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LuigiCabrini
Senior Member
Joined: 06/23/00
Posts: 207
LuigiCabrini
Senior Member
Joined: 06/23/00
Posts: 207
05/25/2001 10:12 pm
Urgh I have to agree with badhorsie on this one. Speed is irrelevent. I personally am not crazy about Vai's music, (sometimes i like it, but often not) but it's not just because it's fast. I think that Vai is often overindulgent, and disregards this listener, but I do give him credit for being an impressive musician (he transcribed zappa tunes!)
To say that speedy players can't play with soul, well first of all your discounting pretty much all classical players. I doubt that you have much knowledge of the genre, so it's not fair to dismiss them automatically. And yes, it's possible to play with feeling even if you're not improvising.
I like blues players, but I would never limit myself to listening only to blues. I listen to a lot of jazz players (Barney Kessel is my fave this week, check him out you'll be pleased,) and the best ones have all the feel of the great blues players, they just use it differently. As for shred players playing with feeling, it depends on how you define shred. If shred means music that is about the technique, not the music, then i think they can't play with feeling, but that's a stupid definition isn't it?
Guys like Satriani are often called shred, but he plays blues wonderfully, if you've ever heard his self titled album you know. He doesn't sound like Buddy Guy; he does his own thing, but it's still blues and its still soulfull. One could say that John Mclauhglin shreds, and his music is some of the most interesting, experimental stuff ever made.
To say that soulfull playing is limited to 12 bar I IV V progressions, that once you break a certain speed barrier that you're not playing with feeling anymore, it's ludicrous and missing the point of music just as much as guys who like music just because it's difficult and fast.