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  #46  
Old 09-03-2017, 09:48 AM
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TBman TBman is offline
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I'd rather hear an instrumental piece, especially one that I can almost play as its a challenge that I enjoy.

I understand what the OP means by
Quote:
singers who just happen to strum a guitar to accompany themselves
.

Their apparent focus is on the vocals, not guitar. What they do out of the limelight could be the complete opposite, that they enjoy playing technically challenging instrumentals. I don't know. In my opinion the non-playing public at large is the driving force behind what is popular. People like to sing along. That's it in a nutshell. It sells.

So we will get entertainers that deliver what the majority want, which for the most part is vocals backed by instruments. So as a prop or maybe they compose their own songs on it, they will have a guitar slung around their neck.

I'm sure that here as members we have plenty of people that "strum just to accompany.." and there isn't anything wrong with that. We're allowed to enjoy this hobby in our own way.

When I was younger (like 20), I was at my girlfriends house (we had just started going out) and I played a few songs for her, Clap, Mood for a Day, Babe I'm going to leave you, etc. and her younger sister said that her boyfriend plays guitar really good too. So a few days later he came over and played and sung as well. He played a few songs, all G C D type of things, and he really had a good voice. We all enjoyed it. Her sister said to me, see doesn't he play guitar good? I just smiled, what else could I do?

She had no concept of the differences in difficulty of what I had played and what he played, from a guitarists point of view. More importantly though, it didn't matter from her perspective.

So, with this experience well behind me, we all have our own likes and dislikes. My own "likes" shouldn't be used to devalue how someone else enjoys playing guitar. Life is too short for this kind of stuff. If someone strums chords, and sings on a $300 guitar, or an $5,000 guitar, he or she should still be considered a participant in our hobby and not scoffed at or looked down on because "they only strum" or "they have a cheap guitar" or "don't deserve that guitar."

It's crazy. Putting some other style down or another player's style down does not in anyway make my banjo rolls any faster.
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  #47  
Old 09-03-2017, 09:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roylor4 View Post
I'm in the same camp as Judson, but to each his own. I prefer lyrically driven, singer-songwriter type of material. I like to hear interesting stories put to music. I enjoy interesting and catchy guitar hooks/phrasing too but only within the context of the story.

I can sit and listen to an instrumental or two, but I don't see a possible scenario where instrumental music could hold my attention for a whole set, let alone a concert.

My best friend and weekly jamming buddy is all about the tempo, hooks and complicated guitar phrasing. He never listens to the lyrics, just the music.

Here's an example of a well written and played song that represents the kind of stuff I prefer. I can't be seen, but i was in a folding chair, 3 or 4 rows back.

Hey that was great, love the cello, and boy How things have changed for me since last year, because I now think recognise the amp the electric guitar is using. Looks to be an Orange amp
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  #48  
Old 09-03-2017, 10:43 AM
L20A L20A is offline
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It would drive me crazy to sit through an hour concert of all instrumental music. I have a great appreciation for harmony vocals.
Put some nice guitar work behind it and I'm a happy camper.
I also enjoy solo work like James Taylor and John Denver.
To me they are singers that play well but rely on their vocals to carry the music.

I love to sing and play myself but I'm not great at either.
I am a stronger vocalist than I am a player so put me in that bracket.
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  #49  
Old 09-03-2017, 12:58 PM
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The world is full of very, very good, guitar players who can recreate most any lick they ever heard.

The world has many good singers.

The world has very few songwriters who can write songs that rip your guts out, fewer still who can sing them, so playing guitar comes in last in my pecking order.

Then there is the likes of Richard Thompson. Scary.
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  #50  
Old 09-03-2017, 01:05 PM
lt20dbl lt20dbl is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by island texan View Post
I'll take a good guitarist with an 'okay voice' e.g. John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, Dave Van Ronk, etc. over a lovely voice strumming three cowboy chords.
Of those three, I would only consider Dave Van Ronk a better than average player.
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  #51  
Old 09-03-2017, 01:06 PM
HAPPYDAN HAPPYDAN is offline
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By all means, please follow your whims. But the money is in the vocals.
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  #52  
Old 09-03-2017, 01:11 PM
gfsark gfsark is offline
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It's wickedly hard to sing while playing a complex accompaniment. I have tremendous admiration for those who can do this but they are few. It takes so much concentration to sing and engage the audience, that I simply cannot pull off fancy intricate accompaniment for myself. So I do simple repetitive picking/chording/strumming while I'm singing, and save fancier playing for the solo when the voice drops out, like Tony Rice does in Church Street Blues (one of my favorite pieces).

I should also point out that Tony Rice absolutely wrecked his voice through improper vocal technique, so he's not (in my way of thinking) a great example of someone who really can sing and play at the same high level.
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  #53  
Old 09-03-2017, 01:47 PM
The Bard Rocks The Bard Rocks is online now
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I prefer someone who does both, but am not stuck on that.

Think. If you sing, two things happen. First is music, a voice being a type of instrument. But secondly are words and meanings. No other "instrument" can do that and it is hard for a skilled instrumentalist to compete without singing at least some of the time.

Also if you are a singer, there are instrumental breaks whereby skill on an instrument can be demonstrated. An instrumental piece does not get vocal "breaks".

Last, little kids sing. Singing is something nearly everyone has done, in school, in church, singing along with the radio, wherever. Most singers just do it and don't take lessons or learn how, not like it is for anyone learning an instrument. (I don't mean to imply that singers can't learn later in life or take lessons, many of us have done this as well.)
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  #54  
Old 09-04-2017, 09:42 AM
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Originally Posted by KevWind View Post
Hey that was great, love the cello, and boy How things have changed for me since last year, because I now think recognise the amp the electric guitar is using. Looks to be an Orange amp
Actually Kev, I took a look at Johhny Wakens rig at that gig (the electric player) and thought it was a Blackstar HT-1R. But now that you mention it, the grill is the wrong color. He is a beast on that Strat - one of the best live guitar players/entertainers I have seen live & up close. He also is a killer harp & mando player and the saw

Posting that video is bittersweet, as the Cello player, Paul Ford, died of brain cancer about a year ago. Great player and a nice guy too. Made my heart hurt. We have talked to the band in person on several occasions. My wife has all their signatures on her banjo.
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  #55  
Old 09-04-2017, 10:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skip Ellis View Post
I never hear or care about the lyrics - only the melody and harmony lines and the possibility of turning it into an instrumental.
That's me as well, I'm not in this for the lyrics or else I'd be into poetry, which I'm not. I don't care too much what the lyrics say as long as the music is there. But, I happen to be a good singer as well as a good guitarist so I can accent one or the other or both depending on the song. And I am absolutely about harmony, which is why our act has three people.

As to what I like to hear, if someone is overwhelmingly good at one and not the other, that's OK depending on level of competence. It's when someone is good at neither (read "bar owner's niece") that I lose all interest.
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  #56  
Old 09-04-2017, 11:14 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roylor4 View Post
Actually Kev, I took a look at Johhny Wakens rig at that gig (the electric player) and thought it was a Blackstar HT-1R. But now that you mention it, the grill is the wrong color. He is a beast on that Strat - one of the best live guitar players/entertainers I have seen live & up close. He also is a killer harp & mando player and the saw

Posting that video is bittersweet, as the Cello player, Paul Ford, died of brain cancer about a year ago. Great player and a nice guy too. Made my heart hurt. We have talked to the band in person on several occasions. My wife has all their signatures on her banjo.
Wow that is sad.
I am fortunate to have a classically trained cello player locally whom I have played a few gigs with. It can be such a great contrast and complement to acoustic guitar.

The only reason I thought it might be an orange amp is because I have one of the black with light orange grill cloth models also
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  #57  
Old 09-04-2017, 01:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Silly Moustache View Post
Although -as the following videos will show - both my guitar playing and vocal skills were limited, I have been known over the years to hold a listening audience for a couple of hours.
I can see why. Very nice. Thanks for sharing.


Quote:
Originally Posted by roylor4 View Post
I can sit and listen to an instrumental or two, but I don't see a possible scenario where instrumental music could hold my attention for a whole set, let alone a concert.
Beyond watching the guitarist to see what I could learn, I would probably feel this way for a solo guitar, too, but I suspect it's just the limits of the instrument alone, because I could certainly enjoy a piano recital or a string quartet or whatever without vocals.
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