The DOUBLE STANDARD

[mhalsey]

There were no tabs? OMG! Wow,that must have been a long time ago....but then again the only thing they would ever be good for is playing someone else's songs anyways,which has NOTHING to do with being a good guitar player.

Tabs, whether transcribed accurately or not, are a stepping stone to becoming a better player. The tab can be horribly transcribed but if your learning from it, i.e., new chords, bends, vibrato, trills or any other soloing technique, how can anyone with common sense say they aren't useful? No one can ever tell me that by using Power Tabs I'm not becoming better. It's one of the great tools out there today that gets you on your way. Becoming a GREAT player is dependent on YOU and how much you're willing to invest to get there. If using a program like Power Tabs makes me a sell-out, a stupid novice with no ingenuity or imagination, then so be it.

[hippietim]

I would also agree with jgcable. I used turn tables also. Although practice time and methods may have not changed much.

Wow, another guy who grew up in Bedrock.

But I think the point here is that the wealth of information is at your fingertips these days. Back in the day there was nothing but formal guitar instruction books (like Mel Bay or something) and records.

Are you talking about the 50's and 60's? I started playing in the late 70's and there were plenty of transcriptions of stuff from Zeppelin, Rush, Sabbath, Van Halen.

And the gear was shitty. There were no superstrats, no Floyd Rose, etc...
Everything was 16 bit for christ sakes at best.
You could get some decent sound but not like today. Even the 80's was a major step up in sound technology.

Are you kidding me? The gear was fantastic. Les Pauls, Strats, Teles, Flying V's, Marshalls, Carvins, etc. Most things were analog which sounded killer! The early digital stuff was 8-bit and some (but not much) of it was cool. People pay some pretty big bucks for this "shitty" gear.

Teaching methods and technology just like in every other field has made a difference in guitar playing.

The opposite of this argument is that guitar playing and learning has not progressed at all. And I don't buy it.

I can see your point but I'm not convinced it's made any better players than before. None of these new fangled tools has netted us any ground breaking new guitar players - at least I've not heard of them and please correct me because I'd love to hear some new stuff. I can't think of one guitarist to surface in the last 10-15 years that has brought anything exciting and new to the table like Beck, EVH, Vai, Yngwie, Chet Atkins, DiMeola, Shawn Lane, SRV, McLaughlin, Greg Koch, Danny Gatton, etc.

[Evol]

I would also agree with jgcable. I used turn tables also. Although practice time and methods may have not changed much.

But I think the point here is that the wealth of information is at your fingertips these days. Back in the day there was nothing but formal guitar instruction books (like Mel Bay or something) and records.

No videos, no tabs, etc.... Everything was by ear. No way you can tell me you can get as good as fast as today - no way. Now you can see techniques on video and play them over and over again. You get them tabbed out, someone goes over them slow and up to speed.

Evol you don't get it. Back in the day a guitarist never even got an opportunity to see other people's techniques, styles or tricks and licks.
They were not available on any medium. Dude you may be too young to know what it was like.

And the gear was shitty. There were no superstrats, no Floyd Rose, etc...
Everything was 16 bit for christ sakes at best.
You could get some decent sound but not like today. Even the 80's was a major step up in sound technology.

Nobody here is saying anything about practice and experience or talent. These things are stil the same. The point is all things being equal.....

Teaching methods and technology just like in every other field has made a difference in guitar playing.

The opposite of this argument is that guitar playing and learning has not progressed at all. And I don't buy it.

Thanks for thinking I'm too young lol...but I've been playing guitar for about 30 years now...so,yah,I was there too lol

Everyone seems to think being good is about playing someone else music...and ripping off their techniques,and truthfully I think above all that's why everyone sounds the same these days,at least to the point of where guitar playing left off in the late 80's. Nothing new has really happened since then,with all this great technology shouldn't there be progress?

If one were to say that today it's much easier to acquire tabs and lessons from the people who played them,that it was 20 years ago,then sure,that's true. But in NO WAY does that make the actual time PLAYING the guitar and practicing the instrument and faster and/or easier. BS!

Like I said I knew plenty of kids who could whoop ass back then,with or without floyd roses,super strats and the like,I don't buy this notion that gear makes you any better on the guitar,it may make things easier on your fingers,but that's it.

Everything else is still practice,and how much time you spend doing it,period.Some people need more or less than others,but no amount of technology has changed how much physical coordination it takes to play the guitar.

[Evol]

Tabs, whether transcribed accurately or not, are a stepping stone to becoming a better player. The tab can be horribly transcribed but if your learning from it, i.e., new chords, bends, vibrato, trills or any other soloing technique, how can anyone with common sense say they aren't useful? No one can ever tell me that by using Power Tabs I'm not becoming better. It's one of the great tools out there today that gets you on your way. Becoming a GREAT player is dependent on YOU and how much you're willing to invest to get there. If using a program like Power Tabs makes me a sell-out, a stupid novice with no ingenuity or imagination, then so be it.

No,I'm saying that access to tabs has not suddenly been responsible for churning out smoking guitar players in record time,I contend that they always have been there,and we just havent seen them because they had no vehicle to promote themselves.

I know plenty of players that are great,without having to play other peoples songs,they developed their own style from what they heard and what they wanted to play.


All of these guitar players nowadays "heroes" or the people they are copying didn't need any of that to become great(and most did so at quite a young age,not unlike today at all),and they forged ahead with new sounds and ideas,since the advent of widely accessable tabs and whatnot it's been stagnant ever since. We have lots of copycats and sound a likes,that's all.

[Brick]

Well if u think of it guys have the better side of some other double standards, i'm sure you know what i'm talking about, so I'm not going to worry about it. But what your saying is true.

[shobet]

I wish I could do this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98y0Q7nLGWk&mode=related&search=

and no I don't mean wear a skirt!

[horns666]

I'm not into copying other people's music, but I do let it inspire me. I'm into "grooves", must be the bass playing thing I did for years. As soon as I hear a cool riff..I'll grab my guitar before I finish listening to the riff. It seems to "spark" my own ideas..I do that alot. Then it sounds nothing like the riff that inspired me..which is exactly what I want.

I don't do tabs, or anything...I just play until I stumble onto something if I'm lucky. My prob is I blow off alot of riffs that so many people would use. I like a "challenge"..if it's too easy I feel kinda gay..so I like to come up with complex shit..but it must groove..something that makes people's head bang..it always MUST be a bangable riff...that's most important to me, as well as my tone and how it comes across.

BTW..this fucking girl is killer..there seems to be alot of asian prodigies for some reasom..that always amazed me..they start really young!..this is just one of many I've seen..but it's fuggin' good and I enjoyed it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98y0Q7nLGWk

[horns666]

OH..as everyone knows..I'm a moron..so I don't use any "tools" when writing music. I jam with my son, and if the riffs are worthy. We remember them and arrange shit untill it just flows..

I guess that is old school..

They only "tool" I use is my son..long ago..I always jammed to a Roland 505 Drum Machine..meter is very important to me..I'm a stickler for meter..my son has better meter than most seasoned dudes I've played with..well, I can critique my son and he listens and goes with it. Most drummers are a pain in the ass..

It's always the same BS with drummers..you write a riff with a exact feel/meter/timing in mind and they always want to put their "spin" on it ..fucking it all up. god forbid you try to explain how you want it to go ..

I hate that!

[OnlineStageGear]

How about this one... Tipton.. Downing.

My take (after being a Priest fan since Rocka-Rolla), and seeing them live at least 20 times... Tipton is the far superior soloist and Downing is the better rhythm player. Live proves it because Glen plays 80% of the most recognizable guitar solos. KK is usually relegated to the whammy type solos.

I agree. I can almost always tell the difference in the solo's. I think KK closed the gap a bit on the Painkiller album but Glen always had the better solo's.

[Norton]

They only "tool" I use is my son..

Does he listen to Tool?

[OnlineStageGear]

Hey guys, it all comes down to who comes up with the cool riffs. Even in the guitar god hayday, the guitar lead/solo was usually only 20 seconds or less out of 4 mintes of song. I know I hated listening to 3 minutes and 40 seconds of crap to hear 20 seconds of a good guitar solo.

[GodOfRhythm]

I rest my case:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDIdJQq3RMQ

...., but she's hot, so I think the playing's alright.

[guitarsjb]

So, where does she stand in this mess? Check out her videos.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=106253095

[charvelguy]

She has pretty solid technique, good hand positioning, decent vibrato. Even though she's doing some advanced things..still a little sloppy as well as stiff in the feel at times than I'd care to hear. Very focused tho.

[jgcable]

So, where does she stand in this mess? Check out her videos.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...ndid=106253095

She has good technique but no feel and fairly sloppy. My guess is that she really has no clue what she is actually playing. Very stiff, lifeless and robotic. She sounds like she has been playing for 5 years. (which she has been).