just playing for the fun of it and having a blast like Angus Young and etc. Can be so much more interesting to listen to instead of a bunch of technical 💩 I would hate to think you all think technicality makes a great guitarist. Greatest? We'll see you in about 15 or 20 years 🎯🐑
Had a chance to see The Aristocrats back in August, it was an incredible experience. Every guitarist NEEDS to see this guy live. You can watch videos of him playing thousand times, but seeing him do it right in front of my eyes is one of the most incredible things I've ever witnessed
Can’t tell if you’re joking or not but funnily enough, he played in the supergroup prog band ASIA. The band was formed in 1981 But he joined them in like the 2000s
Guthrie is on another level. Finished convincing myself of that after listening him play alongside Kiko Loureiro, a very technical but clever phrasing guitarist and made him look like a 12yo from a school talent show. Guthire speaks with his guitar, and he is a master in storytelling.
Great Video - and explanation - I can hear that you that you have some good chops and ear to get the sound and notes. looking forward to checking out some more of your vids.
@Tele_gram_me_The_Bradley_Hall sure anytime... just had a look at your lord of the rings rendition from last year....not only enjoyed it and will no doubt rewatching with guitar to learn and play along.... many thanks
What's Lane done that's melodically pleasing? Can you link some stuff? I know he was a virtuoso but I never heard anything that made me want to listen for anything more than three minutes. Serious. Love Bucket. He's quite limited in his styles (compared to Guthrie anyway) but still incredible at what he does.
@@Cheximus Same unfortunately. I tried listening to Shawn Lane and wasn't blown away. I tried Bumblefoot as well but was too boring. I can sit back and listen to either Guthrie or Buckethead though and not get bored (or at least the better albums). It's like they are storytellers with their guitars, they have this idea of a story they want to tell and the guitar is just a tool to do that, it's not an essential part of the music.
Dear Bradley, There used to be clip, where Guthrie is a guest for Zappa plays Zappa. Dweezil Zappa gives Guthrie various tasks in the video (play blues solo, play classical etude, play super-funk) and Guthrie performs these. Finally, Dweezil and Guthrie go for harmonized solo?!!! I think that Guthrie follows Dweezil's playing and creates harmony line.
The track that got me hooked to Guthrie was the live playthrough of Fives he did ages ago that was uploaded on RUclips, that's the first ever thing I saw by him and became an instant classic in my book. I haven't really dug too deep in his stuff actually, but Erotic Cakes is right up there with Rising Force, Surfing With The Alien and all the other "must have" guitar achievement albums. I'm seeing him later this year in London with Hans Zimmer though, very excited for that.
I forgot who it was,but I remember reading in a Guitar World interview when I was young, some guru (probably Vai) said something along the lines of learning everything you can while practicing so you can forget about it when you play.
I would love to see a video like this on Alexi Laiho! I feel like his songwriting and soloing has some quality that others lack that I just can't put my finger on. Absolutely my favorite metal songwriter/guitarist.
I love Alexi because he had an almost fuck you/ punk attitude to playing. It was very rugged, yet articulated beautifully and you can hear in recordings it’s in single takes most of the time. Composing of the songs was made with a lot of syncopated rhythm in mind and shock value sounds like harmonics
Jamming with good improvisers is one of the most fulfilling experiences that a musician can have. Guthrie is by far the greatest improviser I've ever heard.
Nah I don't agree at all. His solo stuff is just EXTREMELY short and uninspiring for me. When you predominantly only make songs that are 90 seconds to 180 seconds long the song is over before you've even got into it. It's nothing like listening to anything from the classic metal greats like Iron Maiden, Metallica, which have so many iconic songs that are orgasmic to your ears and immortalised in recording. I'm definitely not denying his live performing and improvising ability but when you're just listening to studio recorded material, his stuff just isn't the most audibly satisfying, compared to like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, etc.
I used to play way more than I do now, but it was always an improvisation. If I wasn't coming up with my own riffs, it was jamming an improvised solo over my favorite bands. I read the book "The Zen of Guitar" when I was a teenager and it gave me the information I needed to recreate the "magic" I was hearing from my guitar idols. I kept thinking "these guys are human just like me there has to be a way to play like that!". The book taught me the art of trusting myself in the moment, and how to play a feeling more so than a defined phrase or melody. Reminds me of the movie The Last Samurai where the other samurai keep telling Tom Cruise "Too much mind" when he keeps loosing in practice sword fights to the master. He was thinking too much. When I improvise I'm trying to not think and let the solo "play me". Of course that don't mean I never have ideas, but I let it flow with the goal of getting back to no mind and using emotion. If there is to much mind going on I'll wait and try to deliberately play the next note when I least expect it with feeling. Over time you learn to "talk" (you are mostly in a flow state when talking, occasionally thinking of the next thing to say) and the feeling you get in this zone is unreal. Pure joy! Guthrie has a technical mastery and can also "talk" which is extremely rare. People who I used to jam with were amazed that I seemed to always be able to hit the "right" notes. Nothing amazing about it at all, it was easy to me! And the more I could be in the zone the better it felt, which is how I judged how well I played. I would be willing to bet if you asked Guthrie how well he thinks he played in any given performance he would probably answer with something like "It felt pretty good." I was chasing a feeling, not some clever riff.
Every guitarists “first time Guthrie experience“ is the same. Regardless of what year you discovered him, we hear the same report. It’s a life changing thing. It changes what you thought was possible, and your trajectory on the instrument. All of the sudden no other hero matters. You will spend days, weeks, months, even years trying to learn as much as you can from the guy. He is the master.
I've seen Guthrie play with the Aristocrats a couple of times in small clubs and you can see in his face the feel he has for the music! He knows where every note is on the guitar neck and he just plays whatever he wants! I agree that he's probably the GOAT!
I discovered Guthrie back in 93/94 when I used buy guitar techniques magazine and you could listen to his lessons on the CD that came with it. Been a fan ever since and would listen over and over again just for his playing. You could just tell from those CD lessons that he was on another level. His lessons would sound better than the original recordings he was transcribing.
'I regret writing that' -GG on that Waves loop video, a better example would be Regret #9 where he played with Steven Wilson, arguably one of the best improvised solo.
I've bought a ticket to go see Hans Zimmer and his live band in 12 days -I love Hans Zimmer but I only really want to go because of Guthrie! I've never been more excited in my life, I genuinely struggle to stop smiling because I just feel so amazing. I already know it's going to be the greatest night of my life, and I don't even care that I'm going alone because I just wanna see Guthrie playing live, in his zone. So close to seeing him perform!!!!!!!!!!!! Guthrie is god.
I really like this format! A great way to highlight what makes great guitarists so amazing, with your informed help for us mere watchers and guitar appreciators. Guthrie certainly is unbelievable. Hopefully the analysis of Jason Becker and Shawn Lane are also on their way 🤘😁
I’m sure most have already seen it, but for those who haven’t: The end solo is the waves loop section of “words of wisdom with Guthrie Govan at G4 part 5/5.” The whole thing is great.
To be honest, I think that cheeky phrase was one of the very few times when we hear Guthrie messing up a line (and now there is actual proof, lol!). Something slips from under his fingers or he has a momentary brain-hiccup and is not sure what to play. But he saves it immediately and then goes into that blistering flurry of notes. You are right though, he can use quirks and cool phrases and make them sound like it is the most natural thing.
Guthrie truly is a gold standard to applying technical and highly advanced concepts to music, as well as just enjoy making music to begin with, as everything contributes to making music, no matter how simplistic or complex the style is! A once in a lifetime sort of musician if I may.
Breakdown Buckethead and use all his genres not just the crazy shred stuff! He’s got a lot of really chill and groove stuff that he improvises over as well. He doesn’t get enough credit for his more thoughtful compositions IMO!!!
You may..
@@Transcendental1112 There are many videos on RUclips analysing some of Buckethead's slow songs like Whitewash.
@@holliswilliams8426 I’m talking about his entire Pikes like Buildor and Sparks in the Dark. Not his popular stuff…gotta dig deeper.
non-standard, God
Petrucci and Abasi smiling uncontrollably at his playing says it all.
I didn't see Petrucci smile once. James did eventually when Abasi turned to him. Abasi the only one really actually enjoying it and not feeling emasculated.
My man comming back to re comment the viedeo haahha
@@agustinalessio timestamp?
@@Cheximus look at 8:20 in the original vid (the title in youtube is '' All Star Jam at John Petrucci's Guitar Universe 2.0 '')
@@agustinalessio Andy had the best moment of them there for sure!
His solo at the end of Drive Home (Steven Wilson) is possibly my favorite of all time. So emotional and technical simultaneously. Just on another level.
Yeah, I fell in love with his playing through Steven Wilson as well! What a truly awesome guitarist!
Regret #9 for the win
ancestral
That was the first time I saw him, mind melting.
It blew my mind that Steven wrote the Drive home solo, but guthrie guthrified it. Most of the emotional stuff is from stevens demo solo.
It looks like he's bypassing Guthrie the Grey and ascending straight to Guthrie the White, in that Zimmer band clip.
Absolute legend!
Hahahaa right
The best description of Guthrie's playing that I've read is that it seems like his ideas get from his brain to his fingers without any friction whatsoever. He's amazing 👌🏻
He has achived Music Superconductivity?
It's fantastic that Hans Zimmer recognised Guthrie's stunning virtuosity, giving him some fantastic AAA time on his stage. You can see Hans' joy with Guthrie's otherworldly improvisation skills. Just as maestro jeff Beck, RIP, was a genius...a Guitarists Guitarist, then so is Guthrie for the same 'unique' reasons. There will never be another JBeck...or GGovan.
Its so sad how many guitar greats be have lost so early. For example Randy Rhoads, Dimebag darrel, Shawn lane, to name a tiny portion.
Guthrie Govan is a legend and Erotic Cakes is a masterpiece. Glad to see others show appreciation for him.
I saw the Aristocrats live last year, and even got to hang out with Marco and Guthrie after the show at a pub for about 2 hours. Truly the best musical experience of my life. Guthrie
That’s awesome!! saw him in la and it’s like witnessing a true god playing music
Guthrie seems like a nice guy, also highly intelligent. I think he was originally studying English Literature at Oxford when he left, so he didn't even study music.
@@holliswilliams8426 ya he’s self taught by playing along with albums, which is mind blowing
He's the textbook definition of an intimidating talent that makes you realize your status as a mere mortal.
Generally, yes. But I think he also feels intimidated when he looks at Max Ostro or Matteo Mancuso who at their age can play any of his songs with their eyes closed.
@@davidderoux7552 He doesn't feel intimidated by anyone lol, it's about the music and nothing else.
@@davidderoux7552 those guys are technically good but Guthrie can improvise on many genres like no one else.
@@alegutierrezmusic well, that's exactly what they're very good at, improvisation. They're not great composers, they don't have well-known songs. They are just very skilled at what they do, much more skilled than Govan was at their age. And it is not just my opinion, Al di Meola or Vai think the same.
@@davidderoux7552 I don't think so, Guthrie worked in Guitar techniques magazine playing rock, funk, jazz, blues, country, pop, soul, tropical, classical. Just show me those guys playing that variety. Also Erotic Cakes is one of the best albums ever.
Him and Shawn Lane are the two best ever.
Had to like, just for your Type 0 logo alone :)
and allan holdsworth is their daddy :)
Shawn Lane’s outro solo from ‘Let It Be’ (with Paul Gilbert at NAMM 93) is the most brilliant guitar playing I’ve ever heard
@@paveantelic7876 I was just about to mention the legend, good on ya. :)
Nope.
For those curious, the guys in the thumbnail at 0:43 are Gonçalo Pereira (guitarist, left) and Dikk (bassist, right). They're absolute ducking legends.
Monstros!
There's gotta be a ducking Dikk joke in there somewhere 🤔
Watched it yesterday. But I'm going to take a shower now and just let the video run 😄
Sorry you have to re-upload, but that just gives us a chance to watch it again! Your channel gives me hope for the future of guitar. Your analysis of the instrument, its place in the world of music, the future of music's ability to sustain itself when people don't want to pay for it anymore, is so spot on. Keep it up!
It's okay, a lot of us were really high so it will be genuinely new all over again.
When Guthrie is playing others just stop and watch. Amazing
i though i was in the matrix, i was so sure i watched this yesterday XD
Maybe he is the most impressive guitar ever, but I can't hear his solo stuff for too long. At a composition level it gets boring for me. My favorite guitarist in that aspect is Nick Johnston: I never get bored with his compositions and guitar expression through the music.
I disagree that he is the greatest. He could have been the greatest. He maybe is the greatest at improvising and technique, but i find his compositions ( or call it: overall artistic output) lacking. Funnily enough, when i think of Guthrie i think of wasted potential, and thats just crazy. I mean come on, "Erotic Cakes" is a nice record but its nowhere near the creative level of the really great Guitar Albums like for example "Passion and Warfare". To me its just sad that a Genius like him is basically just known for a few Guest Solos and some noodling in online clips.
That level of improvisational skill that comes from having a complete understanding of the instrument, the theory behind the songs he's playing, and being able to play exactly what he hears in his head. This is why we shouldn't be afraid of theory. His use of jazz concepts and processes in his playing in a rock and prog context is amazing. Practice targeting those chord tones people! (myself included!)
He's also such a great and humble guy. I got to interview him before an Aristocrats show a few years ago. The "you have a 10 minute slot" turned into a half hour chat about all sorts.
No one improvising is thinking of music theory. Or at least they shouldn't be. If you're standing there as the guy in the video suggested thinking about what scale you should be playing then it's not a surprise you'd struggle. Note too a lot of this supposed "Improvisation" has been rehearsed. He's very good but the best way of getting better is to look at what he does objectively rather than creating myths.
Because you can become a stage magician only after you realise that the guy has learnt a bunch of skills to shuffle cards, hide things in his palm, misdirect etc which you can certainly obtain some or all of these skills even if you ultimately fall short of their level of skill. If you think the stage magician is doing actual magic then you'll obviously never be able to do what you think he is doing.
One of the most important things to realise is that Guthrie didn't pick up the guitar, watch a few clips of some advanced guitar player and then think "That's what I'm going to do" - he learned to play the guitar by listening to a ton of records and playing along. A lot of that playing seems far easier but the temptation to skip learning it and go straight to playing Eruption should be avoided.
The biggest mistakes beginners make in guitar is (a) Thinking they're not a beginner and (b) Trying to skip learning everything they perceive as somehow lesser than the music they like (even though they can't play it well), (c) Believing that a skilled players ability is unobtainable and the result of some mystical mojo (not a surprise if you tried to play it as a beginner) and (d) thinking that because they bought a guitar in 1994 they've been playing "for 30 years" and believing this proves that the kid on the internet who is playing better than them age 10 must be hugely talented because "I've been playing for 30 years and I didn't get that good"
But if you have some kind of backing track and you want to play over the top : listen to the backing track, imagine a solo that fits - now play what you're imagining. Before playing it, sing it. Now find those notes on the guitar and play them. Make sure you're playing what you're singing not singing what you're playing. The former is how you will (eventually) be able to play whatever you imagine. The latter is where you end up just noodling the same Am pentatonic riffs you've played for 2 decades because you're being led by the patterns you've already learned. Remember : if the notes you play don't sound like the music you want to hear then you have to learn a different pattern of notes (without going too deep into every other aspect, obviously there's more than just the pitch, there's a ton of nuance to how notes are articulated - well here's the thing the more nuanced your imagined aural sound and the more time you spend making the sound coming out of the guitar be exactly what you're imaging, the better your improvisation will be)
It's like can you pick up a guitar and play 3 blind mice? Find the tune? If you can then you obviously have some of the skill already, but there's a ton more to learn to develop this skill other than just playing the right notes in roughly the right order. That's why if you're trying to play someone else's solo throw the transcript in the bin and listen to it and then find it on the guitar - and really listen - listen to every nuance. Think about how many people have sat listening to the comfortably numb solo and they know every nuance - they go to a pink floyd gig and Dave plays a note and they think "Nah that was wrong" - that's the level of listening. The other thing is when you're playing don't just listen to your own playing and start noodling your fave riff because your playing will sound out of time, possibly out of tune too. In your head you'll think it was great but listen back to the recording and it'll suck.
Listen to the drums and bass and play with them. When I play in my mind there's 2 basic ideas, one is I'm actually making the drum sounds and the snare and kick really make my notes punch - it's like when you play a First person shooter and you press the mouse button and there's a big shotgun sound, well that makes me think my click had a lot of weight and power behind it. Or the drummer plays a fill and I'm playing my notes on the fill - you can see the Aristocrats doing that all the time the drummer is playing every note guthrie is. The other thing is where I wait for the drum and then play - for syncopation. And of course, start everything on the and of the 4 not on beat 1 and when you finish a phrase, pause and then play another small motif.
Do the same with any and all melodies or stuff you hear. Find it and play it on the guitar. Don't go near tab.
Note here : there's no musical theory, no chords are being named, no notes are being named. You're listening to noises, imagining noises in your head and singing and playing those noises. It's entirely about sound. That's what music is. Later when you're playing at Milton Keynes bowl someone else will transcribe it and say "Eww, he's playing a secondary dominant minor arpeggio with a flat 9 - genius" but you will know that you just played what you heard in your mind. Just like when Beato grins and says to Sting some dumb thing about music theory to sound impressive and Sting just shakes his head and says "Nah, I didn't write the songs like that"
Watch Paul McCartney figuring out Get back, he's just strumming a guitar, finding a couple of chords to play back and forth and singing over the top whatever he hears in his head. The creative process really isn't about music theory. That's not to say you can't do that or write to some formula or rules - in the way that some baroque music did, or 12 tone music can sometimes follow rules, or math rock might just pick a pattern and play it on the neck somewhat independently of how the result sounds. You can do anything you like is the only rule - but if your goal is to be able to listen to a backing track, or a group of other musicians playing and add something to that then the skill is pretty much entirely based on sound, real (in terms of what you hear) and imaginary (the aural image you create in your head) and developing the skill to be able to play the notes you're imagining - it's not about thinking "Mixolydian Lydian dominant whole tone arabic scale can be played over a Gm(b5) add 9 #11 chord" because by the time you've decided that they are 5 bars further along playing an Ab Maj 7 / F and you're googling on your phone for the scale to use. Guthrie has also talked at length about why the scale doesn't tell you what the right notes are or what you should play - and quite often contains several "wrong" notes.
The way to improve you imagination, i.e if you get to the stage where you think "Well I can play everything I imagine, but I only imagine Am pentatonics" is to listen to lots of music - especially the music you wish you could sound like. Listen to their solos and melodies - and your imagination should be expanded. If you listen to nothing but Yngwie for several hours a a day eventually you'll start to imagine similar ideas. And that is the idea, it's not about trying to play wonderful slippery thing note for note, albeit that is a valid way of learning some guitar related stuff. Think about classical musicians their reason for existing is typically being able to play, to an extremely high standard, the repertoire of the world's greatest composers, note for note, to near perfection. If you put a piece of extremely complex sheet music they'll sight read it - but if you asked some of them to "play something over this chord progression" they'd be stuck having never improvised before. Improvisation isn't the sign of a great musician vs a bad one - it's just one particular skill that a musician can develop.
Really the only trick to this is getting it to real time. i.e if you do this properly at first you're probably not going to proceed very quickly. You're going to put the start of the backing on a loop, imagine something and then spend some time trying to play it, trying not to forget what you thought (again, sing it - put a mic and record that if need be) you might even find that you can imagine sounds or playing that you lack the technique to play, so you have to develop that as well. If you're used to noodling Am pentatonic and feel like you've taken a step backwards.
Eventually you will find you are playing what you're imagining with less delay, less hitting wrong notes, less effort - and then your friends will think you're magic, but you'll know that all you did was sit down for a few hours a day working on the skill.
I agree Gunthrie is God level. Do one on Nuno Bettencourt. He is also up there. His style and composition are incredible.
Very much Agreed! and it's not even subjective, Guthrie is the BEST i've heard, there are very few others who are faster like (Shawn Lane), very few more technical (Bumblefoot), and very few more iconic (Yngwie), but no one has a better command of all the musical nuances of the instrument more than GG, he is the master of "textbook" musical theories, modes, key change, etc and he is also master in breaking the rules of the textbooks, always combining the right notes with those "wrong notes" that sound good with the right notes, he can practically play it ALL👍
Let him explain:
ruclips.net/video/VJpDj5mgiD0/видео.html
Guthrie is in a complete different level, in my opinion the best ever. It's such a same that he's still not being fully appreciated by the guitar community, I've seen videos of people covering his songs on tiktok and the viewers are completely oblivious to who this great man is. He gets a lot of praise but for what he does and who he is he is and probably will always be underated.
If you are on social media where adult guitarists hang out, you will see Guthrie in every guitar conversation. I wouldn’t expect much from kids on tik tok but it’s great that people are doing his covers and sharing his work with a younger generation. 🤷🏻♂️
Had the pleasure of meeting Guthrie years ago before he was even remotely famous (1990, I think) at the YMCA in Chelmsford. We were both in bands at the time and one of my bandmates was saying you have to meet Guthrie - he's a guitar god in the making. We had a nice chat but we were both fanboying over the Phil Hilborne Band more than anything else. I remember he was wearing an Yngwie Malmsteen Rising Force T-shirt - he worshipped Yngwie back then.
you can kind of hear that he used to love Yngwie lol
HEEEE, I AM the GREATEST guitarist of all time!!! The voices in my head told me! How can they be wrong?? 😭😭😭
My favourite Guthrie moment ever was during his jam-off with Kiko Loureiro when Kiko's guitar fell due to strap failure and Guthrie spontaneously played the theme from Beethoven's 5th Symphony like an epic fail theme XD
the guy is absolutely untouchable....even when shredding, his phrasing is 100% music
Let him explain:
ruclips.net/video/VJpDj5mgiD0/видео.html
Guthrie Govan is like the cross fit of guitar players. He can play ANYTHING very well. But he is not the best in either style or genre. I'd say he is the most versitile player who have walked the earth
Of all the greats that exist Guthrie is at the tippy top of that mountain… he can do whatever he wants on the fretboard but most of all he has the tastiest of licks ALWAYS. Never a repeated phrase unless it’s called for and intentional.. just simply a brilliant soul
Let him explain:
ruclips.net/video/VJpDj5mgiD0/видео.html
GG is not great. He's excellent. He has superior technical and intuitive guitar skills that make guitarist fanboys cream their pants. But greatness is influence. Greatness makes you wake your mama after you heard 'Eruption' and force her to drive you to Guitar Center to buy you an electric guitar and amp, then you spend the next ten years of your life playing 8-10 hours a day perfecting your skill. No one, but other guitar players knows who GG is. The 'Edge' can hit one note and you know it's him. What's GGs signature sound? There are at least 100 guitarists[Not technically better]who are greater than him. He's not great. He's excellent. And that's not bad.
To quote the great Hans Zimmer himself: "This is a question - this is an answer."
Allan holdsworth is the greatest guitarist of all time. Govan is a fantastic shredder, if that's what turns you on. Cliches on steroids.
He doesn't have the compositional depth of holdsworth. Nor the advancement & innovative use of unorthodox scales & chords etc
If you can't tell this, then you are lacking in perception
IMO there is no best guitarist in the world. If I had to pick a best, it would be someone who wrote and performed music that average people (i.e. non guitarists / musicians) actually listen to and love over years. For me that might be EVH, however there are many others.
I stumbled upon Guthrie Govan yesterday while browsing on Spotify. When I heard the first track on West Coast Grooves I was astounded by the virtuosity of this guitarist. My immediate reaction was why have I never heard of this guy before, why isn't he as famous as Eric Clapton, Jeff beck or Joe Satriani. To my ears his playing style at times is very reminiscent of Walter Becker. Why isn't this guy playing to stadiums?
Guthrie is legit the only guitarist (at least I can think of) that can be called to perform improvisational solo on Hanz Zimmer lead orchestration.
You can't call him the GOAT, indeed Guthrie would not call himself that. He's in the group of GOAT like players.
Yes! I just discovered Nick Johnston, up there with the greats if you ask me🎸🤘🎸
Imagine that, writing a non-repetitive-story-telling-emotional solo for ZERO second, no redo. Pure ultra instinct ☠️🥵
I'm mostly familiar with his work on Steven Wilson's stuff, but that is probably the best guitar playing I've ever heard in prog music
That's his best stuff. In any order, pick Ancestral, Drive Home and Regret. It doesn't get much better than that.
Honourable mention to "Silver Tongued Devil" - a collab with Nick Johnston where they have a guitar duel at the end. Imo it's some of Guthrie's finest work.
ruclips.net/video/DoKdeDkYTv0/видео.html - 7:05 here. Just listen to that. Probably improvised too!
This is just me lol, GG is a phenomenal generation talent but imo maybe due to his fusion playing he could be "all over the place" in a very short span of time. And there is no like, definitive sound that with a few notes you'll recognize its GG instantly. But again these are all subjective
I'm more impressed by Bradley Hall than Gutherie Govan even though Bradley is a bit of a Wanker
I’ve been paying attention to metal music and modern music pretty intently for decades. I’ve never heard of this guy ever once. Name one great song he played on or wrote. Is this the guy in the Aristocrats? If so this totally makes sense. I went to see the aristocrats a few months ago and I literally had to leave because it was so difficult to pay attention. The pretentiousness in the room I now remember it there was a gray haired guy it was this guy. The concert was unbearable. I hope I’m wrong about who this was. It was an endless useless pointless guitar show off. Then this grey haired dude talked and talked for minutes on end. It was The only concert I left in this way in the last five years. My buddy and I joke and say boy the show wasn’t so great but at least it wasn’t as bad as the aristocrats.
his talent is only equalled by his humility ^^ He's by far the best guitarist i ever heard but he doesn't go all Malmsteen about it.
What i also like about him is that he doesn't play for the audience, for fame or for money but he plays on all kinds of projects he likes for the sake of music itself.. which is precisely what got him his following and recognition (and hopefully money !)
If music is an universal lenguage that talks to the soul, then by Jove is his playing witty.
Have to say my two favourites are absolutely Guthrie and Marty.
His solo on Steven Wilsons Regret#9 is the best I've ever heard and I've heard a lot.
so sick of hearing people say
" lockdown" ..likes its a normal thing.
lockdown is what you do to prisoners...in prisons.
great choices to show off how masterful guthrie truly is. another one of my favorites is his improv over a Larry Carlton style backing track from a JamTrackCentral youtube video. truly mind blowing what he can come up with!
I discovered Guthrie through his columns in Guitar Techniques years ago, when I was a student (early 2000's). Εven by the demos in the magazine I singled him out as an astounding musician. That was even earlier than the early YT days and I desperately searched for clips of him playing or doing other work. Eventually things picked up and he burst onto the scene. How could he not?
I also met him once... you could not find a more down to earth, cool, encouraging person. Cracking dry humour as well.
What would we do without Uncle Guthrie...
No such thing as the greatest guitarist of all time but if there is one it’s definitely Guthrie!
Title is true.
We need berthoud/Govan collab more than anything in ‘23
I heard someone say that he's your favorite guitarist's favorite guitarist.
Sick electric wizard tee!
Yeah but can he make his guitar sound like bagpipes?
(Fuck yes)
He is one of the most incredible players, Rick Beato also says that he hardly can hear another rock guitarist who would improvise, not shred. He said Pat Metheny and Guthri can do it indeed. Anyways, I love Alex Hutchings, Matteo Mancuso as well
Rick who I admire is a jazz freak, so that can be expected. There are a ton of killer guitarists out there these days
@@craigbutterfield592 yes, true, incredible players, what a pleasure to listen to them, tks to the internet
What Rick says about Guthrie is exactly what I get from Max Ostro but even more so. Max has improvised everything since 2020 and if you go back and watch, you may discover it’s more refined and memorable. Even less “shreddy”. Max never over does it. He is the “less is more” guitarist for me. Not to take anything from Guthrie because he’s probably the most “technically accomplished” guitarist on earth, but listen to “groove on” by Guthrie AND Max. I feel it’s a great example of just how refined and tasteful Max is. It’s important to note that Guthrie’s was 1st take but even still, I think Max would’ve done a better 1st take. He seems to care about “restraint” a little more than Guthrie, imo.
@@thatsamazin- I think I agree with you. Some nicer melodic lines appear at Max. Maybe less repetition - oh, and , it s personal again , better guitar tones. Guthrie's sound is annoyingly icey for me
That beginning section in the Man of Steel solo kinda sounds like Marty Friedman's later solo work
Sounds like Marty's bends!
Guthrie somehow seems to show a growth in his already incredible skill every time you see a new video of him pop up too. Awesome video Bradley.
Muting Velcro bands>>>no open strings, no harmonics>>> no fun?
Great video but sorry no one’s better than
Scotty Anderson…
Look him up…period..paragraph end of story.
Ré-watched for views' sake
The man also played in the touring band of Dizzee Rascal. 'Nuff said.
Come on, make a video about Syu from Galneryus! He deserves more recognition
YES, Syu is so damn underrated. His solos are technical and combined with that extremely good sense of melody that a lot of Japanese musicians have. Perfection
Sometimes, just playing for the fun of it and having a blast like Angus Young and etc. Can be so much more interesting to listen to instead of a bunch of technical 💩 I would hate to think you all think technicality makes a great guitarist. Greatest? We'll see you in about 15 or 20 years 🎯🐑
The music also sounds cool, that’s the main reason people dont call him a mindless shredder
Had a chance to see The Aristocrats back in August, it was an incredible experience. Every guitarist NEEDS to see this guy live. You can watch videos of him playing thousand times, but seeing him do it right in front of my eyes is one of the most incredible things I've ever witnessed
Not sure if I heard about him, but he looks like a crazy rock wizard. Would perfectly fit in a 70's prog band.
Can’t tell if you’re joking or not but funnily enough, he played in the supergroup prog band ASIA. The band was formed in 1981
But he joined them in like the 2000s
Ah, it wasn't just me then. RUclips views just died for 4 hour last night randomly.
Please do this for Holdsworth
And have a beer during it
He'd like that.
He would love the beer, for sure, but he would hate this kind of tribute, too humble for that :)
Nice vid and I hope you will release some more of this kind. You should definitely check Matteo Mancuso mate.
Matteo is amazing, his right hand technic is out of this world!!!
Guthrie is on another level.
Finished convincing myself of that after listening him play alongside Kiko Loureiro, a very technical but clever phrasing guitarist and made him look like a 12yo from a school talent show.
Guthire speaks with his guitar, and he is a master in storytelling.
yes! KL is also on another level it's just that he's more focus on Metal right now. KL is my guitar teacher btw. :)
Let him explain:
ruclips.net/video/VJpDj5mgiD0/видео.html
Great Video - and explanation - I can hear that you that you have some good chops and ear to get the sound and notes. looking forward to checking out some more of your vids.
@Tele_gram_me_The_Bradley_Hall sure anytime... just had a look at your lord of the rings rendition from last year....not only enjoyed it and will no doubt rewatching with guitar to learn and play along.... many thanks
1st Lane
2nd GG
3rd Buckethead
I would put Buckethead in front of GG, although I do like GG.
@@holliswilliams8426 1a 1b 1c.....they are all masters
What's Lane done that's melodically pleasing? Can you link some stuff? I know he was a virtuoso but I never heard anything that made me want to listen for anything more than three minutes. Serious. Love Bucket. He's quite limited in his styles (compared to Guthrie anyway) but still incredible at what he does.
@@Cheximus Same unfortunately. I tried listening to Shawn Lane and wasn't blown away. I tried Bumblefoot as well but was too boring. I can sit back and listen to either Guthrie or Buckethead though and not get bored (or at least the better albums). It's like they are storytellers with their guitars, they have this idea of a story they want to tell and the guitar is just a tool to do that, it's not an essential part of the music.
you shouldnt use those tons of ugly effects then you at least sound a little better
Dear Bradley,
There used to be clip, where Guthrie is a guest for Zappa plays Zappa. Dweezil Zappa gives Guthrie various tasks in the video (play blues solo, play classical etude, play super-funk) and Guthrie performs these. Finally, Dweezil and Guthrie go for harmonized solo?!!! I think that Guthrie follows Dweezil's playing and creates harmony line.
The track that got me hooked to Guthrie was the live playthrough of Fives he did ages ago that was uploaded on RUclips, that's the first ever thing I saw by him and became an instant classic in my book. I haven't really dug too deep in his stuff actually, but Erotic Cakes is right up there with Rising Force, Surfing With The Alien and all the other "must have" guitar achievement albums. I'm seeing him later this year in London with Hans Zimmer though, very excited for that.
5 adds in video. Pain in the arse!! Went somewhere else!
Would be cool to see a video like this about Paul Gilbert!
Love the Electric Wizard shirt bro
You know you’re a god when John petrucci is playing rhythm for you
Guthrie Govan, AKA homeless Jesus
- Steve T
Homeless jesus is technically redundant
I forgot who it was,but I remember reading in a Guitar World interview when I was young, some guru (probably Vai) said something along the lines of learning everything you can while practicing so you can forget about it when you play.
I would love to see a video like this on Alexi Laiho! I feel like his songwriting and soloing has some quality that others lack that I just can't put my finger on. Absolutely my favorite metal songwriter/guitarist.
Hell yeah.
Children of bodom was a big part of me getting more into guitar, he played some great solos in another band called sinergy as well.
Batio
I love Alexi because he had an almost fuck you/ punk attitude to playing. It was very rugged, yet articulated beautifully and you can hear in recordings it’s in single takes most of the time. Composing of the songs was made with a lot of syncopated rhythm in mind and shock value sounds like harmonics
Jamming with good improvisers is one of the most fulfilling experiences that a musician can have. Guthrie is by far the greatest improviser I've ever heard.
He's simply too conventional melodically to be the greatest, ergo Holdsworth must rank higher.
Nah I don't agree at all. His solo stuff is just EXTREMELY short and uninspiring for me. When you predominantly only make songs that are 90 seconds to 180 seconds long the song is over before you've even got into it. It's nothing like listening to anything from the classic metal greats like Iron Maiden, Metallica, which have so many iconic songs that are orgasmic to your ears and immortalised in recording. I'm definitely not denying his live performing and improvising ability but when you're just listening to studio recorded material, his stuff just isn't the most audibly satisfying, compared to like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, etc.
Guthrie is absolutely Nr. 1
2:14
How
DARE YOU ?!
He's just unlocked Gandalf mode :
Behold...
The White String Wizard.
Great breakdown... enjoyed this vid!
I used to play way more than I do now, but it was always an improvisation. If I wasn't coming up with my own riffs, it was jamming an improvised solo over my favorite bands. I read the book "The Zen of Guitar" when I was a teenager and it gave me the information I needed to recreate the "magic" I was hearing from my guitar idols. I kept thinking "these guys are human just like me there has to be a way to play like that!". The book taught me the art of trusting myself in the moment, and how to play a feeling more so than a defined phrase or melody. Reminds me of the movie The Last Samurai where the other samurai keep telling Tom Cruise "Too much mind" when he keeps loosing in practice sword fights to the master. He was thinking too much. When I improvise I'm trying to not think and let the solo "play me". Of course that don't mean I never have ideas, but I let it flow with the goal of getting back to no mind and using emotion. If there is to much mind going on I'll wait and try to deliberately play the next note when I least expect it with feeling. Over time you learn to "talk" (you are mostly in a flow state when talking, occasionally thinking of the next thing to say) and the feeling you get in this zone is unreal. Pure joy! Guthrie has a technical mastery and can also "talk" which is extremely rare. People who I used to jam with were amazed that I seemed to always be able to hit the "right" notes. Nothing amazing about it at all, it was easy to me! And the more I could be in the zone the better it felt, which is how I judged how well I played. I would be willing to bet if you asked Guthrie how well he thinks he played in any given performance he would probably answer with something like "It felt pretty good." I was chasing a feeling, not some clever riff.
I've heard a lot of good stuff about Guthrie but this is way more than I could ever expect holy shit
Every guitarists “first time Guthrie experience“ is the same. Regardless of what year you discovered him, we hear the same report. It’s a life changing thing. It changes what you thought was possible, and your trajectory on the instrument. All of the sudden no other hero matters. You will spend days, weeks, months, even years trying to learn as much as you can from the guy.
He is the master.
I've seen Guthrie play with the Aristocrats a couple of times in small clubs and you can see in his face the feel he has for the music! He knows where every note is on the guitar neck and he just plays whatever he wants! I agree that he's probably the GOAT!
I discovered Guthrie back in 93/94 when I used buy guitar techniques magazine and you could listen to his lessons on the CD that came with it. Been a fan ever since and would listen over and over again just for his playing.
You could just tell from those CD lessons that he was on another level. His lessons would sound better than the original recordings he was transcribing.
Not even close to being the greatest.
Guthrie is a total master. Would love to see a breakdown of Bumblefoot too 🤘
Better he’s a Grandmaster
'I regret writing that' -GG on that Waves loop video, a better example would be Regret #9 where he played with Steven Wilson, arguably one of the best improvised solo.
I've bought a ticket to go see Hans Zimmer and his live band in 12 days -I love Hans Zimmer but I only really want to go because of Guthrie! I've never been more excited in my life, I genuinely struggle to stop smiling because I just feel so amazing. I already know it's going to be the greatest night of my life, and I don't even care that I'm going alone because I just wanna see Guthrie playing live, in his zone. So close to seeing him perform!!!!!!!!!!!! Guthrie is god.
Morning Bradley, I'm sending $2.95 to your patreon so you can buy a hairbrush. Thanks for the vid.
It’s truly extraordinary playing-but what makes you so sure it’s purely improvised with Zimmer?
What stuck out to me was how he is able to mimic all the great players and even outplay them in their own styles. All while being humble and chill af.
Bradley Hall? What's so hall about him?
I really like this format! A great way to highlight what makes great guitarists so amazing, with your informed help for us mere watchers and guitar appreciators. Guthrie certainly is unbelievable.
Hopefully the analysis of Jason Becker and Shawn Lane are also on their way 🤘😁
Gotta do a video on Shawn Lane
I’m sure most have already seen it, but for those who haven’t:
The end solo is the waves loop section of “words of wisdom with Guthrie Govan at G4 part 5/5.”
The whole thing is great.
To be honest, I think that cheeky phrase was one of the very few times when we hear Guthrie messing up a line (and now there is actual proof, lol!). Something slips from under his fingers or he has a momentary brain-hiccup and is not sure what to play. But he saves it immediately and then goes into that blistering flurry of notes.
You are right though, he can use quirks and cool phrases and make them sound like it is the most natural thing.