I'm a working drummer. I learnt a lesson from record producer, John Capek, in a Melbourne studio in the early 80's. He took me aside one day and asked me how slow could I play? I said I had no idea. He told me, ' most drummers that I've worked with can't play slow - learn how to play slow, with groove and feel, as most drummers can't'. I have never forgotten that message.
a 100% with you. I'm a guitarist and I had to learn percussion to learn what you are talking about. Make it slow but with groove and then you really have it. "Milongon" has they say in Candombe music
Playing slow with rhythm and keeping pace is one of the most challenging things I’ve done. I practice now at different bpm’s from 40 on up. I really want to create some slow grooves it’s difficult.
it's weird for me, too. You can find awesome stuff in any genre, from classical, to blues, to pop, to techno etc. I also don't just sit in one country. I have favs artists coming from Japan, China, France, Italy, my native Poland, Germany etc. The world of music is vast and I am a bit disappointed that Rick is not going out of American music and learns about B'z for example, who have their print's on Hollywood Rock Walk, or Yoshiki, who had a pretty successful career in the U.S. and won Variety International Award this year.
Jeff Beck was one of my faves, a total master of the guitar: blues, jazz, and he could shred. Be it fast or be it slow it’s all about bending strings to a purpose.
BB King once said something like, “You don’t talk as fast as you can, because people won’t understand what you’re saying. So why play guitar solos as fast as you can?”
And then Ritchie Blackmore came and said, "Because I am a better guitarist than you." Personally, I love fast playing and find most bloooz dadz to be incredibly boring.
There are a lot of guitar players who can play better than BB. If BB had chops what he said would mean more. I listened to BB when I was in middle school, but eventually the thrill was gone with the same few repeated licks.
Probably because talking and playing guitar are 2 entirely different things. You don't start using vibrato or bending your words when you talk either and you certainly don't hold a word out for a full measure in the middle of a conversation. BB king is literally the most overrated guitar player in history btw
@@Tigermaster1986 Ritchie Blackmore of all people probably knows way more about the blues than you seem to do. Fast playing isn't everything. Fast playing and moving your heart is something entirely different. And, yes, without blues, our world would be much poorer.
@@stephencroce2033 Physical reactions can be induced quite easily in people and don't necessarily signify anything of profundity. Consider a sneeze for example.
@@beingsshepherd I still don't follow - Being moved to tears or laughter signifies an emotional connection that has been made and to the original point I think really hard to accomplish via artistic expression on it's own. I mean I suppose you could release pepper spray or laughing gas during a performance and people would tear up or laugh and that doesn't signify profundity - I am not aware of anyone having ever been moved to sneezes due to anything other than some sort of physical irritant.
@@stephencroce2033 Provoking laughter is hard to accomplish by art??? It's as easy and commonplace as sexual arousal. _Bambi, Rocky, Watership Down, E.T. and Cocoon_ all feature tear-jerking scenes but are rightly regarded more works of kitsch than fine Art. Who wants to be dabbing their wet eyes and streaming nose every time they hear a particular performance? "Manipulative" used to be legitimate criticism in artistic assessment.
This is precisely why I am super impressed with Pink Floyd’s drummer. Playing those songs is much harder than it appears! Holding that slow groove for 6-7 minutes takes such discipline. Just amazing.
That's why I've always respected disco drummers too. Anyone who can keep a 4 on the floor with almost no variation in tempo to the point where DJs can easily beatmatch the next record on vinyl (no sync buttons or "grid" back then) is great in my book.
Beyond being a rock-steady drummer, Nick Mason also contributed a tremendous amount to sourcing and creating all the interesting background sound effects that add so much texture to the recordings of Pink Floyd. He doesn't get the credit he deserves for his contributions to their amazing soundscapes.
I find more impressive drummers that play what the band need by improvizing and doing it on the fly. Say, John Bonham who played kinda by the ear what was needed at the moment. Jazz/blues roots. John Densmore also comes to mind in similar vain. Mason did the same for Floyd. Pure technical skill is boring - computers can do that.
I had my Epiphany in the early 90s, attending a Garry Moore Concert in Munich. That was the "Still got the Blues" Tour and I was pretty impressed with his high speed soloing. Until his special guest Albert Collins entered the stage, opening with "Cold, Cold feeling". What should I say, the man played three notes and effortlessly wiped away anything that happened before. He played like maybe a tenth of the notes that Moore would have in the same time, but everyone of them was right on spot, expressing a deep understanding and feeling for the blues that makes a real master. A Zen lesson in Music.
Gary could play the same way. He came from a hard rock background and those speedy chops were a must. But very few people could rival the bending and tasteful vibrato in his melodic soloing on things like most of Still Got The Blues and Parisienne Walkways.
@@Pete-Fisher Different strokes for different folks. SRV was deafening. Likewise for Joe Bonamassa and Eric Steckel. Love Buddy Guy but he has the worst guitar tone. Gary will always be my favorite player.
My Dad is a classical Violinist and spent all his life playing in Orchestras with many great (and no so great) Soloists. He nails it: Some musicians belong to the circus and others to the concert hall!
I agree with your teacher. There is a time to shred, but there is also a time NOT to shred. The best talents can do both and know when to and not to do both as the music calls for it.
I prefer David Gilmour. His breaks reach into my soul and can bring me to tears. I respect fast guitar licks but they don’t take me anywhere emotionally.
I always think of Muhammed Suicmez. From Necrophagist. The clearest, most articulated solos ever. But - everything's the same speed, same volume, same tonal colour, same key. And back in the '90's and noughties, you couldn't compare as easily as nowadays. What IS an amazing feat of Suicmez, is that he could shred alarmingly high-endish AND grunt easily and convincingly at the same time.
As a young guy I was definitely obsessed with fast playing. Now when I see/hear a virtuoso performance it often feels more like an amazing athletic feat rather than an artistic one. And there are plenty of great sporting events that showcase that kind of skill. Obviously there is a place for fast playing and uptempo tunes. But nowadays I'm much more impressed with the creativity of great phrasing and nuance rather than the physicality of pure speed.
Nice way of putting it. Playing at extreme speed is physically hugely impressive, but does it have a kickass melody? Is there tone? To use your sporting analogy, Larry Bird is still regarded as one of the greatest players ever, and he hardly dunked.
Some of my students equate speed with accomplishment. The faster you play, the better you are. It's the hardest thing to un-do in a student, the desire to play fast to impress.
yeah but Christian Muenzner is never wrong with his speed, and he does technical death metal & power metal (best power metal in the world, Eternity's End)
@@UnforgivenTrucker well MELVIN SPARKS , the guitar player of Fats Domino is superior in fun speed talent than Yngwie. "The Texa Twister" = old school speed funk
@@cerd6292 yup, the best players are emotion + speed. When you do both nobody can challenge you. Technical deat metal guitarists are atop the mountain with the jazz guitar players in this field
For me, a virtuoso is someone who masters their instrument and connects emotionally with the listener. I consider Jimi, Santana, Gilmore and Knopfler virtuosos since they’re amazing guitar players and they move me at a very deep level. The shredders do nothing for me. They’re technically impressive, but that’s about it. 😎
Fore sure, speed is what you strive for when you don't have that natural groove. That natural groove is something one hears in music from a very early age, you either have it or you don't.
I was with some friends and we decided to go hear Scott Henderson many years ago. We were not expecting as much. but were all blown away by the end of the show. It was how he connected with the audience, it was not just his playing but the music as a whole. I've seen a lot of great players but sorry I never got to see Jimi
I'm sorry, but you're manipulating the meaning everyone understands when they hear «virtuoso» just to fit the players you prefer. There's no need to do that, we can (I do!) enjoy all kind of players, even truly bad players who do something that resonates with us.
I also sometimes get stunned with these fast playing guys with incredible chops, but I also very quickly get bored if it's not very musical. I love musicians who can blow my mind with the right notes and have a lot of space.
I was fortunate to get a 9th row seat at a BB concert in Oakland and that night he said one thing that changed my solo playing for ever - “It’s very important to know when “not” to play notes in a solo.
In fact I think any bass player should know that also in a bass line, the notes not played are as least as important as the ones played, unless you are Jaco Pastorius. :-P
I recall a radio interview with David Gilmour, sometime in the '90s, in which he admitted, "I'm never going to be fast." But, staying within his limitations, he certainly knew how to make the most of his inherent sense of musicality and drama.
I wouldn't even call it a limitation. It's just a different style. Limitation makes it sound like a weakness in their ability. Jeff Beck, Brian May Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Peter Green, BB King, none of these guys are shredders, none of them are known for being fast players (although they probably could have if needs be) and all of them would be on any serious list of "Greatest Guitarists".
Are you sure David “admitted” he would never be fast? Could it have been more of a _statement_ that he never played fast? That’s a rule that David occasionally loosened, though not to the same extent as shredders.
The problem for me is when some musicians play endlessly fast, all the time, are bad listeners and don’t play what the music requires. It comes across as self indulgent, narcissistic and exhausting. Thrilling in the correct setting, but obnoxious if it teeters into overkill.
That's what kicking people out of the band is for, or maybe not letting them join in the first place for the sheer WOW effect of their momentary try out performance. Sometimes you just gotta' do what you gotta' do!
A hard truth that the anti-shredders never seem to take into account: A slow solo can suck, too. It can be pedantic and boring, just like a lame shred solo. On the flip side, sometimes "a cloud of educated gnat notes" (Frank Zappa's phrase) can be just what the song calls for. The intense musicality of fleet-fingered people like Steve Morse, John Petrucci, Nili Brosh, Brent Mason and Steve Vai (to name a few) is there to be discovered and appreciated by those who look beyond technical chops and strive to "listen faster." Composition and feel are golden here, too. Give "Juice" by Steve Vai a spin and tell me that's not some of the most joyous music you've ever heard. Just like Gilmour's three solos on "Money," the fast stuff by Steve Lukather in "Rosanna" and "Hold The Line" is just what the songs call for. Open your mind. Open your ears. There's are wonders to be found at every tempo.
Seriously!? Do you honestly think people are against shredding just for the sake of something to be opposed to? Or that they ALL dislike ALL fast playing, and don't know that fast playing can also be amazing in the hands of a truly talented player? Or that they don't know that some slow solos can be exactly as you say, boring? If you think that's what's going on you have missed the point.
@@darcyperkins7041 Read the comments on this video and many others and see for yourself. And I never said ALL. Yes, SOME people are against shredding or any kind of playing that requires technical facility because they think it 'has no soul." "It's just musical masturbation." "I don't need to watch a dick measuring contest." And yes, some people who comment on RUclips post just want to be combative. If you don't think so, you're not paying attention.
@@darcyperkins7041 absolutely. Lots of people are just afraid to admit that they like speed because then they have to listen to all those boring monologues about how only slow music has emotions.
@@rachelcolomb Glad you enjoyed it. As amazing and creative as Vai's music is, some of it falls into the "Difficult Listen Hour" category. On the other hand, "Juice" is easy to appreciate...and it's just one guitar, bass and drums. A stellar performance.
Sometimes I take pride in just being myself and not worrying about being a virtuoso. I love music. That's what matters to me the most. I will love, admire, and respect all virtuosos but I will always play my music even if it's slower. That's my hill, and I'm standing on it.
If you truly love music (at least playing it) you would want to be a virtuoso though because then you can play anything you want to play. "Just being myself" means nothing really other than you just play what is within your current skill level and possibly not those tunes that require a certain high level of virtuosity.
@neomangeo7822 well alright, I'll go practice my scales again and see if I can break 160bpm today ;) Then I'll work on Freight Train finger picking style a little faster and then maybe one of my old classical pieces I performed in jury in college like Leyenda a little faster. Maybe wrap it up with either Eruption again or maybe a jazz arrangement of Don't Get Around Much Anymore that one of my older guitar instructors taught me. I mean who doesn't want to be a virtuoso right? :)
To me it's very simple. Either it sounds good, or it doesn't. The player's technical ability (speed, etc.) has literally nothing to do with it. I could give a flying f*ck lol
My mom, 83 years old, said to me half a year ago: "you play too much virtuoso stuff. You know, beautiful melodies, connected with sparse, but very fast runs, are more captivating". Thats wise advice😊Since then I am searching for beautiful melodies but taking my chops to the limit
Right there with you. Fast is cool, and obviously you gotta be really talented to do it, but it has diminishing returns. I like Eddie Van Halen's guitar work on Dreams much more than on Eruption. But what do I know?
She's totally right. Slower phrases make fast phrases seem even faster and more exciting. Cantrast is king. Same with bright and dark moments in harmony. It's all about light and shade, as Jimmy Page said.
Melody is king. I love bands that can do both great melody and speed like Dream Theater. But when it's a band that has solos that are just pentatonic noodling without caring about melody, I personally call that just "guitar wankery".
There’s different expressive nuances available in fast playing vs. slow playing. Players who know how to tap into those expressive nuances are masters. When every 32nd of a measure is occupied by a note, or something furious like that, the expression tends to be around swing, and how the dynamics of the notes flow together to form a cohesive expression. Compared to the expressive playing of someone like David Gilmour, those concepts of swing and dynamics still exist but it’s also possible to emphasize other expressive nuances like how he strikes each note. Degrees of how muted a palm muted note is, the exaggeration of a bend. The drama of space between phrases. The slower the piece, the more you can emphasize the subtleties of these things. This isn’t a contrast to say one style is better than the other, but rather why someone might appreciate the differences in different approaches to composition.
This is basically it. As speed increases, the articulation of each note becomes less important and the movement of the musical lines becomes more important. That is why something like a scale sequence is likely to sound less exciting at a lower speed than a lyrical musical phrase, but can be absolutely exhilarating when played fast in the right context.
I think you nail it on the head. Speed is relative. When you're at cruising speed on an airplane, it doesn't feel like you're moving fast, but when taking off and landing, you notice it! Jimmy Page was able to generate a lot of excitement playing at the edge of his ability, which wouldn't be considered fast at all now, but he was a master at tension and release, which is a lost art form now and was rarely an aspect of most shredders' playing.
@flazjsg Wow. Somebody that gets what James was all about. That's one of the things I appreciate about James the most. That and his ability to mix and use minor & major pentatonic scales seamlessly, along with others. LedHed Pb 207.20 🎶 🎸 🎹
Beautiful thing about being a musician is we can actually enjoy playing our instruments according to our abilities even if that is not warp speed - while likely having an even deeper appreciation for the virtuosity of those who can.
There's two things happening here. First, there's the players that seek speed for speeds sake. Then there's the players where speed is an afterthought, and is just a side effect of their dedication to their instrument. They strive for accuracy and perfection, in which speed is a natural result. The latter's priority is emotion. Gary Moore for example had blistering speed, but he was one of a handful of players that brought tears to my eyes ("Parisienne Walkways" anyone?). Nuno Bettencourt is a virtuoso that belongs to this group as well. He decries what he refers to as the "Guitar Olympics". Steve Vai as well. The first group of players just have different purposes in mind, and there is a certain fascination with breaking limits & achieving a certain level of mastery in any field. But the first group doesn't have the emotional depth of the second. Mozart himself referred to a certain pianist (that lost a challenge to him) as a "mere technician".
The Edward Van Halen comment is a good one because if you look at "Eruption," it has fast parts but it also has parts where he hangs on to notes too and lets each of those notes sing. The secret sauce for the top tier players like Van Halen, Lynch, Slash, etc. is their vibrato. If those guys played the same parts without vibrato, it wouldn't have any of what a singer does with his or her voice. The Guthrie piece to referenced is great because he's setting up with the widdly-widdly notes and then hits the longer held notes with vibrato. Those dynamics will always work. Widdly-widdly by itself isn't as great. Look at Friedman and Poland as also great examples of this. The note control gives them a voice that no one else has and they both can burn. But it's not burn by itself.
Speaking of Gilmour. When is he making an appearance on your show. He would be a pinnacle for your show. Makes sense after Alan Parsons!! Make it happen Rick!!
I can still remember, when I was a child, my friends and I found out that Beamons jump was almost exactly the width of the street that was in front of our homes. It blew our minds, how far that jump really was. Not music related, but still worth mentioning :)
When Patrik Sjöberg set his high-jump world record of 2.42 m we were in the stadium. When we got home we took out a folding rule, measured up 2.42 m next to a door in the living room, and then we stared in awe for 10 minutes, it's high. Next couple of days we did the same for long jump and triple jump. Those are crazy impressive feats.
I was in high school in 1968. Bob Beamon was as amazed at his jump as everyone else! (Dick Fosbury also forever changed the high jump during the 68 Olympics).
I noticed with some pianists like Yuja, her articulation at speed, actually reveals the music in many of the compositions she plays. Speed offers vitality, energy and brings with it its own inspiration.
Small error, Rick. Bob Beamon's leap at the '68 Olympics was jaw-dropping, breaking the existing record by just shy of TWO FEET ... but it WAS ultimately surpassed in an epic showdown between Carl Lewis and Mike Powell at the 1991 World Athletic Championships. Lewis' best jump was just 1-1/4" shy of Beamon's record - 2nd best of all time when he landed it. But then Powell exceeded that by 3-1/4", thus beating Lewis for the gold AND besting Beamon's leap by 2"! Beamon's record stood for 23 years, while Powell's has stood for 33 and counting - and no one else has come within 8" of that distance since. Lewis' jump at that meet remains the third best ever, while Beamon's - 56 years later - still holds the Number Two spot. The fact that he obliterated the previous record by almost 2 feet is beyond mindboggling!
@@carlgemlich1657 The thinner atmosphere certainly did have an effect on a lot of sports at that games - track athletes, in particular, struggled in longer endurance events, due to lower oxygen levels, but excelled in shorter explosive distances, due to lower air resistance. That almost certainly was a factor that accentuated Beamon's record jump, but given that the silver medalist at that competition jumped 6" less than the old world record - and 28" less than Beamon - it's safe to say that the majority of that record was due to one guy putting everything together to perfection in that one jump.
Far less known is the photographer who took the shot, Tony Duffy. “On the day of the men’s long jump final and carrying my Nikkormat camera, I was determined to get a good view of the action. With a half-full stadium and with a relaxed approach to security at the Games, I was determined to take my chance. I managed to talk my way past the student volunteers and I made it to the front-row seating. The long jump runway was outside of the track oval, which was ideal for me as this allowed me the chance to take shots of the jumpers head-on. I was only 50ft away and I was one of the few photographers down there as most were focused on the men’s 400m final. “After the first three men fouled, Beamon was ready to take his first-round jump and I was able to shoot over the low railing. What happened next has become athletics folklore as Beamon, competing in the oxygen-thin air of Mexico City, launched out to a stunning world record of 8.90m - more than half a metre farther than the previous mark. I snapped one frame of Beamon’s jump and I recall seeing the whites of his eyes, but to be honest I was enjoying the action so much I had no idea what I had shot and carried the film around with me for a couple of days before taking the film to be developed at a one-hour photo kiosk at a nearby hotel. “It was only after I held the negatives up to the light back in the room did I discover the Beamon pic. It was a sharp picture in which his mouth forms into an O and the scoreboard frames his figure. “On my return to England I sent the photo and others I’d taken during my time in Mexico to Amateur Photographer magazine. In December of that year they published the Beamon image and only then did I realise the enormity of the pic. My phone started ringing and people really started talking about the image. Over time I realised I had taken something special and this gave me the confidence and belief to pursue a full-time career in photography. Three years later I gave up my accountancy job and the following year I founded Allsport photo agency alongside my photographer friend, John Starr. I was lucky enough to then establish one of the world’s top sport photo agencies (note, Allsport was sold to Getty Images in 1998 for $29.4m).
Thank you for clearing that up. Definitely, that was no dish on Rick. It's interesting that I had to scroll a long way to find your comment. We might be anomaly, being music lovers.
Out of everything Rick said in this video, it was how long the Olympic Long Jump record has stood, and by what margin, that surprised me the most. There has to be a story behind that.
Through The Flower is my fav live thing they do.. it has a nice building progression that gets to the part where it blasts as opposed to blasting from the get go (which is cool too)
Congrats! Just saw them at the Gramercy Theatre in NY 2 weeks ago! Guthrie is insane, but I couldn't keep my eyes off of Marco's playing. Just superb!. Enjoy!
@@colinburroughs9871 Yes, Through the Flower is a gem on Tres Caballeros (my favorite t-shirt too). But the new album is full of tracks that I think are as good as anything they have recorded. From track 4 ("Sittin' With a Duck on a Bay") through track 8 ("And Then There Were Just Us/Duck's End"), those tunes are part of the daily playlist. "Slideshow" is a fav. Looking forward to hearing these songs live. A little less than 5 hours to showtime, woohoo!
I used to care about speed until 8 year olds were doing it on youtube. Its cliche now. Zoe Thompson did it for me. She was like 5 playing Paganini speeds. Now speed is just musical gibberish to me.
There's just too many of them now in yt. As a guitarists I just take my own sweet time playing and enjoy learning riffs that I like. Not into these speedsters who play with no passion and heart
Love this one Rick! As a guitarist, I've been having this exact conversation with musicians my whole life...and I love that you mention the greatest classical composers were virtuosos; it's the greatest thing when BOTH musicality and musicianship merge at the same time, you get the best of both worlds!
1:35 I beg to differ. There are numerous composer that we would consider of the highest rank that were not recognized in their time as virtuosos on any instrument, simply as capable players whose imaginations exceeded their chops. People like Haydn, Wagner, Verdi and Berlioz come to mind.
That’s right. There were other composers who were good or competent but not world class. In fact, it was not uncommon for them to write pieces they themselves could not play. On the other side, it’s always amazing that Mendelssohn is left out when naming virtuosos. Also, Chopin is considered a great composer of piano and that is it!!! He is not a great composer in any other genre. Even his concertos are like… bad examples of orchestral writing.
@@coreyjones5270would love it if you could elaborate a little on this. I don’t know a lot about classical music but i’m always keen to learn how to listen to it
@@TooLittleInfo sure thing! As an example of a composer who wasn’t a virtuoso but is primarily known for his compositions we can look at Manuel Ponce. He wrote some of the best guitar music for classical guitar and worked with Andres Segovia when writing music for the instrument. Segovia was the most well known guitarist of his era and they worked together to expand the repertoire for the guitar. You even have examples of great players like Leo Brouwer writing music for virtuosos like John Williams ( not the film composer). Chopin was an incredible composer of Romantic Era piano music. He is far and away the most played composer for the instrument. His music offers a range of interest and difficulty so he can be used as performers are growing their technique and musicality. However, to say he is considered on the same level as Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart is a bit silly. These three wrote in most genres and have masterpieces in both chamber and large ensemble. Chopin did not… not even close. His piano music is second to none but that was his only focus really. His concertos are real boring orchestrally. The piano part is great but the orchestra is not having a conversation with the piano…. They just kind of sit there holding notes out as background for the piano. Beethoven and Mozart wrote concertos too, but they were able to create a dynamic interplay between soloists and orchestra. Bach did not write for piano as it was a new instrument in his life time and he was much more fond of the harpsichord, organ, and even the lautenwerck. Yet his writing is so spectacular that it sounds awesome on any instrument, and his concertos are spectacular. The point is that performing is not the same thing as composing and we have numerous examples of people who have given us grate music in genres they did not play/sing for. Mahler for example was an incredible pianist but is regarded for his massive symphonies. Anyway, hope this helps.
When auditioning guitar players for a band, I used to have them play the solo from L.A. Woman. Robbie never played faster than a walk, but every note is perfect. Robin Trower, too.
That one time you talked about the Gilmour affect, you also joked -- in a truthful way, about how important it was to just "listen faster". That point gave me a deeper appreciation for speed as I actually find myself focusing to make my slower brain listen to what is actually going on during a frenetic song or solo. (half-speed youtube videos also help out). Love your music appreciation videos!
The athletic examples you gave are short and quick bursts for the most part, e.g. long jump, sprints, gymnastics. That's how I prefer to hear speed on the guitar. It is impressive but I like it for short bursts. After about 30 seconds (maybe 60 max), I am tuned out.
Exactly. I'd much rather watch a really great team playing well together than to watch one athlete perform amazing feats of strength, speed, and dexterity. I love Nikola Jokic's game a lot more than many much flashier players because he plays within his role and makes the whole team better. Virtuoso music is mostly soulless to me.
Well timed, just yesterday had an argument with a young man who dismissed David Gilmour contemptuously as "too slow". I said "listen kid, when you grow up you find that guitar playing is like sex, it's not about how fast you can go, it's about your touch and feeling." You can imagine how well that went down. Hopefully he'll one day see that I am right.
The right analogy. It may sound excessive fast and be 'damn that sure is hard to play' , but it doesn't tell a story. I can hear Comfortably Numb solos and start crying, because it is so beautifully played and every note is perfectly timed that it is absolutely divine. I wouldn't add or subtract anything from it, it was born perfect. And I cry because it tells me a story, it resonates with my mind. I can have it be 10x faster and it will be impressive but without a soul or story to tell.
It might be more exciting to watch people play fast, but for me it’s always lacked depth and emotion. I will take Gilmour over any other guitar player because you can feel every single note he plays in your soul.
Yes, the Gilmour effect is the essence that attracts me to the greatest guitarists. That is why I love Carlos Santana, the way he hits that first note and suspends it to get the most of the emotion is for me the sound that reaches into my soul.
Absolutely. Carlos performs open heart surgery on his audience without anesthesia. I've seen Santana 5 times live; that first note of the first song brings the tears and the joy comes flooding in for the whole evening. Albums 1-5 are my favorites.
@@flazjsg Roy cannot play any of Shawn's stuff up to speed AND in one take. His 2nd-Look lessons are all broken up into 3 second segments. He's fast but it's more like a gymnastic feat than a musical thing.
One of the reasons I prefer to listen to Eric Johnson over most other shredders, is that he truly understands that just as important as the notes you do play are the notes you don't play. In the immortal words of Ian Malcolm, they are "so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
@__Philip__311, It's funny as I have mixed feelings about Eric Johnson. I think he knows a lot more than he shows. I mean I think he sort of plays to his fanbase. When I saw him live, the venue was sort of bad, there was a ton of echo and it was just a mess of sound except when he played one acoustic tune and that was my favorite. I left the show early as it was just too loud for my ears. But I know he's one of the great guitarists of all times, I especially love his chord voicings on some of his intros. Nobody else plays like that.
@@tomruth9487 I'm surprised to hear about the venue, as Johnson has a reputation as an absolute perfectionist when it comes to how his equipment sounds.
@@richardnanian6075 , Yes, I've heard the same about Eric. I don't think he had any idea how it sounded in the audience. I think most people there at the show didn't care or know any better. I have much respect for Eric, I just didn't think much of the venue.
The "Girlmour effect" is really spot on and funny. I've read those words so many times from (mostly) older generations of guitarists. Their opinion on shredders are so cliche and so radical that there's no place for in-between players that uses speed as a tool. There's always their dichotomy between speed and emotion. Truth is, speed brings emotions too : power, energy and attitude when it's used in the right purpose. Although, I'm only digging players that master both and takes the best of both worlds. Music is like cooking. It is made with recipes and ingredients : too much technical stuff will be boring for sure.
Absolutely that. So many people get triggered by speed it's ridiculous. To say Oscar Peterson plays without emotion is the wildest statement imaginable but it's popular opinion. People these days might also just be afraid of admitting that they like speed...
I think the sense of emotion we get from music comes much more from dynamics than from speed. That's why a piano (originally a "pianoforte," meaning "soft-loud") was such a vast improvement on the harpsichord, which had no dynamic variation, and the clavichord, which had a dynamic range that ran only from "quite soft" to "almost inaudible." We hear a harpsichord today and our minds go instantly to noblemen in powdered wigs and noblewomen in voluminous dresses, plunging necklines, and hair piled halfway to the ceiling dancing in perfect formation in some palace ballroom. Both the dancing and the music had a kind of precise, even mathematical beauty, but any passion was deeply sublimated. I can only imagine how people reacted the first time they heard a piano start out soft and then crescendo to fortissimo. The problem I have with most shredders is that they seldom employ any dynamic variation when they are shredding. It's just "crank it up to 11 and let 'er rip!" In contrast, the guitarist I most admire is Mark Knopfler. His solos are fascinating because his variation in dynamics is practically infinite. Even when he is playing fast, he varies the dynamics from note to note. I've heard him do quick runs in which he didn't play any two consecutive notes at exactly the same volume, and that isn't an accident, because I have heard him play the same run the same way on other occasions. Of course, that is doubtless easier to do for finger-pickers, which explains why the guitarists I enjoy most include Knopfler, Lindsey Buckingham, Tommy Emmanuel, Chet Atkins, Leo Kottke, and even Paul Simon (who is much better than most people realize).
Brings back joyous memories of planting myself directly in front of Jimmy Herring (who does not get talked about enough) to have my face absolutely melted time after time when Col. Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue came to town every few weeks - one of the greatest live bands of all time (Otiel, Jeff Sikes & Matt Mundy!)
Speed is fun to listen to once, but for repeat listens the most important thing for me is songwriting. Without a great melodically interesting song, I ain't coming back. And one of my favorite solos is Hotel California, or those in Hotel California, there's more than one, but they aren't speed demons.
It's why Sinatra's "One For My Baby" (as another example of slow tempo) has so much feeling. Frank's telling a story & that voice...never appreciated him more then when I tried to sing his songs. Seemingly effortless movement of his voice...just amazing 👍
This is a great video and very true. Honestly, I have not played guitar in a long time because after seeing who is on RUclips, it's very intimidating and I don't have the time to play like used to years ago. I know, that's not what it's about, but I can't kick that habit of thinking that in order to be good, I have to have the crazy chops, and I'm not going to woodshed hours a day. Very conflicted. Yes, I love Gilmore and slow work, phrased great, is the best, but when I play, I feel like I need to be the BEST.....the best for me. I'm hard on myself. Constant conflicting battle. Basically, I'm not going to be happy just playing cowboy chords. You know what I mean.
I wish you had mentioned Shawn Lane Virtuoso on both Piano and Guitar His speed along with melody in guitar is still unmatched, probably will be unmatched forever
@@RagggedTrouseredPhilanthropist okay fake laugh guy I never called my comment an opinion or a fact, so you just assumed something just to get salty about. And in music when it comes to analysing the effect it has on the listeners, how it makes them feel, what they observe, these can't be stated as facts as there are no metrics that can be used to come to a conclusion, it is always subjective. So again, when you supposedly took my comment as 'fact' , instead of trying to act smart while actually giving an insight to the type of person you are, I wish you actually acted smart and presented something to let me know why you think that I might have been wrong
@@ayandey137 ahhhh, I think I see what happened here; you don't know what "unmatched" means. I'll help you out so you know for the next time you try to use a big word. Unmatched means unequalled/unrivalled, it means that no one can match something. So whether you knew it or not, you were saying that no one can match Lane on the guitar, therefore you think he's the best, and that would be an opinion. You see how words have meanings? Don't be suprised if people actually think you mean what you're writing. You're welcome for the brief English lesson by the way. 😘
Have you ever looked at Bruce Cockburn? I just caught him last month in Orillia Ontario at the Mariposa Folk festival and though he's 79 and having trouble getting around once he sat down to play he was as good as ever and can still do all that intricate finger picking beautifully. He seems like someone you'd be into.
@tomruth9487 of course. I live in a place where Harry passes through when he's touring pretty often and I've been around the singer songwriter folk music community in Toronto for 25 years. His stuff with Kevin Breit is cool. Breit is another underappreciated guitar virtuoso
Talking about virtuoso: Have you heard the "jaw dropping" guitar playing by Abim Finger? Is it even possible to play any better than that? Flawless technique and great feeling. Just check out his youtube site. Mainly (great) covers, but also two originals: "Flow" and "Future". Just listen to his impressive covers by masters like Joe Satriani, Kiko Loureiro, John Petrucci and others. Abim played these covers when he was 10-11 years old. Now he is 17 and will probably become one of the guitar giants.
circus tricks (sadly) many times (not always)... but listen to pink floyd, jazz ballads (john coltrane, miles, bill evans) playing s l o w l y ...but eloquently... and honestly, is more exciting...despite the lack of speed for these frantic modern times.... AND: don't underestimate the power of silence in music!! ....breath!
There's an instananious thrill to speed, but most of us reach the point of fatigue where we need variation, melody, subtle layering that most couldn't identify, and less chaos.
If you play fast and make an error, it drowns in the mass. If you play slow and make an error, everybody hears it. It can't be hidden anywhere. So if you are going to play slow, you got to be good.
If you're not used to listening to music at faster speeds, you won't hear the mistake. If you have never listened to the virtuosic musicians/composers Rick is talking about, then yeah you could listen to someone wank around missing note after note but playing fast and you wouldn't know the difference, because you aren't processing the music fast enough. With faster improvised jazz, I have a hard time keeping up with some of those players, but i I'm listening to a prepared piece, that I know, I'd be able to tell you if one 32nd note was wrong. It's a skill, for me it was a learned skill I honed by transcribing music for many many years. There is the same level of difficulty and same need for accuracy in fast music and slow music.
Glen Campbell said that when he played the William Tell Ovature on his 12 string. He comment that if he made a mistake you probably couldn’t tell because he was playing it so dog gun fast.😂
In about 1983, I was working on tremolo picking on my newly acquired 1968 Telecaster with a factory Bigsby (I think it was about $280 at Guitar Center). I mentioned what I was practicing to a coworker, who then invited me to meet his brother. His brother was studying to become a pro player at Al Di Meola’s school. When we met, he asked about my guitar and immediately told me adamantly that Fender never made such a model. Apparently, they both assumed that tremolo picking meant I was just trying to play fast, which he saw as a mistake. I pointed out that fast playing was sort of an Al Di Meola trademark. He dismissed that as irrelevant. He complained about his classmates who hid behind effects. I could afford no pedals to hide behind, so I’m not sure why he was admonishing me for that. Then he asked if I liked David Gilmour. When I said I did, he used that as proof that fast playing was pointless, like he was in a courtroom saying, “So I submit, Your Honor…!” I Googled him later, and it turns out he’s a concrete contractor now.
But Al Di Meola is the exception to the rule of "un-musical fast players." He does plays fast but there's not a single wasted note, unlike fast "virtuosos" who just play fast for the sake of it.
@meretrxutube, funny story. Back in the 80's I went to see Al Di Meola. I was disappointed as so much of his playing was just a lot of notes. But I still enjoyed his arrangements and the band was tight. I think I bought one of his albums and that was about it.
@@tomruth9487 I didn't mean to rip on poor Al. I actually saw him perform with Return to Forever a couple of years before that too. Even back then, I found it ironic that someone who was so vocally anti-speed would attend Al's school. On tremolo picking, as an example, I wouldn’t call 'Misirlou' fast playing,. You can play a slow mandolin tune while tremolo picking your head off-not the kind of 'fast' Rick is talking about. The whole situation felt like an unhelpful attempt to assert dominance and hump me over something I wasn't even focusing on. I wasn’t any good, never pretended to be, and was no threat to anybody. I was just being offered up as a sacrifice for his prepared statement about his pet peeve. Much time has passed since then, I’m not bitter (we Irish are a forgiving people and can let things go), and if I keep practicing, I might reach a passable level any day now.,
@@meretrxutube Well, it sounds like you have a large passion for guitar, if not music in general. I'm 74 and have sort of given up playing guitar, I was never really any good anyway. But I think just being a fan of guitar or music makes you a better listener and it adds a lot more to the joy of music.
Went to a BB King concert. Los Lonely Boys and Kenny Wayne Sheppard opened. Great guitar players, monster chops. BB hits one note and there is no question as to who owned the night.
A key factor is contrast: a fast lick at the right place can have a powerful effect. A nice example is Beck's playing in recording of Cause we Ended as Lovers. Without contrast speed can quickly become boring.
I’m a metalhead but I love classical music and slower music. Faster is more thrilling and impressive but slower is more heartfelt and beautiful. I don’t worry about being a virtuoso but I still wanna get better at guitar. Rick your a goat 🐐.
I’ve played drums for almost 36 years and the advice I always give to people is that the notes you don’t play are equally as important (if not more) than the notes you do play.
I rarely chime in on these things, but something I feel I hardly see in these discussions is how music that is perceived as fast is typically seen as just flash or a showing of technical playing ability. For someone like me that has my own unique combination of ADHD and anxiety that fast playing does goes through my brain as wonderful flowing melody. It connects closely to my chaotic and rapid thought processes which is very comforting to me. The melodies and the music that is composed inside my head is the same way. An uncontrollable cascade of fast flowing passages. I have played guitar a very long time and was never able to adequately develop my chops in order to reproduce what is in my head. This leaves me with seeking out players and composers that can get close to that. When I hear folks say that such playing and composition is lacking "feeling" it seems like they are excluding people like me or can't conceive how others could possibly "feel" something from such music which I find to be a selfish point of view.
Rick had the perfect moment to ask Paul Gilbert about his time with Shawn Lane, and that epic Let it Be solo. I didn't watch the interview, but I doubt either of them mentioned Lane.
Thank you for a great presentation and good insight into a very relevant subject. You hit on something very pertinent in the beginning of your narrative. That being the entertainment and fascination aspect of spectator sports. People like to see and experience something very exciting when it comes to spectator sports, which you explained very well when it comes to the popularity of certain Olympic events. Conversely music fans and aficionados are also looking for entertainment and excitement when it comes to the music they tend to listen to. Many people are indeed excited, impressed and just mind-boggled by the abilities of the musicians you mentioned. At the same time, your point regarding the Gilmore effect hits the nail squarely. Many of us have heard all the axioms about a guitarist saying more with note than some do with dozens, or the B. B. King effect. I’m of the opinion that music evokes emotions in people and the slower, soulful, emotional types of playing you allude to will directly strike at more of the “soul” in people, thus hitting their emotions squarely to evoke those feelings and moods that the performer or player is trying to hit at. I’m not saying one is better than the other, speed versus laid back, I’m just pointing out that all of us get something from both, and both are just as moving and impressive. We are fortunate that there is a vast amount of great music and performers to provide us with inspiration, entertainment and enjoyment. I think if a musician can hit any kind of nerve in a listener they are to be recognized and lauded. Just my 2 cents. 🎸👮🏻♂️🇺🇸
What about a healthy mix of both fast and slow? Or that perfect middle of the road between both? Respecting and understanding both seems more important than choosing and being in one camp or the other to me.
Think about that intro "volcano" lick on Holdsworth's "City Nights" - which you did a video on actually. Not to mention guys like Shawn Lane or Roy Marchbank if you want guitarists who have speed that sometimes seems like it exceeds the limits of humans. When I was younger, as a guitar player I was all about speed and I probably peaked in 1997 or so - now I can play 98% of that speed but I'm cleaner. When you have that speed though, sometimes it's hard to slow down and decide what you're doing is going make a concise melodic statement that is all about emotion. Now that I'm older, I try to do a mix of both where it is appropriate.
Gosh, the Gilmour effect is so real, man. It is fine that you like melodic players the most, but where does that annoying need to snobbishly tell that to anyone on comments sections come from? No one asked! And no, your musical tastes aren't necessarily elite or superior because of that.
I was 16 at the time and had been playing the guitar about 5 or 6 years when I was asked by my religion teacher in school ‘what would I ask for if I had one wish’. I hastily said that I would wish to be the fastest guitar player ever. He looked at me with a cheeky grin and said…’that doesn’t mean you’d be the best ever though’. I’m almost 45 now, have carved a nice career for myself as a musician and still about that moment regularly.
One of my all time favorite RUclips teachers is Justin Sandercoe. He can explain things and show them to you in such a way that you can easily understand it. Not just the how, but the why. One of his favorite axioms is you play your guitar to make music. No one pays money to go and see the worlds fastest scale player. No one goes to see the worlds fastest picker who can play 200 notes per minute. Those are just parlor tricks. So speed just for the sake of speed is worthless unless it's musical. Guys like BB King could play one friggin' note and touch you in a way that no others can. One note. Then take a blistering fast player like Vinnie Vincent. Fingers move so fast they blur on recordings. He can get from the 20th fret to the 1st fret with 50 notes in a few seconds. People see and hear it and go "wow! That was fast! What are we doing for dinner tonight?" It doesn't affect you. But hearing BB King play The Thrill is Gone will strike a nerve with you because of the issues you're having with your wife, or husband, or girlfriend may be relevant at the time. And the guitar is an instrument like the human voice. You want to hear a singer that sings that fast and nonstop? lol Me neither.
Its not about speed, it's proficiency, talent, and confidence, and ego. We all want it, and if you have it you will flaunt it. I love Holdsworth, and as self effacing as he was there's no way that was all music. Ego is always part of it. 100% is 100%, and if you can't play fast that's on you.
What I love about Dimash is how he can outsing anybody on this planet, but he chooses the techniques based on how they fit the song, instead of endlessly riffing like some others do. (He could do it, but he doesn’t). 😊 Instead you hear his virtuosity in every part of a song. Even in the slow and quiet parts. ❤
As good as dimash is I don’t particularly care for anything he does/sings. I’d much rather have a great singer with less vocal ability but with great songs and a more organic performance like Kate Bush, Thom Yorke or Freddie Mercury
This is why I think Steve Hackett is a virtuoso. Yeah, he can play fast runs (Dancing With The Moonlit Knight), but he also excels at slower, melodic licks. It's all about playing to the song, and letting the music breathe.
Bob Beamon's record was broken in 1991 by Mike Powell. Bob's record was an amazing feat that stood for 22 years, but Bob's jump hasn't been the record jump for a long time now. Yes, technically Bob Beamon's record is still the Olympic record but what's the point of ignoring longer jumps outside the Olympic games?
Because if you can beat it in trials/ regional competitions, you should be able to put up at the Olympics. No one cares if your team beat the opposing team during the regular season. Are they going to win the Super Bowl?? same-same
Bob Beamon's jump was such an outlier, and still is. Nothing against Mike Powell's jump, either. But the Olympics are the biggest track and field competition in the world, and because Beamon's jump happened on such a worldwide stage and was so much longer than previous records, it captured the imagination in a way that few athletic performances ever have.
Ah, but don't forget how Miles Davis responded to the virtuosity displayed at the height of Bep Bop ... He went through a similar musical angst and found a new Jazz expression that left the Jazz virtuosos looking "old fashioned". But then again, this is Miles Davis, one of humanity's greatest musical innovators.
Davis got annoyed at Coltrane extending his solos for too long. Trane said to Miles..." When I start I can't stop myself." Davis replied " Just take the ****ing thing out of your mouth" 😂
Miles as a performer was never a good "speed demon", his knack was doing slow, melodic, intriguing solos with sultry tones. He was like a spicier version of Paul Desmond (but on trumpet). That's why he transitioned out of bebop, because cool jazz and modal jazz was more akin to his style. But it's not as if he was against virtuosity when it came to his musical partners: I mean, dude practically made it a habit to showcase virtuoso guys like Cobham, Corea, McLaughlin, Williams, Miller, Benson, Stern, etc.
Miles was still a skilled trumpet player. What made him special was his tone and phrasing. You knew it was him. Much harder to distinguish, say, Johnny Coles from Jack Walrath, though I'm sure there are those who can.
Because the faster something is, the more it feels like somebody is on the cusp of human possibility. They are breaking through physical and mental barriers that the average person struggles with. People are drawn into the chaos of performing an action so fast it barely seems controllable. It starts to appear as if they aren't even consciously doing the action anymore, that they are so 100% in tune with the moment that it becomes pure unconscious expression of peak human ability.
@@christopheroliver148 never... it is always art. Technical death metal is based on 160bpm minimum songs and it's high quality art. Alkaloid, First Fragment, Inferi, Gorod,...
As much as i agree about certain musicians who absolutely shred, which makes us love them. I agree so much that David Gilmore has some of the greatest & most tasteful leads ever. I also often argue about what an absolutely amazing Drummer Nick Mason is for much of the same reasons. He plays sparingly, tastefully, he allows the Drums to breathe on the song. And what he produced on every song was magical & flawless, just like David Gilmore.
Our punk rock band NO APPARENT REASON from 1985 played fast. Songs under and near a minute. Lucky White of the Dude Ranch Playboys who toured with Les Paul in the the 1940s and 50s said: If you have to play fast and loud you're covering for your mistakes.
Mechanical skill is a thing but it's not necessarily musical. I have seen HUNDREDS of child "prodigies" on the internet and you never hear of them ever again. It's copying not creating.
Chops/speed blow me away and I love it, gives goosebumps and all that good stuff but non of the speed will leave me with tears in my eyes at the pure beauty of what I am listening to, Andy Latimer always comes to mind. If you don't know who Andy Latimer is check out a band called Camel, ' would LOVE to see Rick do a piece about Andy.
This! I have never liked playing fast songs. It's too showy in my taste. I like hearing the harmonies and letting them soak in. I feel music deeply, and teaching that is the greatest challenge. I am also not a competitive teacher. My band teacher in high school used to say "higher, faster, louder" when we would rush. I do not know this fascination with things going fast. I think it's because people cannot be present and they're always looking for the next big thing.
A professional violinist once said to me: "Paganini's easier to play than Mozart, speed is easier to break than dynamics" Playing fast is a 'required' technical device, but definitely not the "one skill to rule them all". You NEED to be able to play slow, medium, fast, with little, more and max dynamics. And also be able to fit within the context, have swing, groove with the ensemble... Nobody said achieving virtuoso level is easy.
I think the secret here, in all kinds of performance, is *intensity*, which mostly comes when increasing the speed of execution. However, certain all time greats have managed to capture intensity through slow, concentrated effort, and that's rarer, hence why we cherish it so much
![Diggy Graves - Red Vineyard [Official Lyric Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8Ro085T0mnQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm a working drummer. I learnt a lesson from record producer, John Capek, in a Melbourne studio in the early 80's. He took me aside one day and asked me how slow could I play? I said I had no idea. He told me, ' most drummers that I've worked with can't play slow - learn how to play slow, with groove and feel, as most drummers can't'. I have never forgotten that message.
Playing slow and good is goddamn hard.
a 100% with you. I'm a guitarist and I had to learn percussion to learn what you are talking about. Make it slow but with groove and then you really have it. "Milongon" has they say in Candombe music
Playing slow with rhythm and keeping pace is one of the most challenging things I’ve done. I practice now at different bpm’s from 40 on up. I really want to create some slow grooves it’s difficult.
@@marcelrodeka That applies to guitar playing, too.
@@Colaeroimages It is, but it is something we can practise to get better at.
I've never understood why people can't appreciate more than one style. I love a slow bluesy solo, and I love to hear someone shred.
Thank you for that!
it's weird for me, too. You can find awesome stuff in any genre, from classical, to blues, to pop, to techno etc. I also don't just sit in one country. I have favs artists coming from Japan, China, France, Italy, my native Poland, Germany etc. The world of music is vast and I am a bit disappointed that Rick is not going out of American music and learns about B'z for example, who have their print's on Hollywood Rock Walk, or Yoshiki, who had a pretty successful career in the U.S. and won Variety International Award this year.
It's why I love Steve Morse's playing so much, particularly the Dixie Dregs music.
Jeff Beck was one of my faves, a total master of the guitar: blues, jazz, and he could shred. Be it fast or be it slow it’s all about bending strings to a purpose.
So do lots of people. This is one person's opinion of what we think without knowing us. Don't confuse opinions with facts.
BB King once said something like, “You don’t talk as fast as you can, because people won’t understand what you’re saying. So why play guitar solos as fast as you can?”
And then Ritchie Blackmore came and said, "Because I am a better guitarist than you."
Personally, I love fast playing and find most bloooz dadz to be incredibly boring.
There are a lot of guitar players who can play better than BB. If BB had chops what he said would mean more. I listened to BB when I was in middle school, but eventually the thrill was gone with the same few repeated licks.
Probably because talking and playing guitar are 2 entirely different things. You don't start using vibrato or bending your words when you talk either and you certainly don't hold a word out for a full measure in the middle of a conversation. BB king is literally the most overrated guitar player in history btw
Love that!
@@Tigermaster1986 Ritchie Blackmore of all people probably knows way more about the blues than you seem to do. Fast playing isn't everything. Fast playing and moving your heart is something entirely different. And, yes, without blues, our world would be much poorer.
The greatest skill in music…to me, is when a musician is able to bring an audience to tears without them really knowing why.
Tears always seem powerful but really they're pretty cheap, a lot like big laughs ... (and orgasms).
@@beingsshepherd i'm not sure I follow?
@@stephencroce2033 Physical reactions can be induced quite easily in people and don't necessarily signify anything of profundity.
Consider a sneeze for example.
@@beingsshepherd I still don't follow - Being moved to tears or laughter signifies an emotional connection that has been made and to the original point I think really hard to accomplish via artistic expression on it's own. I mean I suppose you could release pepper spray or laughing gas during a performance and people would tear up or laugh and that doesn't signify profundity - I am not aware of anyone having ever been moved to sneezes due to anything other than some sort of physical irritant.
@@stephencroce2033 Provoking laughter is hard to accomplish by art???
It's as easy and commonplace as sexual arousal.
_Bambi, Rocky, Watership Down, E.T. and Cocoon_ all feature tear-jerking scenes but are rightly regarded more works of kitsch than fine Art.
Who wants to be dabbing their wet eyes and streaming nose every time they hear a particular performance? "Manipulative" used to be legitimate criticism in artistic assessment.
This is precisely why I am super impressed with Pink Floyd’s drummer. Playing those songs is much harder than it appears! Holding that slow groove for 6-7 minutes takes such discipline. Just amazing.
So true!
Yes indeed!
That's why I've always respected disco drummers too. Anyone who can keep a 4 on the floor with almost no variation in tempo to the point where DJs can easily beatmatch the next record on vinyl (no sync buttons or "grid" back then) is great in my book.
Beyond being a rock-steady drummer, Nick Mason also contributed a tremendous amount to sourcing and creating all the interesting background sound effects that add so much texture to the recordings of Pink Floyd. He doesn't get the credit he deserves for his contributions to their amazing soundscapes.
I find more impressive drummers that play what the band need by improvizing and doing it on the fly. Say, John Bonham who played kinda by the ear what was needed at the moment. Jazz/blues roots. John Densmore also comes to mind in similar vain. Mason did the same for Floyd. Pure technical skill is boring - computers can do that.
I had my Epiphany in the early 90s, attending a Garry Moore Concert in Munich. That was the "Still got the Blues" Tour and I was pretty impressed with his high speed soloing. Until his special guest Albert Collins entered the stage, opening with "Cold, Cold feeling". What should I say, the man played three notes and effortlessly wiped away anything that happened before. He played like maybe a tenth of the notes that Moore would have in the same time, but everyone of them was right on spot, expressing a deep understanding and feeling for the blues that makes a real master.
A Zen lesson in Music.
Gary could play the same way. He came from a hard rock background and those speedy chops were a must. But very few people could rival the bending and tasteful vibrato in his melodic soloing on things like most of Still Got The Blues and Parisienne Walkways.
IMHO Gary had chops and feel for days. He could do it all and hit me in all of the right places.
@@Pete-Fisher Lol what are you talking about.
@@Pete-Fisher Different strokes for different folks. SRV was deafening. Likewise for Joe Bonamassa and Eric Steckel. Love Buddy Guy but he has the worst guitar tone. Gary will always be my favorite player.
@@adam872 He could play loud (Cold Day In Hell) or soft (The Messiah Will Come Again).
My Dad is a classical Violinist and spent all his life playing in Orchestras with many great (and no so great) Soloists. He nails it: Some musicians belong to the circus and others to the concert hall!
😂👍
Nice! I've thought of it as some people try to make music into a sport.
😂
0:35 "Why are people so addicted to speed?" Well you see Rick the way amphetamine works is that...
“This…is not meth.” 🫳 💥
😂
phrasing
Why do you think they call it Speed Metal?
LedHed Pb 207.20 🎶 🎸 🎹
Angel Dust…
In school our music teacher said taught us: "Silence, the silence between the notes is music too"
That stuck with me deeply.
Isn't that Debussy, but slightly modified?
I agree with your teacher. There is a time to shred, but there is also a time NOT to shred. The best talents can do both and know when to and not to do both as the music calls for it.
Agree, silence is a “note” as well to be considered that plays an integral part in the message
I believe Sting said the same
Just as the blank space in graphic design is design.
I prefer David Gilmour. His breaks reach into my soul and can bring me to tears. I respect fast guitar licks but they don’t take me anywhere emotionally.
I always think of Muhammed Suicmez. From Necrophagist. The clearest, most articulated solos ever. But - everything's the same speed, same volume, same tonal colour, same key. And back in the '90's and noughties, you couldn't compare as easily as nowadays. What IS an amazing feat of Suicmez, is that he could shred alarmingly high-endish AND grunt easily and convincingly at the same time.
As a young guy I was definitely obsessed with fast playing. Now when I see/hear a virtuoso performance it often feels more like an amazing athletic feat rather than an artistic one. And there are plenty of great sporting events that showcase that kind of skill. Obviously there is a place for fast playing and uptempo tunes. But nowadays I'm much more impressed with the creativity of great phrasing and nuance rather than the physicality of pure speed.
Nice way of putting it. Playing at extreme speed is physically hugely impressive, but does it have a kickass melody? Is there tone?
To use your sporting analogy, Larry Bird is still regarded as one of the greatest players ever, and he hardly dunked.
Well put.
Some of my students equate speed with accomplishment. The faster you play, the better you are. It's the hardest thing to un-do in a student, the desire to play fast to impress.
yeah but Christian Muenzner is never wrong with his speed,
and he does technical death metal & power metal (best power metal in the world, Eternity's End)
I'd rather listen to BB King than Yngwie Malsteem
Speed is one “plateau” of skill and achievement…but there is so much more but it’s still a “high skill” ability.
@@UnforgivenTrucker well MELVIN SPARKS , the guitar player of Fats Domino is superior in fun speed talent than Yngwie. "The Texa Twister" = old school speed funk
@@cerd6292 yup, the best players are emotion + speed. When you do both nobody can challenge you. Technical deat metal guitarists are atop the mountain with the jazz guitar players in this field
For me, a virtuoso is someone who masters their instrument and connects emotionally with the listener. I consider Jimi, Santana, Gilmore and Knopfler virtuosos since they’re amazing guitar players and they move me at a very deep level. The shredders do nothing for me. They’re technically impressive, but that’s about it. 😎
for me it's gary moore
@@mongo4utube That's a worthy answer. Gary was melodic and expressive, but had the skills to go fast when it fit. Fantastic player in all aspects.
Fore sure, speed is what you strive for when you don't have that natural groove. That natural groove is something one hears in music from a very early age, you either have it or you don't.
I was with some friends and we decided to go hear Scott Henderson many years ago. We were not expecting as much. but were all blown away by the end of the show. It was how he connected with the audience, it was not just his playing but the music as a whole. I've seen a lot of great players but sorry I never got to see Jimi
I'm sorry, but you're manipulating the meaning everyone understands when they hear «virtuoso» just to fit the players you prefer.
There's no need to do that, we can (I do!) enjoy all kind of players, even truly bad players who do something that resonates with us.
I also sometimes get stunned with these fast playing guys with incredible chops, but I also very quickly get bored if it's not very musical. I love musicians who can blow my mind with the right notes and have a lot of space.
I was fortunate to get a 9th row seat at a BB concert in Oakland and that night he said one thing that changed my solo playing for ever - “It’s very important to know when “not” to play notes in a solo.
In fact I think any bass player should know that also in a bass line, the notes not played are as least as important as the ones played, unless you are Jaco Pastorius. :-P
Loved this subject - it's like golf - the 300+ yard drive gets the hoots from the crowd but never the second shot which take the real finesse.
Don't forget putting. As they say 'drive for show putt for dough'
@@erics7992 True that!!
@@KeyOfGeebz Yep! Michael Jordan's legendary slam dunks are showstoppers, not the beautifully executed passes and feints previous to that.
Drive for show, put for dough !
Guess who is the best at approach shots in golf? Yep.
I recall a radio interview with David Gilmour, sometime in the '90s, in which he admitted, "I'm never going to be fast." But, staying within his limitations, he certainly knew how to make the most of his inherent sense of musicality and drama.
I wouldn't even call it a limitation. It's just a different style. Limitation makes it sound like a weakness in their ability.
Jeff Beck, Brian May Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Peter Green, BB King, none of these guys are shredders, none of them are known for being fast players (although they probably could have if needs be) and all of them would be on any serious list of "Greatest Guitarists".
Are you sure David “admitted” he would never be fast? Could it have been more of a _statement_ that he never played fast?
That’s a rule that David occasionally loosened, though not to the same extent as shredders.
The problem for me is when some musicians play endlessly fast, all the time, are bad listeners and don’t play what the music requires. It comes across as self indulgent, narcissistic and exhausting. Thrilling in the correct setting, but obnoxious if it teeters into overkill.
That's what kicking people out of the band is for, or maybe not letting them join in the first place for the sheer WOW effect of their momentary try out performance. Sometimes you just gotta' do what you gotta' do!
I say "Fast is only fast when there is a slow, loud is only loud when there is a silent to compare against".
Comparing Jimmy Chamberlin to Matteo Mancuso is wilddddddd
Magnificently stated.
Yngwie is a prime example!
A truly musical musician understands when something other than just chops are required
A hard truth that the anti-shredders never seem to take into account: A slow solo can suck, too. It can be pedantic and boring, just like a lame shred solo. On the flip side, sometimes "a cloud of educated gnat notes" (Frank Zappa's phrase) can be just what the song calls for. The intense musicality of fleet-fingered people like Steve Morse, John Petrucci, Nili Brosh, Brent Mason and Steve Vai (to name a few) is there to be discovered and appreciated by those who look beyond technical chops and strive to "listen faster." Composition and feel are golden here, too. Give "Juice" by Steve Vai a spin and tell me that's not some of the most joyous music you've ever heard. Just like Gilmour's three solos on "Money," the fast stuff by Steve Lukather in "Rosanna" and "Hold The Line" is just what the songs call for. Open your mind. Open your ears. There's are wonders to be found at every tempo.
Seriously!? Do you honestly think people are against shredding just for the sake of something to be opposed to? Or that they ALL dislike ALL fast playing, and don't know that fast playing can also be amazing in the hands of a truly talented player? Or that they don't know that some slow solos can be exactly as you say, boring? If you think that's what's going on you have missed the point.
@@darcyperkins7041 Read the comments on this video and many others and see for yourself. And I never said ALL. Yes, SOME people are against shredding or any kind of playing that requires technical facility because they think it 'has no soul." "It's just musical masturbation." "I don't need to watch a dick measuring contest." And yes, some people who comment on RUclips post just want to be combative. If you don't think so, you're not paying attention.
@@darcyperkins7041 absolutely. Lots of people are just afraid to admit that they like speed because then they have to listen to all those boring monologues about how only slow music has emotions.
I listened to "Juice" on your recommendation and it is a top song, great virtuosity.
@@rachelcolomb Glad you enjoyed it. As amazing and creative as Vai's music is, some of it falls into the "Difficult Listen Hour" category. On the other hand, "Juice" is easy to appreciate...and it's just one guitar, bass and drums. A stellar performance.
Sometimes I take pride in just being myself and not worrying about being a virtuoso. I love music. That's what matters to me the most. I will love, admire, and respect all virtuosos but I will always play my music even if it's slower. That's my hill, and I'm standing on it.
Fr
If you truly love music (at least playing it) you would want to be a virtuoso though because then you can play anything you want to play. "Just being myself" means nothing really other than you just play what is within your current skill level and possibly not those tunes that require a certain high level of virtuosity.
@neomangeo7822 well alright, I'll go practice my scales again and see if I can break 160bpm today ;) Then I'll work on Freight Train finger picking style a little faster and then maybe one of my old classical pieces I performed in jury in college like Leyenda a little faster. Maybe wrap it up with either Eruption again or maybe a jazz arrangement of Don't Get Around Much Anymore that one of my older guitar instructors taught me. I mean who doesn't want to be a virtuoso right? :)
To me it's very simple. Either it sounds good, or it doesn't. The player's technical ability (speed, etc.) has literally nothing to do with it. I could give a flying f*ck lol
@@BrianAndersonPhotography I’m with you on this one!
My mom, 83 years old, said to me half a year ago: "you play too much virtuoso stuff. You know, beautiful melodies, connected with sparse, but very fast runs, are more captivating". Thats wise advice😊Since then I am searching for beautiful melodies but taking my chops to the limit
Right there with you. Fast is cool, and obviously you gotta be really talented to do it, but it has diminishing returns. I like Eddie Van Halen's guitar work on Dreams much more than on Eruption. But what do I know?
I think you've got it right. Speed can be exciting and attention grabbing, but it's not melodic in any way, to me it's noise.
She's totally right. Slower phrases make fast phrases seem even faster and more exciting. Cantrast is king. Same with bright and dark moments in harmony. It's all about light and shade, as Jimmy Page said.
I love this advice :) Wise elders are great 🙏
Melody is king. I love bands that can do both great melody and speed like Dream Theater. But when it's a band that has solos that are just pentatonic noodling without caring about melody, I personally call that just "guitar wankery".
There’s different expressive nuances available in fast playing vs. slow playing. Players who know how to tap into those expressive nuances are masters. When every 32nd of a measure is occupied by a note, or something furious like that, the expression tends to be around swing, and how the dynamics of the notes flow together to form a cohesive expression. Compared to the expressive playing of someone like David Gilmour, those concepts of swing and dynamics still exist but it’s also possible to emphasize other expressive nuances like how he strikes each note. Degrees of how muted a palm muted note is, the exaggeration of a bend. The drama of space between phrases. The slower the piece, the more you can emphasize the subtleties of these things. This isn’t a contrast to say one style is better than the other, but rather why someone might appreciate the differences in different approaches to composition.
This is basically it. As speed increases, the articulation of each note becomes less important and the movement of the musical lines becomes more important. That is why something like a scale sequence is likely to sound less exciting at a lower speed than a lyrical musical phrase, but can be absolutely exhilarating when played fast in the right context.
I think you nail it on the head. Speed is relative. When you're at cruising speed on an airplane, it doesn't feel like you're moving fast, but when taking off and landing, you notice it! Jimmy Page was able to generate a lot of excitement playing at the edge of his ability, which wouldn't be considered fast at all now, but he was a master at tension and release, which is a lost art form now and was rarely an aspect of most shredders' playing.
Here Here. Spot on. Couldn't have said it better.
LedHed Pb 207.20 🎶 🎸 🎹
@flazjsg Wow. Somebody that gets what James was all about. That's one of the things I appreciate about James the most.
That and his ability to mix and use minor & major pentatonic scales seamlessly, along with others.
LedHed Pb 207.20 🎶 🎸 🎹
Beautiful thing about being a musician is we can actually enjoy playing our instruments according to our abilities even if that is not warp speed - while likely having an even deeper appreciation for the virtuosity of those who can.
I agree. It's amazing, all that speed, but not necessarily interesting, much less captivating.
My test is whether I want to hear it again right away.
There's two things happening here. First, there's the players that seek speed for speeds sake. Then there's the players where speed is an afterthought, and is just a side effect of their dedication to their instrument. They strive for accuracy and perfection, in which speed is a natural result. The latter's priority is emotion. Gary Moore for example had blistering speed, but he was one of a handful of players that brought tears to my eyes ("Parisienne Walkways" anyone?). Nuno Bettencourt is a virtuoso that belongs to this group as well. He decries what he refers to as the "Guitar Olympics". Steve Vai as well. The first group of players just have different purposes in mind, and there is a certain fascination with breaking limits & achieving a certain level of mastery in any field. But the first group doesn't have the emotional depth of the second. Mozart himself referred to a certain pianist (that lost a challenge to him) as a "mere technician".
The Edward Van Halen comment is a good one because if you look at "Eruption," it has fast parts but it also has parts where he hangs on to notes too and lets each of those notes sing. The secret sauce for the top tier players like Van Halen, Lynch, Slash, etc. is their vibrato. If those guys played the same parts without vibrato, it wouldn't have any of what a singer does with his or her voice. The Guthrie piece to referenced is great because he's setting up with the widdly-widdly notes and then hits the longer held notes with vibrato. Those dynamics will always work. Widdly-widdly by itself isn't as great. Look at Friedman and Poland as also great examples of this. The note control gives them a voice that no one else has and they both can burn. But it's not burn by itself.
Speaking of Gilmour. When is he making an appearance on your show. He would be a pinnacle for your show. Makes sense after Alan Parsons!! Make it happen Rick!!
I can still remember, when I was a child, my friends and I found out that Beamons jump was almost exactly the width of the street that was in front of our homes. It blew our minds, how far that jump really was.
Not music related, but still worth mentioning :)
No wonder! 😅
"Citius, altius, fortius".
It always has been like that with human skills.
When Patrik Sjöberg set his high-jump world record of 2.42 m we were in the stadium. When we got home we took out a folding rule, measured up 2.42 m next to a door in the living room, and then we stared in awe for 10 minutes, it's high. Next couple of days we did the same for long jump and triple jump. Those are crazy impressive feats.
I was in high school in 1968. Bob Beamon was as amazed at his jump as everyone else! (Dick Fosbury also forever changed the high jump during the 68 Olympics).
@@jimshultz7043 Oh yeah, the Fosbury-Flop. I remember that one too :)
I noticed with some pianists like Yuja, her articulation at speed, actually reveals the music in many of the compositions she plays. Speed offers vitality, energy and brings with it its own inspiration.
Small error, Rick. Bob Beamon's leap at the '68 Olympics was jaw-dropping, breaking the existing record by just shy of TWO FEET ... but it WAS ultimately surpassed in an epic showdown between Carl Lewis and Mike Powell at the 1991 World Athletic Championships. Lewis' best jump was just 1-1/4" shy of Beamon's record - 2nd best of all time when he landed it. But then Powell exceeded that by 3-1/4", thus beating Lewis for the gold AND besting Beamon's leap by 2"! Beamon's record stood for 23 years, while Powell's has stood for 33 and counting - and no one else has come within 8" of that distance since. Lewis' jump at that meet remains the third best ever, while Beamon's - 56 years later - still holds the Number Two spot. The fact that he obliterated the previous record by almost 2 feet is beyond mindboggling!
Some people downgraded Beamon's distance because it was done in Mexico City's elevation of 7349'/2240m, which is silly in my thinking.
@@carlgemlich1657 The thinner atmosphere certainly did have an effect on a lot of sports at that games - track athletes, in particular, struggled in longer endurance events, due to lower oxygen levels, but excelled in shorter explosive distances, due to lower air resistance. That almost certainly was a factor that accentuated Beamon's record jump, but given that the silver medalist at that competition jumped 6" less than the old world record - and 28" less than Beamon - it's safe to say that the majority of that record was due to one guy putting everything together to perfection in that one jump.
Beamon's record is still (after 2024 Olympics) the Olympic record, although not the world record
Far less known is the photographer who took the shot, Tony Duffy. “On the day of the men’s long jump final and carrying my Nikkormat camera, I was determined to get a good view of the action. With a half-full stadium and with a relaxed approach to security at the Games, I was determined to take my chance. I managed to talk my way past the student volunteers and I made it to the front-row seating. The long jump runway was outside of the track oval, which was ideal for me as this allowed me the chance to take shots of the jumpers head-on. I was only 50ft away and I was one of the few photographers down there as most were focused on the men’s 400m final. “After the first three men fouled, Beamon was ready to take his first-round jump and I was able to shoot over the low railing. What happened next has become athletics folklore as Beamon, competing in the oxygen-thin air of Mexico City, launched out to a stunning world record of 8.90m - more than half a metre farther than the previous mark. I snapped one frame of Beamon’s jump and I recall seeing the whites of his eyes, but to be honest I was enjoying the action so much I had no idea what I had shot and carried the film around with me for a couple of days before taking the film to be developed at a one-hour photo kiosk at a nearby hotel.
“It was only after I held the negatives up to the light back in the room did I discover the Beamon pic. It was a sharp picture in which his mouth forms into an O and the scoreboard frames his figure.
“On my return to England I sent the photo and others I’d taken during my time in Mexico to Amateur Photographer magazine. In December of that year they published the Beamon image and only then did I realise the enormity of the pic. My phone started ringing and people really started talking about the image. Over time I realised I had taken something special and this gave me the confidence and belief to pursue a full-time career in photography. Three years later I gave up my accountancy job and the following year I founded Allsport photo agency alongside my photographer friend, John Starr. I was lucky enough to then establish one of the world’s top sport photo agencies (note, Allsport was sold to Getty Images in 1998 for $29.4m).
Thank you for clearing that up. Definitely, that was no dish on Rick. It's interesting that I had to scroll a long way to find your comment. We might be anomaly, being music lovers.
In sports it is also about who is the fastest and strongest. It interests people. Personally, I prefer slower and great melodies in music.
Out of everything Rick said in this video, it was how long the Olympic Long Jump record has stood, and by what margin, that surprised me the most. There has to be a story behind that.
Going to see The Aristocrats (Guthrie Govan) tonight in Denver. Can’t wait!
Through The Flower is my fav live thing they do.. it has a nice building progression that gets to the part where it blasts as opposed to blasting from the get go (which is cool too)
What a Treat!!
Marco Minneman is to drumming what Guthrie is to guitar. You get two of the greatest virtuosos in one show. Enjoy, I'm jealous.
Congrats! Just saw them at the Gramercy Theatre in NY 2 weeks ago! Guthrie is insane, but I couldn't keep my eyes off of Marco's playing. Just superb!. Enjoy!
@@colinburroughs9871 Yes, Through the Flower is a gem on Tres Caballeros (my favorite t-shirt too). But the new album is full of tracks that I think are as good as anything they have recorded. From track 4 ("Sittin' With a Duck on a Bay") through track 8 ("And Then There Were Just Us/Duck's End"), those tunes are part of the daily playlist. "Slideshow" is a fav. Looking forward to hearing these songs live. A little less than 5 hours to showtime, woohoo!
I used to care about speed until 8 year olds were doing it on youtube. Its cliche now.
Zoe Thompson did it for me. She was like 5 playing Paganini speeds.
Now speed is just musical gibberish to me.
RUclips has definitely ruined guitar virtuosity for me a bit.
There's just too many of them now in yt. As a guitarists I just take my own sweet time playing and enjoy learning riffs that I like. Not into these speedsters who play with no passion and heart
It's not cliche, I just felt defeated 😂
Love this one Rick! As a guitarist, I've been having this exact conversation with musicians my whole life...and I love that you mention the greatest classical composers were virtuosos; it's the greatest thing when BOTH musicality and musicianship merge at the same time, you get the best of both worlds!
Truly glad and happy for how healthy you look, much love rick !
1:35 I beg to differ. There are numerous composer that we would consider of the highest rank that were not recognized in their time as virtuosos on any instrument, simply as capable players whose imaginations exceeded their chops. People like Haydn, Wagner, Verdi and Berlioz come to mind.
That’s right. There were other composers who were good or competent but not world class. In fact, it was not uncommon for them to write pieces they themselves could not play. On the other side, it’s always amazing that Mendelssohn is left out when naming virtuosos. Also, Chopin is considered a great composer of piano and that is it!!! He is not a great composer in any other genre. Even his concertos are like… bad examples of orchestral writing.
Someone like this guy, who only knows music and nothing of art, will never understand. A barbarian.
@@coreyjones5270would love it if you could elaborate a little on this. I don’t know a lot about classical music but i’m always keen to learn how to listen to it
@@TooLittleInfo sure thing! As an example of a composer who wasn’t a virtuoso but is primarily known for his compositions we can look at Manuel Ponce. He wrote some of the best guitar music for classical guitar and worked with Andres Segovia when writing music for the instrument. Segovia was the most well known guitarist of his era and they worked together to expand the repertoire for the guitar. You even have examples of great players like Leo Brouwer writing music for virtuosos like John Williams ( not the film composer).
Chopin was an incredible composer of Romantic Era piano music. He is far and away the most played composer for the instrument. His music offers a range of interest and difficulty so he can be used as performers are growing their technique and musicality. However, to say he is considered on the same level as Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart is a bit silly. These three wrote in most genres and have masterpieces in both chamber and large ensemble. Chopin did not… not even close. His piano music is second to none but that was his only focus really. His concertos are real boring orchestrally. The piano part is great but the orchestra is not having a conversation with the piano…. They just kind of sit there holding notes out as background for the piano. Beethoven and Mozart wrote concertos too, but they were able to create a dynamic interplay between soloists and orchestra. Bach did not write for piano as it was a new instrument in his life time and he was much more fond of the harpsichord, organ, and even the lautenwerck. Yet his writing is so spectacular that it sounds awesome on any instrument, and his concertos are spectacular. The point is that performing is not the same thing as composing and we have numerous examples of people who have given us grate music in genres they did not play/sing for. Mahler for example was an incredible pianist but is regarded for his massive symphonies. Anyway, hope this helps.
A harsh way to finish, just want to point out without any judgement, only for it's interestingness@@ToxicTurtleIsMad
When auditioning guitar players for a band, I used to have them play the solo from L.A. Woman. Robbie never played faster than a walk, but every note is perfect. Robin Trower, too.
2 underrated players
That one time you talked about the Gilmour affect, you also joked -- in a truthful way, about how important it was to just "listen faster". That point gave me a deeper appreciation for speed as I actually find myself focusing to make my slower brain listen to what is actually going on during a frenetic song or solo. (half-speed youtube videos also help out). Love your music appreciation videos!
Music isn’t a sport though, there is no number 1 musician. There are only preferences, as you know
Jeff Beck is number 1😀
Love it when you break out your classical music chops on videos!
The athletic examples you gave are short and quick bursts for the most part, e.g. long jump, sprints, gymnastics. That's how I prefer to hear speed on the guitar. It is impressive but I like it for short bursts. After about 30 seconds (maybe 60 max), I am tuned out.
@@dutycalls8256 That's it. As spectators, our attention focus span is limited.
Exactly. I'd much rather watch a really great team playing well together than to watch one athlete perform amazing feats of strength, speed, and dexterity. I love Nikola Jokic's game a lot more than many much flashier players because he plays within his role and makes the whole team better. Virtuoso music is mostly soulless to me.
I thought the comparison to Jordan was spot on. It's just awe-inspiring to see what some people are physically capable of.
The Free Bird solo is the perfect mix of speed and musicality. Most of us can even hum it in time😂
birds aren't real
@@mixmastermootree...but they are free. 🤔🤣🦅
The recording was doubletracked too.
Well timed, just yesterday had an argument with a young man who dismissed David Gilmour contemptuously as "too slow". I said "listen kid, when you grow up you find that guitar playing is like sex, it's not about how fast you can go, it's about your touch and feeling." You can imagine how well that went down. Hopefully he'll one day see that I am right.
Best words!
Yes! Exactly this! Speedruns to the end of the songs bring no emotion.
The right analogy. It may sound excessive fast and be 'damn that sure is hard to play' , but it doesn't tell a story. I can hear Comfortably Numb solos and start crying, because it is so beautifully played and every note is perfectly timed that it is absolutely divine. I wouldn't add or subtract anything from it, it was born perfect. And I cry because it tells me a story, it resonates with my mind. I can have it be 10x faster and it will be impressive but without a soul or story to tell.
Playing fast is like running with your pants down around your ankles.
It might be more exciting to watch people play fast, but for me it’s always lacked depth and emotion. I will take Gilmour over any other guitar player because you can feel every single note he plays in your soul.
Yes, the Gilmour effect is the essence that attracts me to the greatest guitarists. That is why I love Carlos Santana, the way he hits that first note and suspends it to get the most of the emotion is for me the sound that reaches into my soul.
Absolutely. Carlos performs open heart surgery on his audience without anesthesia. I've seen Santana 5 times live; that first note of the first song brings the tears and the joy comes flooding in for the whole evening. Albums 1-5 are my favorites.
Just here to say that it's amazing how young your spirit is, your passion really shines through you.
Reminds me of the first time I saw a Shawn Lane video. That level of speed and technicality will never be seen again.
It already has been seen again - Roy Marchbank. I just heard of him from an Andy Edwards video. It's ridiculous stuff.
@@flazjsg Roy cannot play any of Shawn's stuff up to speed AND in one take. His 2nd-Look lessons are all broken up into 3 second segments.
He's fast but it's more like a gymnastic feat than a musical thing.
One of the reasons I prefer to listen to Eric Johnson over most other shredders, is that he truly understands that just as important as the notes you do play are the notes you don't play. In the immortal words of Ian Malcolm, they are "so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
Fantastic player but Satch and Vai come up with tunes,consistently,I’ve only got one EJ album and I can’t remember the last time I listened to it🤷🏼♂️
@__Philip__311, It's funny as I have mixed feelings about Eric Johnson. I think he knows a lot more than he shows. I mean I think he sort of plays to his fanbase. When I saw him live, the venue was sort of bad, there was a ton of echo and it was just a mess of sound except when he played one acoustic tune and that was my favorite. I left the show early as it was just too loud for my ears. But I know he's one of the great guitarists of all times, I especially love his chord voicings on some of his intros. Nobody else plays like that.
@@tomruth9487 I'm surprised to hear about the venue, as Johnson has a reputation as an absolute perfectionist when it comes to how his equipment sounds.
@@richardnanian6075 , Yes, I've heard the same about Eric. I don't think he had any idea how it sounded in the audience. I think most people there at the show didn't care or know any better. I have much respect for Eric, I just didn't think much of the venue.
The "Girlmour effect" is really spot on and funny. I've read those words so many times from (mostly) older generations of guitarists. Their opinion on shredders are so cliche and so radical that there's no place for in-between players that uses speed as a tool. There's always their dichotomy between speed and emotion. Truth is, speed brings emotions too : power, energy and attitude when it's used in the right purpose.
Although, I'm only digging players that master both and takes the best of both worlds. Music is like cooking. It is made with recipes and ingredients : too much technical stuff will be boring for sure.
Absolutely that. So many people get triggered by speed it's ridiculous. To say Oscar Peterson plays without emotion is the wildest statement imaginable but it's popular opinion. People these days might also just be afraid of admitting that they like speed...
I think the sense of emotion we get from music comes much more from dynamics than from speed. That's why a piano (originally a "pianoforte," meaning "soft-loud") was such a vast improvement on the harpsichord, which had no dynamic variation, and the clavichord, which had a dynamic range that ran only from "quite soft" to "almost inaudible." We hear a harpsichord today and our minds go instantly to noblemen in powdered wigs and noblewomen in voluminous dresses, plunging necklines, and hair piled halfway to the ceiling dancing in perfect formation in some palace ballroom. Both the dancing and the music had a kind of precise, even mathematical beauty, but any passion was deeply sublimated. I can only imagine how people reacted the first time they heard a piano start out soft and then crescendo to fortissimo.
The problem I have with most shredders is that they seldom employ any dynamic variation when they are shredding. It's just "crank it up to 11 and let 'er rip!" In contrast, the guitarist I most admire is Mark Knopfler. His solos are fascinating because his variation in dynamics is practically infinite. Even when he is playing fast, he varies the dynamics from note to note. I've heard him do quick runs in which he didn't play any two consecutive notes at exactly the same volume, and that isn't an accident, because I have heard him play the same run the same way on other occasions.
Of course, that is doubtless easier to do for finger-pickers, which explains why the guitarists I enjoy most include Knopfler, Lindsey Buckingham, Tommy Emmanuel, Chet Atkins, Leo Kottke, and even Paul Simon (who is much better than most people realize).
I’ll take Gilmour over Malmsteen every time.
Brings back joyous memories of planting myself directly in front of Jimmy Herring (who does not get talked about enough) to have my face absolutely melted time after time when Col. Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue came to town every few weeks - one of the greatest live bands of all time (Otiel, Jeff Sikes & Matt Mundy!)
@SuperLocrian, Yes Jimmy is a great player. How is he doing, is he still playing some if you know?
Speed is definitely addictive. I feel so invincible on it.
I see what you did there. Sniffing a little glatch
Don’t do drugs 😁.
Are you high right now?
Speed is fun to listen to once, but for repeat listens the most important thing for me is songwriting. Without a great melodically interesting song, I ain't coming back. And one of my favorite solos is Hotel California, or those in Hotel California, there's more than one, but they aren't speed demons.
Speed= Christian Muenzner, Vektor's DiSanto !
Gorod, Kronos from France.
THAT is fast music. Tech Death way faster than Thrash Metal !!
ah, yes, only slow songs can have a great melodies
It's why Sinatra's "One For My Baby" (as another example of slow tempo) has so much feeling. Frank's telling a story & that voice...never appreciated him more then when I tried to sing his songs. Seemingly effortless movement of his voice...just amazing 👍
This is a great video and very true. Honestly, I have not played guitar in a long time because after seeing who is on RUclips, it's very intimidating and I don't have the time to play like used to years ago. I know, that's not what it's about, but I can't kick that habit of thinking that in order to be good, I have to have the crazy chops, and I'm not going to woodshed hours a day. Very conflicted. Yes, I love Gilmore and slow work, phrased great, is the best, but when I play, I feel like I need to be the BEST.....the best for me. I'm hard on myself. Constant conflicting battle. Basically, I'm not going to be happy just playing cowboy chords. You know what I mean.
I wish you had mentioned Shawn Lane
Virtuoso on both Piano and Guitar
His speed along with melody in guitar is still unmatched, probably will be unmatched forever
"Unmatched", blah, blah, blah. Why do guitarists have such a tendency to confuse their opinion with facts?
@@RagggedTrouseredPhilanthropist who told you I am a guitarist?
Why do people 'like you' just keep getting offended at everything?
@@ayandey137 😂 I'm not offended, just pointing out you don't know the difference between your opinion and a fact.
@@RagggedTrouseredPhilanthropist okay fake laugh guy
I never called my comment an opinion or a fact, so you just assumed something just to get salty about.
And in music when it comes to analysing the effect it has on the listeners, how it makes them feel, what they observe, these can't be stated as facts as there are no metrics that can be used to come to a conclusion, it is always subjective.
So again, when you supposedly took my comment as 'fact' , instead of trying to act smart while actually giving an insight to the type of person you are, I wish you actually acted smart and presented something to let me know why you think that I might have been wrong
@@ayandey137 ahhhh, I think I see what happened here; you don't know what "unmatched" means.
I'll help you out so you know for the next time you try to use a big word. Unmatched means unequalled/unrivalled, it means that no one can match something. So whether you knew it or not, you were saying that no one can match Lane on the guitar, therefore you think he's the best, and that would be an opinion.
You see how words have meanings? Don't be suprised if people actually think you mean what you're writing. You're welcome for the brief English lesson by the way. 😘
A combined quality of energy, precision, and passionate performance attracts people's attention because it gives adventurous and exciting feelings
Have you ever looked at Bruce Cockburn? I just caught him last month in Orillia Ontario at the Mariposa Folk festival and though he's 79 and having trouble getting around once he sat down to play he was as good as ever and can still do all that intricate finger picking beautifully. He seems like someone you'd be into.
@provincialfish, Bruce Cockburn is great. I followed his music when he started, not so much lately. You ever listen to Harry Manx?
@tomruth9487 of course. I live in a place where Harry passes through when he's touring pretty often and I've been around the singer songwriter folk music community in Toronto for 25 years. His stuff with Kevin Breit is cool. Breit is another underappreciated guitar virtuoso
Talking about virtuoso: Have you heard the "jaw dropping" guitar playing by Abim Finger? Is it even possible to play any better than that? Flawless technique and great feeling. Just check out his youtube site. Mainly (great) covers, but also two originals: "Flow" and "Future". Just listen to his impressive covers by masters like Joe Satriani, Kiko Loureiro, John Petrucci and others. Abim played these covers when he was 10-11 years old. Now he is 17 and will probably become one of the guitar giants.
circus tricks (sadly) many times (not always)... but listen to pink floyd, jazz ballads (john coltrane, miles, bill evans) playing s l o w l y ...but eloquently... and honestly, is more exciting...despite the lack of speed for these frantic modern times.... AND: don't underestimate the power of silence in music!! ....breath!
There's an instananious thrill to speed, but most of us reach the point of fatigue where we need variation, melody, subtle layering that most couldn't identify, and less chaos.
If you play fast and make an error, it drowns in the mass. If you play slow and make an error, everybody hears it. It can't be hidden anywhere. So if you are going to play slow, you got to be good.
If you're not used to listening to music at faster speeds, you won't hear the mistake. If you have never listened to the virtuosic musicians/composers Rick is talking about, then yeah you could listen to someone wank around missing note after note but playing fast and you wouldn't know the difference, because you aren't processing the music fast enough. With faster improvised jazz, I have a hard time keeping up with some of those players, but i I'm listening to a prepared piece, that I know, I'd be able to tell you if one 32nd note was wrong. It's a skill, for me it was a learned skill I honed by transcribing music for many many years.
There is the same level of difficulty and same need for accuracy in fast music and slow music.
Glen Campbell said that when he played the William Tell Ovature on his 12 string. He comment that if he made a mistake you probably couldn’t tell because he was playing it so dog gun fast.😂
In about 1983, I was working on tremolo picking on my newly acquired 1968 Telecaster with a factory Bigsby (I think it was about $280 at Guitar Center). I mentioned what I was practicing to a coworker, who then invited me to meet his brother. His brother was studying to become a pro player at Al Di Meola’s school. When we met, he asked about my guitar and immediately told me adamantly that Fender never made such a model. Apparently, they both assumed that tremolo picking meant I was just trying to play fast, which he saw as a mistake. I pointed out that fast playing was sort of an Al Di Meola trademark. He dismissed that as irrelevant. He complained about his classmates who hid behind effects. I could afford no pedals to hide behind, so I’m not sure why he was admonishing me for that. Then he asked if I liked David Gilmour. When I said I did, he used that as proof that fast playing was pointless, like he was in a courtroom saying, “So I submit, Your Honor…!” I Googled him later, and it turns out he’s a concrete contractor now.
But Al Di Meola is the exception to the rule of "un-musical fast players." He does plays fast but there's not a single wasted note, unlike fast "virtuosos" who just play fast for the sake of it.
@meretrxutube, funny story. Back in the 80's I went to see Al Di Meola. I was disappointed as so much of his playing was just a lot of notes. But I still enjoyed his arrangements and the band was tight. I think I bought one of his albums and that was about it.
@@tomruth9487 I didn't mean to rip on poor Al. I actually saw him perform with Return to Forever a couple of years before that too. Even back then, I found it ironic that someone who was so vocally anti-speed would attend Al's school. On tremolo picking, as an example, I wouldn’t call 'Misirlou' fast playing,. You can play a slow mandolin tune while tremolo picking your head off-not the kind of 'fast' Rick is talking about. The whole situation felt like an unhelpful attempt to assert dominance and hump me over something I wasn't even focusing on. I wasn’t any good, never pretended to be, and was no threat to anybody. I was just being offered up as a sacrifice for his prepared statement about his pet peeve. Much time has passed since then, I’m not bitter (we Irish are a forgiving people and can let things go), and if I keep practicing, I might reach a passable level any day now.,
@@meretrxutube Well, it sounds like you have a large passion for guitar, if not music in general. I'm 74 and have sort of given up playing guitar, I was never really any good anyway. But I think just being a fan of guitar or music makes you a better listener and it adds a lot more to the joy of music.
Charlie Parker is my hero as a musician, but few audiences want to listen to more than one of his fast songs.
Went to a BB King concert. Los Lonely Boys and Kenny Wayne Sheppard opened. Great guitar players, monster chops. BB hits one note and there is no question as to who owned the night.
A key factor is contrast: a fast lick at the right place can have a powerful effect. A nice example is Beck's playing in recording of Cause we Ended as Lovers. Without contrast speed can quickly become boring.
The tempo of that song is out this world. Genius
@@suziederkins3310Stevie Wonder's genius!
I’m a metalhead but I love classical music and slower music. Faster is more thrilling and impressive but slower is more heartfelt and beautiful. I don’t worry about being a virtuoso but I still wanna get better at guitar. Rick your a goat 🐐.
I love speed 🖤
Playing in a band the last 2 years I've come to appreciate drummers and bassists the most.
I’ve played drums for almost 36 years and the advice I always give to people is that the notes you don’t play are equally as important (if not more) than the notes you do play.
A great philosopher has solved this conundrum.
"How can less be more? More is more!"
This is known as Yngwie's razor.
Oh yes, the great Swedish Philosopher Malmsteen!
I rarely chime in on these things, but something I feel I hardly see in these discussions is how music that is perceived as fast is typically seen as just flash or a showing of technical playing ability. For someone like me that has my own unique combination of ADHD and anxiety that fast playing does goes through my brain as wonderful flowing melody. It connects closely to my chaotic and rapid thought processes which is very comforting to me. The melodies and the music that is composed inside my head is the same way. An uncontrollable cascade of fast flowing passages. I have played guitar a very long time and was never able to adequately develop my chops in order to reproduce what is in my head. This leaves me with seeking out players and composers that can get close to that. When I hear folks say that such playing and composition is lacking "feeling" it seems like they are excluding people like me or can't conceive how others could possibly "feel" something from such music which I find to be a selfish point of view.
It's funny how in all these years and videos about chopsters Rick never even mentioned Shawn Lane...
Rick had the perfect moment to ask Paul Gilbert about his time with Shawn Lane, and that epic Let it Be solo. I didn't watch the interview, but I doubt either of them mentioned Lane.
Somewhat ironically, he is given the place of honour in the 80s rock guitar heroes video from a few years back.
Thank you for a great presentation and good insight into a very relevant subject. You hit on something very pertinent in the beginning of your narrative. That being the entertainment and fascination aspect of spectator sports. People like to see and experience something very exciting when it comes to spectator sports, which you explained very well when it comes to the popularity of certain Olympic events. Conversely music fans and aficionados are also looking for entertainment and excitement when it comes to the music they tend to listen to. Many people are indeed excited, impressed and just mind-boggled by the abilities of the musicians you mentioned. At the same time, your point regarding the Gilmore effect hits the nail squarely. Many of us have heard all the axioms about a guitarist saying more with note than some do with dozens, or the B. B. King effect. I’m of the opinion that music evokes emotions in people and the slower, soulful, emotional types of playing you allude to will directly strike at more of the “soul” in people, thus hitting their emotions squarely to evoke those feelings and moods that the performer or player is trying to hit at. I’m not saying one is better than the other, speed versus laid back, I’m just pointing out that all of us get something from both, and both are just as moving and impressive. We are fortunate that there is a vast amount of great music and performers to provide us with inspiration, entertainment and enjoyment. I think if a musician can hit any kind of nerve in a listener they are to be recognized and lauded. Just my 2 cents. 🎸👮🏻♂️🇺🇸
What about a healthy mix of both fast and slow? Or that perfect middle of the road between both? Respecting and understanding both seems more important than choosing and being in one camp or the other to me.
Think about that intro "volcano" lick on Holdsworth's "City Nights" - which you did a video on actually. Not to mention guys like Shawn Lane or Roy Marchbank if you want guitarists who have speed that sometimes seems like it exceeds the limits of humans. When I was younger, as a guitar player I was all about speed and I probably peaked in 1997 or so - now I can play 98% of that speed but I'm cleaner. When you have that speed though, sometimes it's hard to slow down and decide what you're doing is going make a concise melodic statement that is all about emotion. Now that I'm older, I try to do a mix of both where it is appropriate.
Yep Rick should so video on Shawn Lane. Guitar, piano, improvisation, completely ridiculous chops combined with great slower playing
@@MikkoLindholm That's what I'm talking about. It's the biggest Rick's fail. He never ever mentioned Shawn Lane... or invited Bumblefoot. :D
Would be cool to see Jonas Hellborg talk about Shawn Lane in a Beato interview. Hellborg recently played with Mancuso, so that's something.
Gosh, the Gilmour effect is so real, man. It is fine that you like melodic players the most, but where does that annoying need to snobbishly tell that to anyone on comments sections come from? No one asked! And no, your musical tastes aren't necessarily elite or superior because of that.
Exactly. It’s become so predictable and boring. They think it equates to having refined tastes. Total bullshit
@@irena7777777 classy!
@@zarni66 ?
David Gilmore has more tone in one note, as most guitarists have in 10..
I was 16 at the time and had been playing the guitar about 5 or 6 years when I was asked by my religion teacher in school ‘what would I ask for if I had one wish’. I hastily said that I would wish to be the fastest guitar player ever. He looked at me with a cheeky grin and said…’that doesn’t mean you’d be the best ever though’. I’m almost 45 now, have carved a nice career for myself as a musician and still about that moment regularly.
One of my all time favorite RUclips teachers is Justin Sandercoe. He can explain things and show them to you in such a way that you can easily understand it. Not just the how, but the why. One of his favorite axioms is you play your guitar to make music. No one pays money to go and see the worlds fastest scale player. No one goes to see the worlds fastest picker who can play 200 notes per minute. Those are just parlor tricks. So speed just for the sake of speed is worthless unless it's musical. Guys like BB King could play one friggin' note and touch you in a way that no others can. One note. Then take a blistering fast player like Vinnie Vincent. Fingers move so fast they blur on recordings. He can get from the 20th fret to the 1st fret with 50 notes in a few seconds. People see and hear it and go "wow! That was fast! What are we doing for dinner tonight?" It doesn't affect you. But hearing BB King play The Thrill is Gone will strike a nerve with you because of the issues you're having with your wife, or husband, or girlfriend may be relevant at the time. And the guitar is an instrument like the human voice. You want to hear a singer that sings that fast and nonstop? lol Me neither.
To me it's more about groove, feel and pocket than chops and speed.... without groove and feel I'm not really interested.
Its not about speed, it's proficiency, talent, and confidence, and ego. We all want it, and if you have it you will flaunt it.
I love Holdsworth, and as self effacing as he was there's no way that was all music. Ego is always part of it. 100% is 100%, and if you can't play fast that's on you.
What I love about Dimash is how he can outsing anybody on this planet, but he chooses the techniques based on how they fit the song, instead of endlessly riffing like some others do. (He could do it, but he doesn’t). 😊
Instead you hear his virtuosity in every part of a song. Even in the slow and quiet parts. ❤
As good as dimash is I don’t particularly care for anything he does/sings. I’d much rather have a great singer with less vocal ability but with great songs and a more organic performance like Kate Bush, Thom Yorke or Freddie Mercury
This is why I think Steve Hackett is a virtuoso. Yeah, he can play fast runs (Dancing With The Moonlit Knight), but he also excels at slower, melodic licks. It's all about playing to the song, and letting the music breathe.
You have so many GREAT perspectives on so many things. Bravo!
Bob Beamon's record was broken in 1991 by Mike Powell. Bob's record was an amazing feat that stood for 22 years, but Bob's jump hasn't been the record jump for a long time now. Yes, technically Bob Beamon's record is still the Olympic record but what's the point of ignoring longer jumps outside the Olympic games?
Because if you can beat it in trials/ regional competitions, you should be able to put up at the Olympics. No one cares if your team beat the opposing team during the regular season. Are they going to win the Super Bowl?? same-same
@@TheNudeBrewer Mike Powell set the record at a World Championship. Not exactly a "regional competition", is it?
Bob Beamon's jump was such an outlier, and still is. Nothing against Mike Powell's jump, either. But the Olympics are the biggest track and field competition in the world, and because Beamon's jump happened on such a worldwide stage and was so much longer than previous records, it captured the imagination in a way that few athletic performances ever have.
@@jorymil Of course, no disagreement from me. You are talking about something completely different than I was.
Ah, but don't forget how Miles Davis responded to the virtuosity displayed at the height of Bep Bop ... He went through a similar musical angst and found a new Jazz expression that left the Jazz virtuosos looking "old fashioned". But then again, this is Miles Davis, one of humanity's greatest musical innovators.
Davis got annoyed at Coltrane extending his solos for too long. Trane said to Miles..." When I start I can't stop myself." Davis replied " Just take the ****ing thing out of your mouth" 😂
Miles as a performer was never a good "speed demon", his knack was doing slow, melodic, intriguing solos with sultry tones. He was like a spicier version of Paul Desmond (but on trumpet). That's why he transitioned out of bebop, because cool jazz and modal jazz was more akin to his style.
But it's not as if he was against virtuosity when it came to his musical partners: I mean, dude practically made it a habit to showcase virtuoso guys like Cobham, Corea, McLaughlin, Williams, Miller, Benson, Stern, etc.
@@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266Miles from 1960s playing bebop tunes was as fast as any top trumpet player...
Miles was still a skilled trumpet player. What made him special was his tone and phrasing. You knew it was him. Much harder to distinguish, say, Johnny Coles from Jack Walrath, though I'm sure there are those who can.
@@Yourbankaccount It's personal taste. Miles was decent at bebop, but he exceled at his own thing.
Because the faster something is, the more it feels like somebody is on the cusp of human possibility. They are breaking through physical and mental barriers that the average person struggles with. People are drawn into the chaos of performing an action so fast it barely seems controllable. It starts to appear as if they aren't even consciously doing the action anymore, that they are so 100% in tune with the moment that it becomes pure unconscious expression of peak human ability.
Speed= Christian Muenzner, Vektor's DiSanto !
Gorod, Kronos from France.
THAT is fast music. Tech Death way faster than Thrash Metal !!
> the cusp of human possibility
Exactly. I came here to make that comment and your phrase says it.
Sculpture and painting won't adhere to such a statement 🤷🏻
But at what point is it no longer art but just a (perhaps impressive) gymnastics exercise?
@@christopheroliver148 never... it is always art. Technical death metal is based on 160bpm minimum songs and it's high quality art. Alkaloid, First Fragment, Inferi, Gorod,...
As much as i agree about certain musicians who absolutely shred, which makes us love them.
I agree so much that David Gilmore has some of the greatest & most tasteful leads ever. I also often argue about what an absolutely amazing Drummer Nick Mason is for much of the same reasons. He plays sparingly, tastefully, he allows the Drums to breathe on the song. And what he produced on every song was magical & flawless, just like David Gilmore.
I am just as thrilled at the triathlon and marathon and the long cycling distance races too.
Our punk rock band NO APPARENT REASON from 1985 played fast. Songs under and near a minute. Lucky White of the Dude Ranch Playboys who toured with Les Paul in the the 1940s and 50s said: If you have to play fast and loud you're covering for your mistakes.
Mechanical skill is a thing but it's not necessarily musical. I have seen HUNDREDS of child "prodigies" on the internet and you never hear of them ever again.
It's copying not creating.
Chops/speed blow me away and I love it, gives goosebumps and all that good stuff but non of the speed will leave me with tears in my eyes at the pure beauty of what I am listening to, Andy Latimer always comes to mind. If you don't know who Andy Latimer is check out a band called Camel, ' would LOVE to see Rick do a piece about Andy.
He is/was awesome as was the whole band
It's a great short episode. I enjoy seeing your passion for music.
This! I have never liked playing fast songs. It's too showy in my taste.
I like hearing the harmonies and letting them soak in.
I feel music deeply, and teaching that is the greatest challenge.
I am also not a competitive teacher.
My band teacher in high school used to say "higher, faster, louder" when we would rush.
I do not know this fascination with things going fast. I think it's because people cannot be present and they're always looking for the next big thing.
A professional violinist once said to me:
"Paganini's easier to play than Mozart, speed is easier to break than dynamics"
Playing fast is a 'required' technical device, but definitely not the "one skill to rule them all".
You NEED to be able to play slow, medium, fast, with little, more and max dynamics. And also be able to fit within the context, have swing, groove with the ensemble... Nobody said achieving virtuoso level is easy.
Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm is a great example of speed harnessed perfectly
Remarkable album!
also weekend in the city very experimental
I think the secret here, in all kinds of performance, is *intensity*, which mostly comes when increasing the speed of execution. However, certain all time greats have managed to capture intensity through slow, concentrated effort, and that's rarer, hence why we cherish it so much
Pretty much every guitar students over the last 50 years wants to play fast and then wants to play faster! I love it
Touch over speed, anytime, anywhere.... ❤