Classical guitarists are the most technically skilled guitarists

PbZepplin · 2011-11-24T15:04:26+00:00

I spotted an article recently. Rolling Stone has compiled a list of who they consider the top 100 guitarists of all time. I was rather pissed off about it. M...

Classical guitarists are the most technically skilled guitarists

Squonk

Averatu wrote: Rolling stone is kinda sorda mostly a rock magazine? Perhaps thats why the list has a bias? Should I get all peaved because some classical mag did not list my fave Death Metal guitarist on their top ten?

Maybe Rolling Stone should do some proper journalism and mention "Rock" guitartist

Keira-WitherKay

and in answer to brets post ..yeah i could list a string of highly technical acoustic/flamenco/classical players

mmmmmmmm but i'll rather throw a cat among the pigeons here and say .......everything depends on the ear of the beholder .....

it depends what genre you admire............ and literally take me as an example ......... as you all know have a strong grounding in flamenco and world music, so to my ear paco reigns supreme , yet he can play as fast and as harmonically complex as any shred player but on a nylon .......... so i love paco ......... yet i didn't bother to go see the guthrie govan clinic (and i was available) simply because his playing however top class does not intruige me........ stuart of marshall music even gave me a guthrie govan cd when i went to start my sun city gig ........ and said listen to this it's the "sh1T " it was fabulous and of course he;s super talented but it did not grab me ....and thats no critisism on guthrie he's a monster player but after the 2nd track i was ..'yawn" yet i listen to the same paco cd or even jim campilongo( my electric guitar favourite) 20 times in a row and i'm enthrawled each listen , yet i played jim campilongo to another classical pianist at sun city and he did the yawn after 5 min to an artist i can't get enough of ........ so i do think music is in certain genre's that grab us...........at one point i was into all the acoustic players like justin king ect ..........but it was short lived cos no matter that they do all that awesome tapping and percussive style after a few listens i found it simply "unmusical" BUT that was me someone else will love that

and yes technically some flamenco and classical players can definitely rival most if not all rock players ........... except steve vai ?

but hey thats what makes music interesting is that we each see different things in the same music.......... one man's meat is anothers poison

and the truth be told..... to be an aclaimed rock player or funk player or acoustic artist or classical or flamenco or even bulgarian folk music virtuosa takes immense skill and talent.........

and all i can say "viva la difference"

but only a fool will place any artist over another just cos theydon't appreciate the genre (which is very common unfortunately....and very sad cos often one could learn so much from certain artists but our preferences or bias's prevent that )

and personally i've never believed in rating players ....just cos i love what jim cxampilongo does does not mean he's the best or top of any list ..it just means his art touch's me in a way that i'm influenced by him .........so for me no lists of who's "toppermost of the poppermost" ( a beatles saying the fans will recognise)

BUT as a music appreciater i collect the artists that touch me and don't bother about the rest ......... cos this is not about what you like or what alan or bob likes but what touch's me .............

Squonk

Anyway not much more to add to the discussion

But for those who think that only rock guitarists have technique

Have a look at this lot, just watch Paco's right hand technique when they play the fast bits.

Al di Meola doesn't seem to age

=

Squonk

For those who dont know Classical Guitarists

Here is possibly my favourite Classical Guitarist Manuel Barrueco, this video displays his impressive technique. He has also experimented on an album with together with Steve Morse, Al di Meola, and Andy Summers called Nylon & Steel

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur7_EHsD_Jo

Keira-WitherKay

don't try this at home........... ? all of the below are fabulous technical players

paco
=

dominic frasca
=

ana vidavic
=

vincente amigo
=

carlos montoya
=

Squonk

another flamenco player that caught my fancy long years ago Juan Serrano

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTbT7-OiaBQ

MIKA-the-better-one

Ha, to bad being technically proficiant means nothing in the world of music...

Who cares if a classical guitarist has more technical skill... or if a jazz guitarist does, or a rock guitarist......

Silly thread

AlanRatcliffe

MIKA the better one wrote: Ha, to bad being technically proficiant means nothing in the world of music...

Ya think? Look at the guys with staying power... They might not all be formally trained, but by far the majority of them have serious skills in some area of music. You can get popular and make some money without the technical proficiency, but when the popularity wanes, it's the proficiency on your instrument (or production, songwriting, arrangement, whatever...) that will keep you successful.

BluJu

MIKA the better one wrote: Silly thread

Hardly. I understand the technique is only one piece of the entertainment puzzle but as a musician one must glare in awe of the classical masters.
David Russel is my favorite example.

=

Averatu

MIKA the better one wrote: Ha, to bad being technically proficiant means nothing in the world of music...

Who cares if a classical guitarist has more technical skill... or if a jazz guitarist does, or a rock guitarist......

Silly thread

I sort of agree. To me, the music written by most 'technical' players does not engage me. Jeff Loomis's album case in point, I can appreciate the skills, its light speed, tight and slick, but I've listened to it once, dont really have a need to listen to it again, and that goes for all the virtuoso albums that have come my way. And who's buying those albums? Its us muso's mostly, a pretty small market. I've found that the general music listener gets irritated by chronic pointless fret wanking.

Bob-Dubery

Averatu wrote:
MIKA the better one wrote: Ha, to bad being technically proficiant means nothing in the world of music...

Who cares if a classical guitarist has more technical skill... or if a jazz guitarist does, or a rock guitarist......

Silly thread
I sort of agree. To me, the music written by most 'technical' players does not engage me. Jeff Loomis's album case in point, I can appreciate the skills, its light speed, tight and slick, but I've listened to it once, dont really have a need to listen to it again, and that goes for all the virtuoso albums that have come my way. And who's buying those albums? Its us muso's mostly, a pretty small market. I've found that the general music listener gets irritated by chronic pointless fret wanking.

Technique is good, but it should be a means, not an end. It's the vocabulary that you use to express your ideas.

Too little technique is problematic too. Punk, in the UK, ran out of steam fairly quickly because it wasn't sufficiently articulate.

So there are the two dangers. Having nothing to say, and not having the means to say what you want to say.

But improving your playing is not going to REDUCE what you can express.

IceCreamMan

Averatu wrote: chronic pointless fret wanking.

Brilliant !!!!

Jack-Flash-Jr

Well, I'm not going to dive in on this one... Warren's pretty much covered what I would've said.
But I will compliment the OP on his nick which I'm guessing is a tribute to no. 3 on the list....

Jack-Flash-Jr

The list btw is a compilation of the favourites of these people (you can see for yourself what it's aimed at):
THE VOTERS: Trey Anastasio, Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), Brian Bell (Weezer), Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple), Carl Broemel (My Morning Jacket), James Burton, Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), Gary Clark Jr., Billy Corgan, Steve Cropper, Dave Davies (The Kinks), Anthony DeCurtis (Contributing editor, Rolling Stone), Tom DeLonge (Blink-182), Rick Derringer, Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), Elliot Easton (The Cars), Melissa Etheridge, Don Felder (The Eagles), David Fricke (Senior writer, Rolling Stone), Peter Guralnick (Author), Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes), Warren Haynes (The Allman Brothers Band), Brian Hiatt (Senior writer, Rolling Stone), David Hidalgo (Los Lobos), Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Lenny Kravitz, Robby Krieger (The Doors), Jon Landau (Manager), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Nils Lofgren (The E Street Band), Mick Mars (Mötley Crüe), Doug Martsch (Built to Spill), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), Brian May, Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Roger McGuinn (The Byrds), Scotty Moore, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Tom Morello, Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Brendan O’Brien (Producer), Joe Perry, Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Robbie Robertson, Rich Robinson (The Black Crowes), Carlos Santana, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Marnie Stern, Stephen Stills, Andy Summers, Mick Taylor, Susan Tedeschi, Vieux Farka Touré, Derek Trucks, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Walsh, Nancy Wilson (Heart)

BMU

Holy crud, a three page argument over a *Rolling Stone* list? Isn't it a given it's going to be clueless asshat troll fodder simply by virtue of it being in Rolling Stone??

Averatu

X-rated Bob wrote:
Averatu wrote:
MIKA the better one wrote: Ha, to bad being technically proficiant means nothing in the world of music...

Who cares if a classical guitarist has more technical skill... or if a jazz guitarist does, or a rock guitarist......

Silly thread
I sort of agree. To me, the music written by most 'technical' players does not engage me. Jeff Loomis's album case in point, I can appreciate the skills, its light speed, tight and slick, but I've listened to it once, dont really have a need to listen to it again, and that goes for all the virtuoso albums that have come my way. And who's buying those albums? Its us muso's mostly, a pretty small market. I've found that the general music listener gets irritated by chronic pointless fret wanking.
Technique is good, but it should be a means, not an end. It's the vocabulary that you use to express your ideas.

Too little technique is problematic too. Punk, in the UK, ran out of steam fairly quickly because it wasn't sufficiently articulate.

So there are the two dangers. Having nothing to say, and not having the means to say what you want to say.

But improving your playing is not going to REDUCE what you can express.

the problem is that some guys become so super technical and self important that all they end up 'expressing' is GAS. Being able so play your instrument is very important in my opinion, but being all technical for the sale of it is just retarded.
Who's this Bert Jansch?

Jack-Flash-Jr

BMU wrote: Holy crud, a three page argument over a *Rolling Stone* list? Isn't it a given it's going to be clueless asshat troll fodder simply by virtue of it being in Rolling Stone??

Chewing the fat and arguing are two different things...

chrisbark

Bob-Dubery

Averatu wrote: the problem is that some guys become so super technical and self important that all they end up 'expressing' is GAS. Being able so play your instrument is very important in my opinion, but being all technical for the sale of it is just retarded.
Who's this Bert Jansch?

One of the very best guitar players to emerge from 60s England. A key influence on Jimmy Page and Johnny Marr.

One of the useful things about these polls is that they tip you off to things you never even knew existed.

[deleted]

Well obviously I would love to agree with the title of the thread. I do agree with what Bob said though :

It seems to me that it's better to take in as much as you can of the world of guitar techniques and absorb all of those that will help you fulfill your musical vision.

I was talking to a belly dancer who had just started doing salsa. Although she is a professional in the one style, she feels inadequate in the other. The thing is, both require, it would seem, two different states of being, not just different technique. I doubt that the one style would enhance the other, but it certainly expands her repertoire. I think this applies to guitar styles as well.

I think the technique for classical guitar is mirrored in many styles, but the state of being one needs to be in to produce an amazing classical performance is very unique. While the notes can guide you to the feel of the song, at some point you have to abandon them, like training wheels, and focus on something "other". I think that's why classical guitar is hard, is because there is so much emphasis on the technique, which, once mastered, you need to let go of.