Strengths and weaknesses

Just out of curiosity, what are your strengths and weaknesses as a guitarist?

Strengths:
Tapping
slides
speed
improv
bends

Weaknesses:
super fast machine-gun picking (I use my fingers, so that's not even a real option)
Tuning ear
vibratos (they're decent, but I know people way better)

Hmm...

Strengths:
Tapping
Vibrato
Alternate Picking
Tremelo Picking

Weaknesses:
Bending
Fast "machine gun style picking"
Improv

Strengths: Improvisation, Bending, Sliding, Vibrato, Making Arrangements from Chord Charts, Hammer Ons/Pull Offs, Musicality in Solos, Composition

Weaknesses: Tapping, Reading Sheet Music Quickly, Fast Picking, Sweep Picking, Repetoire (I can sit in with a band I've never played with before on a song I've never heard before, but I only "know" like 30 or 40 songs)

Eh, my strengths are definately sweeping, alternate picking (16ths at 230 :D), long drawn out very cheesy argpeggio sections, and more 'outside the box' rhythmic groupings (like you hear shawn lane, brett garsed, alan holdsworht, etc use). Most would assume that I just sit around and play Michael Angelo's "No Boundries" all day then (although i did go through a period when i did thata lot), but those just happen to be the things I'm best at. I've also studied jazz and the fingerstyle classical a lot. I wouldnt' say i'm strong in all of the associated areas with those styles, but i'm a believer in training yourself as many ways possible, so although my strengths aren't all that great i have few weaknesses.

Strengths:Alternate Picking
Trem picking
Tapping
Bending
H on's and P off's
AH's
Picking up music by ear
Decent speed


Weaknesses:Extreme sweep picking
Classical guitar(fingerpicking)
Jazz improvisation
Inability to read sheet music
Lack of in depth knowlege of music theory
relying on astenato's(pedal tones)to often

simply put i would compare myself to paul gilbert without extreme sweep picking but i have every thing else.

I consider myself a well rounded player, I haven't mastered all the tricks of the trade (like sweeping like becker) but I can hold my own when it comes to playing a variety of things. Although I'm a bass player before a guitar player.

Strengths:
Rhythm - I'm very tight with rhythm and I have a very good sense of music.
Hearing - I do this this cool thing that kind of messes with people. I begin by randomly turning the strings out of tune, then strums down all the strings and let it ring out, next tune each string one by one and then go over to a tuner and show whoever is there I tuned every string perfectly.
Music Appreciation - I believe this plays a huge role in musical development, and a lot of people don't have it. I haven't heard many tunes where I didn't like something in there.
Improv - I've played several times and had people come up asking what I just played and are pretty astonished when I tell them I was just making it up.
Theory - I don't know it all, but I also know too much science and formula is not good for musical innovation. All the key's are in the basics.

Weaknesses:
Classical guitar and similars - My confidence killer!! :)
Easily distracted - Thanx to ADD. I do sometimes slip up if my mind wanders off or if something draws my attention away from playing.
Sweeping - Probably the technique I struggle with the most, and I don't find myself practicing it that much either.

Of course I like to think I'm perfect, so I don't have many weaknesses. :cool:

And oh yeah another weakness, writing and typing. If I was every a writer, I would have to spend every cent I made on editors.

[Edited by noticingthemistake on 09-18-2003 at 01:59 AM]

Originally posted by Pantallica1
Fast "machine gun style picking"

What do you all mean by that?
Is it playing fast on one of the lower strings?

Strengths:

fastish 'Chet Atkins' fingerstyle
bluegrass style acoustic alternate flatpicking
country style chickin pickin with pick and 3 fingers
jazz chordal progressions
hammer ons and pull offs
double stops
'mutola' effect
arpeggios
simultaneous bass patterns, chords and melody
improvising/playing by ear
wide range of rhythm techniques

weaker on

high speed sweeping
8 finger tapping
playing above the 13th fret
reading music
advanced music theory
flamenco style
high speed harmonics
enthusiasm for playing the same old stuff over and over again

[Edited by Fruitbat on 09-18-2003 at 07:07 AM]

I will be bold and say that EVERY one on this forum is weak at eight finger tapping.Ive got six finger tappig down ok,but thats where it ends.I would love to get guidance on eight finger tapping though...its one of the holy grails of technique.My soloing creative ability would instantly sky rocket.

Noticingthemistake brought up an exellent point about music appreciation.I'll sometimes be listening to music with some friends and wonder if they'er picking up what I am out of it(like a bass line,drum beat,guitar solo,break down or the way everything comes together and leaves you feeling astonished with a sense of well being).

Also slow diver...I think what pantallica means by "machine gun style" picking is simply shredding...and shredding isnt limited to certain strings.The proper name for the technique is tremelo picking.I would like to give a few tips to make sure everyone has this in they'er arsenal.I want to de-mystify it once and for all.
lets begin on the low E palm muted.Tense up your forarm.This tension is controlled to make that pick fly.now tense up and shred(pick fast)that low E.Now tense up in short triplet bursts...you'll achieve that "galloping" horse sound.As you start to gain control over it you should find you wont need to tense as much and it becomes very natural and thought isnt required.ANYway,just remember to tense your forarm.Forget about staying loose and using your wrist exclusivley for now as that WILL come with practice.My friend plays nothing but punk and he picked it up(vaguley)within 30 seconds.
Alright that was a lousy lesson/description...just try it.

Later! \m/

i surely can't do eight finger tapping but don't care to.

schmange is good at all tapping


strengths:
speed
tapping
bends
right hand speed
rhythm


weaknesses:
sweeping (getting better)
muting
theory
downstroke speed

I will be bold and say that EVERY one on this forum is weak at eight finger tapping.Ive got six finger tappig down ok,but thats where it ends.I would love to get guidance on eight finger tapping though...its one of the holy grails of technique.My soloing creative ability would instantly sky rocket.

But who really does 8 fingered tapping? Seriously, help me out here. I tap a lot, in the style of Greg Howe, Richie Kotzen, etc... more recently I do a lot of things like Rusty Cooley or Francesco Fareri. But I've never really heard or seen anyone use more than 3 fingers in one given lick, or at least, play something that is easier with more than 3 fingers.

I suppose someone like Buckethead might, but he would only do it to create some kind of atonal sound, or a strange augmented pattern (or something similiar). And these sounds can be gotten in many other ways (thanks to shawn lane).

Originally posted by sambob
But who really does 8 fingered tapping? Seriously, help me out here. I tap a lot, in the style of Greg Howe, Richie Kotzen, etc... more recently I do a lot of things like Rusty Cooley or Francesco Fareri. But I've never really heard or seen anyone use more than 3 fingers in one given lick, or at least, play something that is easier with more than 3 fingers.[/B]

My friend who can tap with all 8 fingers, and pretty well I must say. He'll use one hand to play a fast baroque lick on the higher strings, and use his other hand to play the lower notes or walking bass line. It's sweet as hell. Sometimes he'll even use his thumb, like he did one thing in D minor last time I saw him. He tuned his low E to D, and used his thumb to alternately pluck the A and D string while doing a serrena type thing but tapping the arpeggios.

Yeah when I listen to music, even something that I don't normally listen to like country. I always appreciate it, what they did, how they did it, and how it all comes together. Usually I find something they did and go "sweet" and then I'll apply it to my style (of course some doctoring up). But music in all it's shapes and forms is an eye-opener and being close-minded to music (for whatever reason) is a weakness cause 50% of what I know and use came from music I don't normally listen to.

I think the same thing chuck. Usually when there's a solo going on and it's a solo I know already. I listen into what the bass or rhythm guitar is doing behind the solo, then the solo makes more sense and I can appreciate it even more.

As for my songwriting skills, I've always been good at writing music and good at writing lyrics but until more recently I guess you could say I had a weakness in trying to put them together. So I've been working on that end more and more as of late. Mostly my ability to sing, ‘LOL’. I’ve always had someone do that for me and now I’m working hard to be able to do it myself.

Strengths:
Alternate
Hammer-on's/Pull-off's
Bends
Vibrato
My joy of practice

I'm a fast learner to. That might be my biggest Strength.

Weaknesses:
Theory
Sweep
Tapping
Confidence
Song-/solo writing

Srength
Competitive nature (I've got to be the best)

Weakness
Egotistical (I shortly will be the best). ..That should be a strength as well.

Technical wise, who cares as long as you have a symmetrical face, right?

Strengths.
Bends
Vibrato
Arpeggio
Improv
H ons, P offs
Alernate Picking
Tapping
Slides
Muting

Weaknesses.
Theory/Reading
Sweeping
Finger picking
Lazyness
Harmonics, slowly improving
Confidence
Speed could be better too.

Strong points-
-I have a better natural ear for tone than most guitarists. I'm not going to pretend to really understand a lot of it because I don't think anyone does, but I at least know what I'm hearing.
-I have a great sense of rythm, even if I probably can't spell it.
-I have a good background to music theory from band/jazz band.
-I can play just about any style except shredding.
-I'm very creative.
-According to the music teacher at my old high school I play like Les Paul. I'm assuming that's style more than skill.

Feeble Points-
-I can't play as fast as I would like
-I have a hard time soloing over a background I didn't write
-I don't have as good of an ear for pitch as I should, mostly because my first guitar had horrible intonation and I didn't know it for two years
-I'm not even sure what sweeping is
-I can't sing. Singing really helps with playing guitar.
-I really suck at tapping
-I have a good ear for tone, which means I can't play with any other guitarists around where I come from. Fact is there's a lot of guitarists out there who suck ass and do it as loud as they can because they think it makes them sound better.