What makes a good musician?

[BassFishingInAmerica]

In my experience a lot of rock guys like to pretend that they don't actually know anything about music. I guess it adds to the mystique or whatever. It's hard to imagine someone having a career in music that almost spans a lifetime and not picking up a fact or two about reading, even by accident.

I played professionally for years. Sure I can pick out the notes on sheet music if I were to sit down and study it. But if someone asks me, do I READ music? I'd have to say no. Most guitar music is tabs than sheet music.

 

[Shimmi]

Freestyle jamming has become a lot easier. My Original guitarist mainly plays power chords while our new guitarist is more rhythm. Had an awesome time jamming with them a few weeks ago as for the simpler things I just glanced at what the lead was playing then when that got boring I glanced at what rhythm was doing and found a happy medium between the two. Most times when just jamming with one guitarist its complicated because he plays a lot of power chords and half steps and he's got that attitude thing you guys mentioned where he's determined I need to play exactly what he's playing which can make for a very boring slow rock song that although good it just sound incomplete and boring...too me... but with a rhythm guitarist working with us he really adds a whole new level of options of what to play without going off into weirdsville that and he turns his octave down so his guitars sounds really punky and bass-y almost like there's two bass guitars.

After our jam I told him he was awesome to play with and he said the same about me, he told me every time he couldn't figure out what to play he just looked at what I was playing and tried to follow it... I told him that was impossible because that's what I was doing with him... not sure if he meant while I was following lead guitar or what but we had a good laugh about it.

Either way I want to do more of that, or like a poster mentioned about playing with the gypsies that sounds amazing. I would love to jam with anyone that has an open mind and can play "outside the comfort zone" perhaps once my band is officailly over I'll just keep the name and start a jam band, and have new people for every gig and just make it an experience.