And he had the strongest hands you've ever seen, even for a skinny kid.OsoCoreyell said:
I agree that Mark Knopfler is WAY underrated. What he does WITHOUT a pick is kind of just nuts.
But I don't know how you argue with SRV as being the most purely talented guitarist ever, certainly the most talented blues guitarist ever. This is with a 12 string...a 12 string...ever tried to bend and blow like this with a double-stringed instrument? It's crazy that he can do this at all:
My favorite thing was that, after this "unplugged" session, he was interviewed about the experience. He said that he picked the 12 string "just to f with those dorks" at MTV.
Roger that on "fast" vs "good"..However, I truly believe SRV, Hendrix, and Alvin Lee were every bit as "good" as they were lightnin' "fast." I remember Alvin Lee being proclaimed the "Fastest guitar in the West" in late 60's. He still put everything he had in every riff and it would vibrate your soul to listen to him when he went "on go." Listen to some old "Ten Years After." Derek Trucks is another good guitarist also. For that matter, you can go back to Robert Johnson and hear the birth of a style that still gives me goosebumps. I've played for about 60 years..started with an old Gibson flat top that I still have today..Bought a Rickenbacker ( 6 string) from Shep Barrier in 65 ..Wish I hadn't sold it in the 80's! Smoothest guitar I ever laid hands on. They bring top dollar today. Anyhow, your point regarding "fast" and "good" is well taken.Mr Tulip said:
There's a tendency to confuse "fast" guitar playing with "good" guitar playing. I've got 40 years as a cellist. My fingers can, with enough drilling, keep up with any amount of notes. That's just dexterity - a trait learned through repetition barring physical limitation.
Clapton has the nickname "slowhand". He doesn't always play fast. The notes to "Sunshine of your Love" and "Wonderful Tonight" aren't tough. However, I don't "quite" sound like Clapton when I play. I sound like me trying to play Clapton. Our feeling of the music is different and personal.
My passion is drumming. I'm currently a drummer without a kit, but still in my heart a drummer. I can't not be. However, Ringo Starr is the perfect application of this trait. He never plays ostentatiously or boisterously. However, he feels the music and gives it what it needs. Learning to use silence as a sound is a trick that frankly more drummers need.
On a blues riff, I don't believe I've ever heard anyone use the "whammy" ( tremolo) bar any better than Hendrix or SRV. Masters both. My pickin' is mostly self taught from hours (days,months, years) listening to my favorite guitarists and getting a tip or two in my younger days. In the early 70's there was a little known (to most around Central Texas) guitar player named Johnny Campbell that played Louisiana and southeast Texas gigs. Met him outside a club in New Orleans where he was taking a break and practicing a bit outside. We talked a bit and he showed me more in 15 minutes than I ever knew was possible.He never really became a "name", but those who heard him in his prime won't forget his raw style. He's still got some stuff up on YouTube... Nicknamed "Slim." Like many of his fellow road musicians, his hard lifestyle took it's toll in later years. Sorry to ramble , but if you ever have a minute check, out Slim doin' 'When the Levee Breaks" It was done way past his prime, but still worth a listen.Mr Tulip said:
Heh. "Fast" don't mean "bad" either! =)
One of the skills I should spend time on is tremolo picking. There's nothing that stops me from doing it, and it'd be a needed skill in my repertoire.
Learning it is a matter of setting a metronome at, say, 90 beats per minute. That's an "allegro" speed that I should be able to pick a single note on beat consistently ' and evenly. Then, bump it to 100 bpm. Again, pick cleanly and evenly. Keep bumping until you can't keep up. Then, back it down and build your chops where you can do it cleanly and evenly.
Eventually, I'd get fast enough, over several months, to rip off Vai's runs in "Just Like Paradise". It would increase my range greatly. I just always have a reason why I don't get started.
Mr Tulip said:
There's a tendency to confuse "fast" guitar playing with "good" guitar playing. I've got 40 years as a cellist. My fingers can, with enough drilling, keep up with any amount of notes. That's just dexterity - a trait learned through repetition barring physical limitation.
Clapton has the nickname "slowhand". He doesn't always play fast. The notes to "Sunshine of your Love" and "Wonderful Tonight" aren't tough. However, I don't "quite" sound like Clapton when I play. I sound like me trying to play Clapton. Our feeling of the music is different and personal.
My passion is drumming. I'm currently a drummer without a kit, but still in my heart a drummer. I can't not be. However, Ringo Starr is the perfect application of this trait. He never plays ostentatiously or boisterously. However, he feels the music and gives it what it needs. Learning to use silence as a sound is a trick that frankly more drummers need.
Mr Tulip said:
Heh. "Fast" don't mean "bad".
Bexar Pitts said:
I think the list has to include Wichita....Lester Moran's "Right Hand Man"..and master of the world acclaimed "Take Off Lead Guitar"..Here his "Liza Jane" is.....stirring...
/music_babble_beginsScratchy Bear said:
One that is often overlooked is the grandfather of punk and the power chord, Link Wray:
