24-08-2011, 15:32
I beg to differ with you....sorry. You obviously do not listen to Steve Vai. Or even more noteworthy of your case John Mayor. It's not the speed that makes either of them great. It's the feel in which they execute their styles with. Its the fact that these guys did not accidentally write their melodies and incredible chord progressions. It may not be the same feel that guys like Clapton or Santana use in your eyes but it is. The difference is that they actually know where they are taking the instrument and the sounds eminating from it. They do not let the instrument dictate them (as many of the old school guys rightly claim to have done) they dictate what the instrument does. These players from way back when actually didn't really know anything more than Minor, and Major pentatonic progressions. These are scales that I can have a conversation with my wife, or a student while playing "feely" riffs on and not even have to think about. Not because these older players are bad players but because the instrument and those who have played it through the decades has evolved from simplicity to a discipline. I remember when I learned the pentatonic scale....Holy cow I could play anything Clapton could play. Maybe I wasn't as good at it but I could play it. And I admit that those guys had much to do with my playing style. But.....they are relics of the simple dark ages of Rock and Roll. And I love to listen to most of them I am not crazy about Santana because the guy rarely leaves the 1st position minor pentatonic scale. But all the others are great for what they are. But to say these are the best out there today.....that's confining yourself to an error and closing your mind to newer and better music. Go listen to "For the Love of God" By Steve Vai. There is every bit the feeling in that tune that there is in "Layla" by Clapton. The difference is in the discipline and that fact that Vai knew every note he was goin to play before he got there. Why do you think Zappa chose him? The guy could transpose Zappa's music on paper for god's sake. Vai is discipline and control. Any of the great composers and musicians from history will tell you that this is what makes virtuosos. Go on the internet and look for the super locrian scale tab or notation. Play it on your guitar. See how good you can get at it, and then put into your mind that this is the scale Vai pretty much dominated through that whole song I mentioned earlier. It's hard to wrap your head around. The feeling he plays it with and the insane accuracy that he has even while playing as fast as he does at times. And this is not an uncommon thing for guys like him. Sorry....your case holds no water as far as I'm concerned.
As far as the way they look....who cares??? All I can say to that is that todays guitar virtuosos are not pumped up with heroin, cocaine, and LSD. Vai is close to my age and I look pretty friggin good. Good enough that I still get 18 year old girls ogling me at my gigs. They're healthier and have the good sense to keep their bodies and minds in good shape. They arent skinny from speed binges and heroin induced starvation. And their skin won't look like an Isitoner glove left in the sun because they don't smoke 2 packs of Marlboros a day.
So I have to stick with these younger guys. They blow the older generation away.
As far as the way they look....who cares??? All I can say to that is that todays guitar virtuosos are not pumped up with heroin, cocaine, and LSD. Vai is close to my age and I look pretty friggin good. Good enough that I still get 18 year old girls ogling me at my gigs. They're healthier and have the good sense to keep their bodies and minds in good shape. They arent skinny from speed binges and heroin induced starvation. And their skin won't look like an Isitoner glove left in the sun because they don't smoke 2 packs of Marlboros a day.
So I have to stick with these younger guys. They blow the older generation away.