That's why he's my favorite...he improvised and every solo is different, no matter how many times I've heard City of Tiny Lites for example, the solo in any live version is different from show to show year to year. It makes it fun and I still hear solos that knock me out! FZ was the best!
Not to throw shade at zapper because he’s obviously very talented and does think outside the box but he sort of made a strawman’s argument there by exaggerating that other guitar players on stage play it note for note every single time ,that is simply not true as a lot of great guitar players will improvise to keep things fresh for not only themselves but also their bandmates and the audience
@@tobmello1 I think that’s kind of where the word “most” becomes very operative in his statement, and he is not wrong about most of the solos being played on stage right now.
Frank had so much respect for Allan Holdsworth. He even use to give him free studio time. it's a shame they didn't collaborate, would have loved to hear Holdsworth on a Zappa album. RIP both of you.
Frank is also known for his love for classical music which having the nature of being played " the same" every time. So it is maybe important to say that the whole picture can never be summed up in a title or in a few minutes of talking...
Agree. He’s well-known to have scored everything out, the exact opposite of improvising. And I’ve heard an apocryphal account (I.e., who knows if it’s true or not) that once during a guitar audition he chastised the player for improvising, instead of following the score exactly. I think that was Steve Vai So, a little discontinuity there. Still, a frickin’ genius, though. And geniuses notoriously have huge personalities.
The air sculptures of guitar solos I have done I don't like anything I've done never satisfied I'm playing live from now I plan on creating the most imaginative dreamt up guitar melodies and vocal harmonies I'd rather be singing behind a mic then punching a clock of a 9 to 5 same old fret board work is a prison of your comfort zone. Fly outside the box and breathe life like fire into the songs you don't lock away and want to see fly🔥
Frank had this need to minimize the achievements of many great musicians so he could lift himself up in his own eyes. Because he hated to practice and didn't have the technical ability of most other guitarists, he made his shortcomings into a virtue and the skills of others into a deficiency. His view of improvisation at all cost doesn't bear scrutiny when you listen to his solos of the same tune. Yes, there is some variation, but not enough to warrant writing home about it. Also, his insistence on improv in every concert would invalidate most music performances in any genre since public concerts came into being. I consider Zappa a great artist and an intelligent guy, but his overall output has suffered as a result of some unresolved psychological issues from his childhood and youth as well as an overblown ego. If you're looking for the GOAT among guitarists, all of the major guitar players invariably give their vote to the late Allan Holdsworth in terms of melodic invention, harmonic intricacy, and flawless technique. Despite all that, Allan was one of the most modest stars on the musical firmament when talking about himself .
I always ask my music loving friends if they had tickets to hear anybody they wanted, Dead or alive who would it be? When they asked me I say Frank Zappa. And they said well didn't you hear him already?
Regardless of what you might think about his ego or whatever, he actually makes a really good point. Not about playing the same guitar solos every night, besides I don’t think he was screwing those guys over or anything, but about his attitude to improvising; “I have a basic mechanical knowledge of the operation of the instrument, and I’ve got an imagination.” This is the best way to look at improv, as well as not knowing what you’re gonna do but knowing how long you have to do it, with it being a piece of time you get to decorate. Zappa may have had his flaws and quirks, but he has always been a very smart man.
I LOVE YOU FRANK ZAPPA!! God, I wish he was alive to run for president!! He would've made a great California politician, and it would've given him an opportunity to sling shot his way to DC politics.. That man would've been a great president.. Have a laugh.. Whatever
I really dig some of Frank’s music. And he has an original style on the instrument. But I find his I’m the smartest guy in the room, condescending, smug personality, tiring. He’s like the dude that can tell everyone what’s wrong with everything, but never has a positive take nor solution to anything.
I think he has the whole guitar solo thing backwards. He says the guys that do the solos note for note are the ones afraid to make a mistake? He's an improviser.... well, If everything is improvised, how is it possible to make a mistake? Some songs would be destroyed if the live guitar solo didn't have the parts that made it what it was on the album... within reason. The best players stretch and emphasize nuances the way a listener's mind would want. ... that's how Satriani taught me to appreciate Hendrix ... at a G3 show - he emphasized what needed to be put in context for me. Does Frank improvise lyrics and melodies too? why not? why not just get up and jam. Answer: because that's not what the audience paid you for.
Don’t think so. Do u know what it means to make a mistake musically?. Playing out of key/tune. If your playing something rehearsed you always play something that you know represents your intentions and is without error. Improv represents the opportunity to lose sight of the initial intention and to sway off the mark it’s riskier but when done right according to frank is more expressive of the human condition. Thx for sharing tho. Good question
He never said those guitarists were afraid to make a mistake, that wasn't his point at all. The criticism was that there isn't any spontaneity in dialing in a solo, that it becomes more of a technical duty rather than an artistic expression, case in point, "I have a basic mechanical knowledge of the operation of the instrument and I got an imagination." We don't say 'I work the guitar,' we say I play it. Like Frank says "it's a game where you have a piece of time and you get to decorate it." or when he says "What if you had to play the exact same notes every night, isn't that like punching a clock? Well who needs that crap?" Rewinding a bit and addressing where you said "Some songs would be destroyed if the live guitar solo didn't have the parts that made it what it was on the album," that's a mute point. Frank wasn't making music in that manner, he even says it in this video: "I'm specialized. What I do on the guitar has very little to do with what other people do on the guitar." Your comment boils down to "I'm not a fan of Zappa's playing and I don't think he's a great player," and you have every right to that opinion. Using it to argue against facts presented in the video we're commenting on just makes you look foolish however.
Zappa was talking about improvising on solos not entire songs. Imagine the only thing that came out of your mouth whenever you spoke publicly was scripted? Improvising is merely having the ability of saying what you want to say without it being scripted out. You would be surprised at how many technically gifted, great guitar heroes are NOT good at improvising, great players who can't make up stuff on the spot, even while playing over simple chord progressions. When I go to a concert I like hearing the songs covered, but when it comes to lead solo breaks by any of the musicians on whatever instruments, I want to hear what they have to say for that particular tune. I don't really want to hear the same thing they played on a record. What would make me want to see them again? I want to hear them improvise. That, of course, is me. Some people want to hear everything the same way all the time.
That's why he's my favorite...he improvised and every solo is different, no matter how many times I've heard City of Tiny Lites for example, the solo in any live version is different from show to show year to year. It makes it fun and I still hear solos that knock me out! FZ was the best!
Basic mechanical knowledge of the instrument. The rest is me against the forces of nature.
What a genius. Absolute legend
Not to throw shade at zapper because he’s obviously very talented and does think outside the box but he sort of made a strawman’s argument there by exaggerating that other guitar players on stage play it note for note every single time ,that is simply not true as a lot of great guitar players will improvise to keep things fresh for not only themselves but also their bandmates and the audience
@@tobmello1 I think that’s kind of where the word “most” becomes very operative in his statement, and he is not wrong about most of the solos being played on stage right now.
I think about that quote very often, and almost every time before I go on stage. It's one of those perfect sentences that never stop fascinating me.
The man, the myth, the legend
Godspeed my brother. I’m with you all the way
Frank had so much respect for Allan Holdsworth. He even use to give him free studio time. it's a shame they didn't collaborate, would have loved to hear Holdsworth on a Zappa album. RIP both of you.
AMEN!! 🙂
Frank is also known for his love for classical music which having the nature of being played " the same" every time. So it is maybe important to say that the whole picture can never be summed up in a title or in a few minutes of talking...
Agree. He’s well-known to have scored everything out, the exact opposite of improvising. And I’ve heard an apocryphal account (I.e., who knows if it’s true or not) that once during a guitar audition he chastised the player for improvising, instead of following the score exactly. I think that was Steve Vai
So, a little discontinuity there. Still, a frickin’ genius, though. And geniuses notoriously have huge personalities.
The air sculptures of guitar solos I have done I don't like anything I've done never satisfied I'm playing live from now I plan on creating the most imaginative dreamt up guitar melodies and vocal harmonies I'd rather be singing behind a mic then punching a clock of a 9 to 5 same old fret board work is a prison of your comfort zone. Fly outside the box and breathe life like fire into the songs you don't lock away and want to see fly🔥
Archiappete dio maiale
great solos
Frank Zappa composait de la musique spontanèment avec sa guitare.
Frank had this need to minimize the achievements of many great musicians
so he could lift himself up in his own eyes. Because he hated to practice
and didn't have the technical ability of most other guitarists, he made
his shortcomings into a virtue and the skills of others into a
deficiency. His view of improvisation at all cost doesn't bear scrutiny
when you listen to his solos of the same tune. Yes, there is some
variation, but not enough to warrant writing home about it. Also, his
insistence on improv in every concert would invalidate most music
performances in any genre since public concerts came into being. I
consider Zappa a great artist and an intelligent guy, but his overall
output has suffered as a result of some unresolved psychological issues
from his childhood and youth as well as an overblown ego.
If you're looking for
the GOAT among guitarists, all of the major guitar players invariably
give their vote to the late Allan Holdsworth in terms of melodic invention,
harmonic intricacy, and flawless technique. Despite all that, Allan was
one of the most modest stars on the musical firmament when talking about himself .
I always ask my music loving friends if they had tickets to hear anybody they wanted, Dead or alive who would it be? When they asked me I say Frank Zappa. And they said well didn't you hear him already?
Regardless of what you might think about his ego or whatever, he actually makes a really good point. Not about playing the same guitar solos every night, besides I don’t think he was screwing those guys over or anything, but about his attitude to improvising; “I have a basic mechanical knowledge of the operation of the instrument, and I’ve got an imagination.” This is the best way to look at improv, as well as not knowing what you’re gonna do but knowing how long you have to do it, with it being a piece of time you get to decorate. Zappa may have had his flaws and quirks, but he has always been a very smart man.
The Master of Sound Vibration to the human ear. Musician, Producer, Conductor, etc., he was at his best live, unfiltered.
I wanna Translate this to my philosophy of life.
What no one has the courage to say is finally you are a sloppy player...
I LOVE YOU FRANK ZAPPA!! God, I wish he was alive to run for president!!
He would've made a great California politician, and it would've given him an opportunity to sling shot his way to DC politics.. That man would've been a great president.. Have a laugh.. Whatever
I really dig some of Frank’s music. And he has an original style on the instrument. But I find his I’m the smartest guy in the room, condescending, smug personality, tiring. He’s like the dude that can tell everyone what’s wrong with everything, but never has a positive take nor solution to anything.
I think you're missing out on some of his sarcasm and humor.
I think he has the whole guitar solo thing backwards. He says the guys that do the solos note for note are the ones afraid to make a mistake? He's an improviser.... well, If everything is improvised, how is it possible to make a mistake? Some songs would be destroyed if the live guitar solo didn't have the parts that made it what it was on the album... within reason. The best players stretch and emphasize nuances the way a listener's mind would want. ... that's how Satriani taught me to appreciate Hendrix ... at a G3 show - he emphasized what needed to be put in context for me. Does Frank improvise lyrics and melodies too? why not? why not just get up and jam. Answer: because that's not what the audience paid you for.
Don’t think so. Do u know what it means to make a mistake musically?. Playing out of key/tune. If your playing something rehearsed you always play something that you know represents your intentions and is without error. Improv represents the opportunity to lose sight of the initial intention and to sway off the mark it’s riskier but when done right according to frank is more expressive of the human condition. Thx for sharing tho. Good question
You're wrong. Thats exactly what audiences pay for if you're going to see someone like zappa live.
He never said those guitarists were afraid to make a mistake, that wasn't his point at all. The criticism was that there isn't any spontaneity in dialing in a solo, that it becomes more of a technical duty rather than an artistic expression, case in point, "I have a basic mechanical knowledge of the operation of the instrument and I got an imagination." We don't say 'I work the guitar,' we say I play it. Like Frank says "it's a game where you have a piece of time and you get to decorate it." or when he says "What if you had to play the exact same notes every night, isn't that like punching a clock? Well who needs that crap?"
Rewinding a bit and addressing where you said "Some songs would be destroyed if the live guitar solo didn't have the parts that made it what it was on the album," that's a mute point. Frank wasn't making music in that manner, he even says it in this video: "I'm specialized. What I do on the guitar has very little to do with what other people do on the guitar." Your comment boils down to "I'm not a fan of Zappa's playing and I don't think he's a great player," and you have every right to that opinion. Using it to argue against facts presented in the video we're commenting on just makes you look foolish however.
Zappa was talking about improvising on solos not entire songs. Imagine the only thing that came out of your mouth whenever you spoke publicly was scripted? Improvising is merely having the ability of saying what you want to say without it being scripted out. You would be surprised at how many technically gifted, great guitar heroes are NOT good at improvising, great players who can't make up stuff on the spot, even while playing over simple chord progressions. When I go to a concert I like hearing the songs covered, but when it comes to lead solo breaks by any of the musicians on whatever instruments, I want to hear what they have to say for that particular tune. I don't really want to hear the same thing they played on a record. What would make me want to see them again? I want to hear them improvise. That, of course, is me. Some people want to hear everything the same way all the time.
@@Nalschybach because I know not to play with mercury?
His band had to play the same notes every night, hehe.
A bit cringy by him portraying himself as the only few in the world that improvise guitar riffs and solos.
What a convoluted and elitist way to say "I specialize in guitar solo's".
What a joke, lots of guitarist take chance improvises. Way better than him. Franks trick was to surround himself with great musicians.