Dime A Dozen

I was in the Sam Ash store(music store)and heard a dude shredding around with roughly the same skill level as me.Just when we think we are unique to the guitar we are humbled by young and old.I'm beginning to question pursuing a career as a 'guitarist in demand'.

I'm alright at guitar...I can make some technical head banging riffs,play some ok lead,bring new ideas to the table incorporating drums and bass and most importantly I'm easy to work or 'click' with on a musical level....but is that really special?

Good guitarists seem like shades of colors...there tons of them,but none are that different from one another.

So in my pursuit for guitar greatness I fall into being average.

Anyone else feel the same?Mabey I'm just questioning my skills.

Believe it or not, attitude is a huge factor though....almost as important as being an awesome guitarist. So the fact that you 'click' with people on a musical level is a huge deal. There are absolutely amazing musicians who are a pain in the ass to work with because they bring attitude/arrogance into the studio and then there are decent musicians (who may not be able to play 6-string sweeping arpeggios at 200 mph), but are great to work with and easy to get along with. Personally, I'd rather play with an average musician who is ambitious and easy to get along with rather than an amazing arrogant musician who believes he's God's gift to the world, shows up late to rehearsals, thinks he's better than everyone else, etc.


Furthermore, as far as guitarists all being the same....maybe there's some truth to that. Nevertheless, each of us still has something we're better at than other people. Some guitarists are awesome at vibrato, but suck at arps. Some are great with shredding, but can't play blues at all. Some are great country players, but have no clue about classical. Find your strengths & continue to build them.

Very true...thankyou.

The days of hendrix when there were only a handfull of guitarist were heroes are gone and never coming back ... Also in the 80's , when only a few could shred , those were the heroes of the day.
Nowadays , almost everybody can insanely shred (and occasionaly play with soul too) after a couple of years of disciplined practice , but when you look in guitar magazines , you find guitarists from rap-metal bands (who probably donno what's the meaning of a triplet) taking credits and making the guitarist of the year here and there.

If you keep playing and practicing for shredding , it's not unique anymore , cuz the day when you play faster than everybody else isn't gonna come , and even if it does , who cares ?
The best you could do then is to be able to find some recording label that's interested to release your solo records , and nu-metal guitarists will still be guitarists of the year.

Find yourself a band with good and promising musical directions that goes well with you , that's the only way to huge success IMHO ... Who knows , may be then you could bring good guitar playing and shredding into life through some kind of pop music.

I think you start to see "unique" once you make it past the "beginning" stages, and develop your own style. You'll find that as you focus more and more on the things you like about your playing, they'll get even better, and you will start becoming original.

You know what's a sad thing, but it's really true? Half the battle is just "who you know." There are soo many brilliant guitarists out there, but they never really knew the ropes, so didn't get big enough to show the rest of the world. This fits in with reputation of where you've been. Look at Vai, Petrucci and Di Meola - all Berklee guys. You might've had just as good a music education somewhere else, but chances are if people haven't heard of that place - you won't get far.

Keep working though. I'm not striving to be famous. It is one of my hidden dreams (not so hidden now) to be the Charlie Parker of guitar - mix technical ability of shred with musicality of jazz. Of course, I'm not only a guitarist - so I think I'd kind of like to be a "session musician" more than anything else, like as a side job. I'm only 14, so it aint a big rush as of right now.

Im very selfish in that I couldn't care less what people think of my playing, I do to because I enjoy it and screw everyone else !!

I'm not concerned about what people think(as far as my playing goes) I KNOW I'm good at guitar(I'm trying to be modest)....wait....I just had a revelation(or rememberd).

My last band I had...I was a neseccity and not expendable.My bandmates knew they could never find a replacment for me because no one could bring ideas to the table like I could(or play the riffs the same way).I was the ONLY thing keeping them from being a mere wannabe sucky punk band because I and the drummer were the main talent(drummer was incredible).The band didn't go anywhere because I moved.......

Alright I feel a bit better now:).Mabey I'm just feeling down cause I had to ditch my half stack and rack equipment for money(for the move) and dont have any transportation...

Well so much for modesty...it really isn't as self centered as that may look though. :D

Originally Posted by: chucklivesoninmyheartMy last band I had...I was a neseccity and not expendable.My bandmates knew they could never find a replacment for me because no one could bring ideas to the table like I could(or play the riffs the same way).I was the ONLY thing keeping them from being a mere wannabe sucky punk band because I and the drummer were the main talent(drummer was incredible).The band didn't go anywhere because I moved.......

I've got news for you ... you're NEVER a necessity, not unless your name is the band name .... i.e. the Jimi Hendrix Experience have no necessity other than Jimi.... or you're the sole mastermind of the project ... i.e. Galder of Old Man's Child and Quorthon of Bathory. This sort of egotistic, self-pumping thinking is not the way to view it. To say you were the only thing keeping your band above an average level is pathetic, and i would spit on you if i could. As you just discovered, there's always someone better out there, and if you're not careful he'll steal your spot for looking like a jerk.

That said, Alot of musicianship is, as was said, attitude. Friendly people are better to work with than self-absorbed slobs. Your personality will help you get gigs as much as your playing. If i need to find a fill-in bassist for a show, I'm callign up friends before i look anywhere else? Why? Because i know these people, and know i work well with them. The truly great guitarists that flounder into anonymity in the udnerground do so because they're either horrible to work with or they don't have the drive to make a career out of music. Learning guitar is the easy part, making it a lifestyle is a whole 'nother story.

You would spit on me huh?Your right...you couldn't:mad:

1.The guy I heard was NOT better than me(from what I HEARD).Also,I didn't just 'discover' that there are better guitarists than me as if I was deaf/blind and ignorant:rolleyes: ...This thread isn't even about being better than another guitarist!Its about decent guitarists being a DIME A DOZEN and we all seem to conclude that while skilled guitarists are many,many are difficult to make music with/get along with socially.

2.I WAS a neseccity to that band.Everyone G-A-V-E U-P when I notified them I was moving(with a two month notice...there were no more 'rehearsals' after that...just drinks,wishes and jamming).And before you call THEM pathetic for giving up on the bands entity/sound or for relying on me to write the material,understand that the bassist is my BEST FRIEND and is working on other musical projects...He in fact wants me to catch a flight to Massachusetts sometime and record some tracks.

3.Since you dont know me personally,I would rather you not assume I'm a jerk(looking like one) or an ego inflated type of some sort!

Your news is pathetic :p

Originally Posted by: Dr_simonIm very selfish in that I couldn't care less what people think of my playing, I do to because I enjoy it and screw everyone else !!

My sentiments exactly !

i say juss give up and try a new hobby. You wasted so many years of your life to become average...whats the point i say? LOL jokin man...i guess we all come to the point where we question our level among other players i know i have. My family is all musically talented but they're a bunch of stiffs. I think u should juss be entertaining and do ur thing
Anyways thats all i have to say lol :cool:

Right moody!Have fun and...have fun!

Guys play nicely or this thread will be closed !

We are playing nicley!

Good.... cos I haven't banned any one for ages !!!!!

Dr.Simon say's "its spankin' season boy and ive got a hankerin' for some spankerin'!"

Sad thing is,lots of great musicians dont have the means(equipment or transportation)to market themselves with confidence.

I'm damn near at the 4 year mark (as if that means anything) and I still have tons to learn. But I think, like was mentioned earlier, that I'm starting to develop my own style.

Monday I was drunk off of Olive Garden wine and at a music store and I took a pimped out Ibanez off the wall and gave it a whirl on a Marshall 40 watt in the store. Normally, I'm too self-conscious to be "the dude" who's playing while other people walk around and pretend not to notice. But I was just intoxicated enough to where I was inhibited but still had perfect control of my fine motor skills. I just let it rip and got a few looks of approval from passers-by. I know that sounds contrived (and it is) but it was still nice to see.

Yeah, the post count's low, and the attitude's high ..... but it was well justified i believe. I saw something that needed commented on, I left a my-style comment.

I could care less how people view me ... i bring the unadulterated way i see things, take it or leave ot

that said, It's always fun to be "the dude" .... I've done it a number of times unintentionally myself, mostly when trying out new gear. Granted, half the time i'm too involved to really note passerby's, but i know it happens (buds telling me and such).

And to whoever it was..... great guitarists who flounder often are a pain to work with or they don't have the desire to be great. It's NOT the industry, otherwise, Shrapnel records would not exist. The industry is out there for those who want it, it works, not immediately, and not easily, but it does. Time and persistence get you a long way in the "biz", and blaming it on the labels isn't an excuse for failure, lack of desire/humility are more deserved titles

I've been plying for 20 years and every second week i feel the same way........but then i realize that i must have something to offer because people still come out to listen and the boys in the neighborhood still want to come over and jam.... and living in obscurity and having fun... is still fun.

the way I see it you can be an all around solid guitar player, aka Jimmy Page, he's not the fastest, most technically masterfull, but he could play a song in almost any style you could name

for example, bluegrass: Bron Y aur stomp, Classical: the rain song, blues: almost any song, rock a billy: boogie mama (in the whole lotta love medley on The Song Remains the Same), the list can go on

then there's the guys who just get unbelievably good at one or two techniques, aka Satriani: legato, maybe tapping, Vai: tapping, Yngwie: appregios, balls out shredding

then theres also the guys who just re-invent guitarplaying and do something completely new, which is what basically every person here hopes to do someday

I try to learn as many styles as possible

I don't know if this helps at all, but it give you something to think about what dirrection you want to go in