Originally Posted by: polanskyOnce I read bout Addam Nusbaum (a jazz drummer) he was presenting at the Modern Drummer weekend festival, he was playing with guys like Terry Bozzio, Dave Abruzzese (ex pearl jam) and I think Mike Portnoy was there too...

Adam came after a row of blazing solos and hard_to_play chops performed by many of those mentioned above on massive drumkits... he came out to the stage with a newspaper and a pair of brushes... and played "tea for two" sitting in the edge of the stage ON the newspaper.

His approach to music keeps ringing on my head today... he said:

"when it comes to music I don't just want fast hands... but fast ears"

Speed is cool, I wuold love to play as fast as anyone here, but we MUST serve music first... if it fits... go ahead but most of the time it's just Dragonfoce ...cough... cought....I ment posse.

I mentioned this earlier, actually. I wouldn't consider someone as able to play at virtuoso speed unless they were actually using their ears while doing so--not just re-running their pet licks ad nauseum. Yngwie has his pet licks--true--but the man also does a whole lot more. Slow down his solos and you'll see what I am talking about---if he did a lot of that stuff at medium tempo they would make pretty good melodies in their own right.

So, yes, I fully support that. Playing fast is also about playing smart and with good aural skill as well.


And my answer to the person referring to Dave Gilmour--I'd say you were right, he does inspire awe. Yet, that awe is not due to his technical command in terms of speed. You could say that his vibrato and bends are virtuosic--but not that Dave Gilmour himself is a virtuoso, if you were to use my logic.

Every aspect of a virtuoso's playing, again according to MY previous definition, would inspire awe---from vibrato to tone to speed.