My Idol

Some very fast runs can be pretty emotionally charged but yeah, the real expression happens in the slower bits.

Some people think some guitarists dont play with emotion, but I think they mistake emotional feel for musical feel. Here's what I mean. I'm sure more than one of you has heard that some people think Yngwie Malmsteen plays without emotion. The thing is, he plays Neoclassical music, which comes right from classical, and if you listen to classical, its very straight foward and not very syncopated like rock is. The feel is lacking a groove or catchy hook, like a rock song, which can come across as boring to some. So, I can see why some people think some guitarists dont play with emotion, but its not that, their songs are just very staight foward.

Leo Kottke's the man. Check out any of his material but particularly the earlier stuff before his right hand got injured. A master of the 6-string he's probably best known in guitar circles as THE top 12-string virtuoso and his slide playing's pretty awesome. He can play chords, melody and bass lines simultaneously, at high speed and with a real beefy sound... and not a single effects pedal in sight. Anyone's who's a guitar fan is advised to check LK out, though you might decide to quit playing once you've heard ' 6 & 12 string guitar.

For me,a guitar is like an account statement;a lot of things are put in the body of the statement,but the only thing that matters at the end of the day is what appears in the bottom line,that is whether you made a profit or a loss.Similarly,a lot of stuff appears in the body of the guitar statement:the technique,the speed,the tiny accoutrements all guitarists encompass into their playing,the effects,the list is endless.But the bottomline,what matters at the end of the day(at least to me)(or at the end of the gig if you like)is whether or not you told your story.Communed with t he audience.Exorcised your demons.