What separates good guitar players from truly exceptional ones?

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pinball1970 said:
Yes he had a very untimely and completely avoidable end.
A "like" seemed out of place here. But a lot of these artists had "untimely" ends. Be it accidents or suicide. :frown:
 
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sbrothy said:
Oh they even referenced the herb!
For the record I didn't actually know it had that origin, I thought it was the U rated version of "Holy sh1t, Holy cr4p."
 
pinball1970 said:
For the record I didn't actually know it had that origin, I thought it was the U rated version of "Holy sh1t, Holy cr4p."
I was just as clueless if not more so! :woot:
 
It is not always flying round the fretboard that makes a guitarist great or a guitar band great.
There were great guitarists in this band, they had sound, groove and soul.
I had a tape of "Free bird" and wore it out, this was at Knebworth. Two trips for me to this venue but I was too young for this.

 
pinball1970 said:
It is not always flying round the fretboard that makes a guitarist great or a guitar band great.
There were great guitarists in this band, they had sound, groove and soul.
I had a tape of "Free bird" and wore it out, this was at Knebworth. Two trips for me to this venue but I was too young for this.


I agree. I wouldn't neccessarily call Albert King a virtuoso but the man can play blues. In this jam session with Stevie Ray Vaughan I have a distinct feeling Stevie holds back. King even puts him in his place smoetimes along the lines of "Yeeah you may be fast on the guitar but at the cost of soul!" I also think Albert King play with the strings reversed as he was left-handed and apparently couldn't be bothered to restring his guitar.



OK. He starts out with a little comment about it but then goes on to say Stevie has both (techniue and soul). I have no doubt as to what he really means though. :smile:

EDIT: and hilariously, Stevie just have to sit and take it. What should he do? Educate the master?! :woot:

My fav is matchbox blues!

EDIT2:

King: You wanna play some blues?
Stevie: Sure.
King: Reluctantly... OK... Starts.
 
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This also why I hate when people show me some 12-year old kid who may by a technical blues virtuoso, but you simply can't play blues unless you've had your heart broken. So, in my world a 12 year old can't play blues. Period.
 
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sbrothy said:
This also why I hate when people show me some 12-year old kid who may by a technical blues virtuoso, but you simply can't play blues unless you've had your heart broken. So, in my world a 12 year old can't play blues. Period.

MaituoGuitar - "Hi guys, this is my guitar channel, first of all, let me introduce myself, my name is: Maituo / Chinese name: Lv Junxi, I was born on March 8, 2015, I am from Guiyang, Guizhou, China, in 2020 I started to learn classical guitar. In January 2021, I started to learn electric guitar. "

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/nine-year-old-guitarist-maituo-clean-sweep-arpeggios

instagram.com/maituoguitarlujunxi/reel/DEXiRAEplYn/
-funny comment: "Bro's 11 but going through his second divorce"

(2024) Maituo said that when playing blues improvisation, he always thinks of BBking


(2024) When music meets English


(2026) Blues #jam #guitar #kid #maituo


(2026) Jack Gardiner&Maituo Jam at Guangzhou China

- facebook.com/jackgardinerguitar/videos/china-no-words-for-how-insane-this-has-been-yesterday-night-was-a-particular-hig/1869187720446480/
"China 🇨🇳- No words for how insane this has been! 🥺💙 Yesterday night was a particular highlight for me here in Guangzhou. I’ve been following @maituoguitarlujunxi for quite a while now and yesterday, I got to finally hear him play in person. At 11 years old, Maituo has the phrasing, the time feel, the technique and an insane charisma! It’s incredibly inspiring to watch and jam with this young man - the full package! 🤯 Maituo - you little LEGEND! 💙 Thanks for blessing us with your playing!"

(June 2026) improvisation by blues men - I think his dad is in the band.


More Maituo on PF
 
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#128,
though haven't tried to view-listen to any of those videos, no matter the culture where a person learns something from outside his, if he has genuine interest, he goes forth with the other's music to learn and enjoy.
 
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pinball1970 said:
It is not always flying round the fretboard that makes a guitarist great or a guitar band great.
There were great guitarists in this band, they had sound, groove and soul.
I had a tape of "Free bird" and wore it out, this was at Knebworth. Two trips for me to this venue but I was too young for this.



(June 2026) Jamming in Guiyang with my bro @maituoguitarlujunxi Couldn’t be happier! justincaterina






 
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sbrothy said:
As I said, this thread is hard to keep up with. This one reminds me of the "roaring twenties". :smile:
Almost that far back - and well worthy of mention - the one and only Django. Mostly playing with 2 left fingers. Were guitar solos even a thing before Django Reinhardt?
 
Ken Fabian said:
Almost that far back - and well worthy of mention - the one and only Django. Mostly playing with 2 left fingers. Were guitar solos even a thing before Django Reinhardt?

Charlie Christian
 
Ken Fabian said:
Were guitar solos even a thing before Django Reinhardt?
YES without a doubt.

edit: In fact, too many. If to give just one name among yet too many more, Vicente Gomez.
 
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symbolipoint said:
#128,
though haven't tried to view-listen to any of those videos, no matter the culture where a person learns something from outside his, if he has genuine interest, he goes forth with the other's music to learn and enjoy.
I admit it came out pretty harsh, but I stand by it to a certain degree. I realize though, that a 12 year old may have experienced loss. Loss of a parent or disease come to mind. So I guess I was a little too fast there.
 
Ken Fabian said:
Almost that far back - and well worthy of mention - the one and only Django. Mostly playing with 2 left fingers. Were guitar solos even a thing before Django Reinhardt?


Oldschool indeed! :smile:

EDIT: And yeah, quite impressive 2-finger technique!
 
sbrothy said:
Sorry for zombifying this old thread but I stumbled across this one and I... I... miss words.... Obviously, I'm aware that classical and/or flamenco (I don't even know which genre to put this in!) guitar isn't for everyone but I was flabbergasted!


BTW, Luca Strigacnoli uses the same hammer on-pull off technique as Maetusz Kowalski, but on a western guitar which I figure is even harder, both technically and on your fingers.



EDIT: Ingenius contraption!
 
Ken Fabian said:
Almost that far back - and well worthy of mention - the one and only Django. Mostly playing with 2 left fingers. Were guitar solos even a thing before Django Reinhardt?

Christian was playing in the 1930s, this is live from 1941.

 
This fellow was playing in the 1920s & 30s, acoustic. This is from 1932.

 
Is it now that I should come clean and admit that I like Steve Harley?



I may have mentioned this track before(?). I suspect it's about a bunch of friends doing LSD in a hotel room overlooking the Danube. But I'm open for other interpretations.
 
I've always thought that the cello isn't appreciated enough as a solo instrument. Trying to find a particular piece I heard 12 years ago on classical radio (not a chance!), I stumbled across something funny. It so happens that the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge had a brother in name called Samuel Coleridge Taylor who was a composer and wrote some music for cello. I really got confused there and ascribed it to my non-nativeness thinking that of course the poet was a composer too, but no.

Aaanyway:

 
Some of Django (and Stefan's) backing guitarists were excellent in their own right and sometimes got to show off. And yes, for as long as there were guitars there were guitar solos as well as soloists.
 
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robphy said:
(2022) Al Di Meola & Matteo Mancuso - live @ Eddie Lang Jazz Festival 2022 - Monterodu



(2026) Are There Any Guitarists Better Than Matteo Mancuso? - Rick Beato



More Mancuso from the covers thread




Matteo Mancuso: The Secrets to Genius Fingerpicking!
  • switch the audio track to "Japanese original" (-----they speak English);
    auto-dubbed to English is awful




Exploring Matteo Mancuso’s incredible fingerstyle with Marty Friedman🎸 (ROCK FUJIYAMA SPECIAL TALK)
  • switch the audio track to "Japanese original" (-----they speak Japanese and English);
    auto-dubbed to English is awful
 

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