Whats with guitarists?

5string5fingers · #1 06-07-2009, 10:58 PM

So a few of you may have read my post before about not being in a band and what not..well now I found this guy who plays guitar,and apparently some bass, that I'm goin to start jamming with starting thursday. He showed me some videos of him doing covers for songs,and he's a really good guitarist and has almost exact taste in music as me,but as I watch these videos..the same question pops into my head almost every single time I see a guitarist playing..

Why is it guitarist never put any feeling into what they're playing? Alot of them just look so mechanical...and it seems they aren't even playing music,just notes on an instrument. What gives? Do guitar plays just focus so much on trying to look awesome they forget how to play music?

Just thinking out loud..

Vamposaur · #2 06-07-2009, 11:01 PM

I know exactly what you mean. But you know...that's the difference between a "Guitarist" and a "Musician."

5string5fingers · #3 06-07-2009, 11:03 PM

true,maybe thats why guitarists make such bad bass players,you cant groove if you dont put feeling into what you're playing. Maybe I can show him a few things,and give him some tips..

**jmattbassplaya** · #4 06-07-2009, 11:15 PM

It`s why I stopped playing with one of my best buds. His style and feeling got really mechanical and lost basically all of its groove once he got into guitar virtuoso music. He would over-play, add solos where they weren`t needed, and basically tried to do every trick in book for even the simplist of songs, just to say that he could.

It`s kinda funny because the exact opposite happened to me once I got into bass virtuoso music. I started to appreciate simple lines that focused on the groove and less on what I could do just cause... I guess that`s where you begin to notice the divide between bassists/guitarists/whoeverists from musicians.

backline112 · #5 06-07-2009, 11:18 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3duAGTJ_QJI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV52_eoJCjo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihke6p7xaCg

I guess it's because when people think of "Musical Instrument" they think "Guitar," and when they decide to "learn" an instrument, guess what, they pick the guitar. These are the people that think: "Faster is Better."

That's the explanation I came up with.

5string5fingers · #6 06-07-2009, 11:19 PM

I think probably the worse part is..a lot don't understand..how much better they would sound if they put feeling into their guitar playing,especially if they are already a good guitar player,technique wise

5string5fingers · #7 06-07-2009, 11:21 PM

oh man..i LOVE pink floyd...they have some the best guitar solos in my book,they're not as complicated and fast as say metallica,which im a huge fan of, but they groove and have so much feel to them its awesome

Another reason why I'm such a huge fan of Santana...he puts his heart and soul into everything he plays...and it really shows

xzzy · #8 06-08-2009, 09:41 AM

Yeah, sit him down in front of some floyd (or any other of dozens of legendary acts) and watch his reactions. If he can't appreciate what's going on, he's definitely not a musician, no matter what he can pull from the strings.

Some people are just in it to reproduce the songs they like.

mjolnir · #9 06-08-2009, 09:52 AM

Some look like that, sure. Others... Well, ever watch SRV play?

My guitarist looks almost just like SRV when he's rippin' a solo with the exception of looking a bit more like he's in the middle of an epileptic seizure. Man gets entirely engrossed in what he's playing, pours his heart and soul into it.

...I dunno, maybe you just need to look for a different guitarist.

5string5fingers · #10 06-08-2009, 02:33 PM

oh yea i know...santana looks like he's having and orgasm when he plays sometimes..

Rob Lewis · #11 06-08-2009, 04:50 PM

Played with a "guitarist" once who got so into his part that he'd miss all the cues and just carry on regardless. Not a musician. Not paying any attention to what his little piece of window dressing's riding on. Long gone.

bkbirge · #12 06-08-2009, 04:54 PM

There are lots of soulful guitarists out there, maybe you just need to look harder. Or maybe I've been lucky, who knows. There are total wankers on every instrument, bass included. The toughest part of making group music is getting the right group together.

Jim Campbell · #13 06-08-2009, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5string5fingers

So a few of you may have read my post before about not being in a band and what not..well now I found this guy who plays guitar,and apparently some bass, that I'm goin to start jamming with starting thursday. He showed me some videos of him doing covers for songs,and he's a really good guitarist and has almost exact taste in music as me,but as I watch these videos..the same question pops into my head almost every single time I see a guitarist playing..

Why is it guitarist never put any feeling into what they're playing? Alot of them just look so mechanical...and it seems they aren't even playing music,just notes on an instrument. What gives? Do guitar plays just focus so much on trying to look awesome they forget how to play music?

Just thinking out loud..

close your eyes and listen.......if it sounds good it is......i saw that in a sig somewhere

Ric5 · #14 06-08-2009, 05:49 PM

I am perplexed when a guitar player will play a chord and ask me what chord he is playing ... it is kinda scary when I know and he doesn't ...

claytitan · #15 06-09-2009, 08:18 AM

I remember watching Don Felder play in the Eagles Hell Freezes Over DVD. I thought man there is someone who knows how to play guitar. Quick, clean and every note has a purpose.

Not a guitar player but Fleetwood from Fleetwood Mac does the same thing on drums.

Gopherbassist · #16 06-09-2009, 10:33 PM

It may have something to do with getting lessons. Everyone that I know who's had a guitar teacher has all these idiotic rules the teacher makes them follow. They get in the habit of doing them even after they no longer have a teacher. They're doing what they were told instead of what the want, so don't enjoy it.

PBass101 · #17 06-09-2009, 10:43 PM

My band's guitar player was into nothing but fast fills and scales - listened to "greats" like Steve Vai, Satriani, breathed Metallica...whatever. His playing was technically astonishing but boring after all of about a minute.

Me and the drummer, between us don't listen to a band that formed after 1975, got him into blues and blues-rock. Problem solved. His focused switched from playing as many notes as possible to getting the most out of every note, even if that meant slowing down some for solos and whatnot. He went from trying to get Gilmour's effects-ridden tone to trying to emulate his style and feel. He's getting better, anyway.

Everytime I overhear him playing all that technical crap (we're college roommates) I let him have it.

Yngwie 4String · #18 06-10-2009, 02:15 AM

I dunno. I think perhaps low sounds just seem to be more emotional than higher ones. Its a theory I have.

I watch a lot of guitar music on youtube and I see comments similar to what your saying. Speaking as a guitar player I think its just a different way of displaying emotion. I tinker around on my bass still. I change depending on what instrument Im playing. When I play the Bass I try to be loose and groovy, I kinda bounce when I play and act a bit goofy. When I play the guitar I try to appear as though I am one with the guitar (cheesy I know) so I look very zoned out and serious. My playing on both instruments is emotional but I display it differently.

I think Malmsteen's playing is emotional... therefore disregard everything you just read.

neatobassman · #19 06-10-2009, 02:31 AM

The inverse is true to though. I've seen some bassists that play a bass like it's a guitar with less strings. Just following the guitar and looking very mechanical. It's all about the personality.

Most people get into guitar because it's the big thing and they want to show off and all that. They focus more on the technique then the feeling.

Most people get into bass because they like music and it shows.

Dave Vader · #20 06-10-2009, 02:38 AM

As a guitar and bass player, I think there's plenty of soulless bassists out there, and many guitarists (me included) who wring the neck like a little piggy and try and squeeze every ounce of soul out of it. Pull up his action, put some telephone wire strings on his single-coil pickups, and watch him try and do all that widdly-arse stuff. Instant soul, SRV style.