Vic wrote:
OK, how would you define "playing a guitar".....? ALSO, can a pro be intermediate? Some mention the aspect of theory....now what about all those great players (especially those from the 40's , 50's and 60's ) who knew veeery little about theory and never took up lessons ? ....any thoughts ?
Pro kinda means getting paid... so a pro can very well be an intermediate level guitarist. The advanced levels of guitar are reserved mainly for techniques that severely speed up beginner and intermediate "exercises" so to say. Composition aspects and principles of writing come into play more.
Grades in theory are interesting... because a minimum requirement in music colleges overseas is a grade 5. When you look at all that stuff, it is rather easy to understand (if you open the book). Grades 6 to 8 deal more with composition aspects than anything else.
The rockschool grades of 6 to 8 merely accelerate the tempo of the things you've done through the lower grades... with heavier syncopations. I've heard some people who've passed that grade 8 practical... and it makes me wonder why on earth did they pass these people? They can't do jackshit other than the material they've learned note for note... their improv is disgusting - their notes are shaky and they all have that shrill poopy vibrato. Bends are a weakness, legato is worse.. etc etc. Marketing rocks! Just the sad reality is that these guys now think they know their shit, ego's fly higher... and BOOM! ... they find out the hard way. It's quite sad. Must be the teacher's fault.
Now I'm not saying all those rockschool people are like that... just airing a view and my own experience on that.
Those players from that era... or from any era really... they may not have known the musical terms... but they definitely did the hard slogging at getting their ear up. And along with that comes the knowledge - this works on that, this won't work there... right... let's make a hit. But to say they didn't learn theory... that might be a stretch. Those bluesmen who travelled in the 20's and 30's all learned from each other. It may not have had a term... but it was something useful. Menage au learning circle. So in effect, a lesson is learned mostly anywhere. The jazzmen all learned their chops from each other - in other circles it is known as stealing - and they reworked things. The gypsy boys did much the same. Nowadays we don't steal. We are pirates... arggh... and pirates don't steal, we take what is ours in 5 minutes anyway.
To define playing guitar would mean someone has to pick it up and tickle one of them steel magafters that runs the length of the neck.
