Appreciation of a solo performance

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

I strongly prefer my music without drums or electric bass - but, I readily admit, I have heard drums and electric basses and have liked what i heard. Just not usually.

As far as solo, duo, ... band, I like them all and find pros and cons for each.

Now why use the word "cheating"? Because if you are just listening, you tend to think this guy/gal is making all that sound themselves, without help. I don't have much interest in pedals that make you sound like what you aren't. One of my performer friends, Beppe Gambetta, uses a looper, on one piece and he announces it in a humorous way, so no one is fooled. When I see people using cell phone "accompaniment" at open mikes, it really turns me off. When I see a real performer surrounded by electronics, I feel that, with them, it is more about electronic gimmicks than anything pure that is done just by him or her.

That said, when performing, I do use reverb (lightly) myself and once in a while on solo gigs, I use a harmony unit, but on the times I bring it, it is used in subtle manner and not used often.

Ah, another who prefers music without drums. The problem I have with drums, especially since disco, is that they are now amplified along with all the other instruments so everything competes with, instead of supporting, the vocalist. I honestly don't understand why it all must be so loud.

I had hoped, when Santana came along, that "the bar" would have been set much higher for pop music, but that was not to be. Other than a few decent drummers (Michael Shreve, Mickey Hart, Neal Pert, …), we have been stuck with simple pounding for some time now.

To me, the acoustic guitar on its own is a beautiful instrument. Amplifying it (i.e. converting all that acoustic loveliness into electrical signals) loses something that playing acoustic unamplified can convey. Music didn't start when amplifiers were invented. There is a quite a long history of music making prior to that. But, then I prefer going to live performances about the size of a house concert over a huge crowd at big concert venues.

I recall Leo Kottke saying in an interview that he used a chorus pedal for a while, but found that it became too intrusive and habit forming, so he stopped using it altogether. This was back in the late 70s or early 80s, so he may have tried it (and/or other effects) again later.

Tony

[stephenT]

Well, I like Music.

Solo performers are fine, though IMO nothing can compare to the interaction between accomplished and intuitive musicians. That's when magic happens.

[Mr. Jelly]

The fact is drums are very, very loud. Add to that that most, if not all, drummers now days don't know how to play any other way than in loud rock style drumming. In most average sized bars the drums alone acoustically are to loud. This forces the singer and the other instruments to get louder to get over the top of the drums. It escalates from there.

The music that people have become accustomed to is fake in a way. Recorded music has had it's effect. An acoustic playing with rock drums and over driven electric guitars is not natural. It doesn't work, except in the recording environment where they aren't playing in the same room together and electronically brought together. This in turn has pushed the music industry and musicians to come up with ways to recreate the songs created in a recorded environment on stage. It escalates from there.

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by stephenT

Well, I like Music.

Solo performers are fine, though IMO nothing can compare to the interaction between accomplished and intuitive musicians. That's when magic happens.

Bingo!...…….

[Charmed Life Picks]

Buckle your seatbelts. If you've never seen Steve Goodman play live, you're going to be floored. The best solo performer I've ever seen. He could do it all, folks.

[musicman1951]

I don't have a lot of rules before I can enjoy some music. Of course I do like some better than others, but the number of musicians on stage could be one up to a whole symphony orchestra.

I very much enjoy solo performances as long as the musician is good and the songs are done in a way that takes advantage of the solo performance. Some songs really want a band.

I like solo instrumental guitar music, but not for very long. And in this case, if the player isn't quite good, not for very long could be half a song.

[tbeltrans]

We all have our likes and dislikes. Even those who claim to just like music, if you have a rational discussion long enough, you will find what that person does and does not particularly care for. We all have at least some type of food we don't like, even if we like the majority of food available to us, and so it is with music.

To me, being aware of what we do and don't like, helps to focus on what makes our own music unique. We learn this by listening to a lot of different music.

Anyway, that is my take on it.

Tony

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

Buckle your seatbelts. If you've never seen Steve Goodman play live, you're going to be floored. The best solo performer I've ever seen. He could do it all, folks.

Well thank you very much for that! Mission accomplished!!

[rokdog49]

Genius, but a little goes a long way.

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Genius, but a little goes a long way.

That left me wanting more. Simply brilliant.

[Sonics]

Originally Posted by agfsteve

I guess it's because I only play solo (albeit, strictly at home, for myself), and can therefore relate and apply to my own situation, but I really appreciate an entirely solo performance, whether live or recorded.

It's actually gotten to the point where, if I'm listening to a track on Pandora, and I think I can hear, say, a bassist playing the bass line, I have this reaction like I'm being conned, even if the music sounds great, and I tend to give it a thumbs down, probably undeservedly.

It's kind of ironic, because the whole idea of most of the music that I like is to make a single guitar sound like a whole band (bass in the thumb, melody in the fingers, rhythm from either / both).

I suppose that once I became aware that it is possible to emulate a band with just one guitar, I then became dismissive of any kind of ensemble (more than one player) situation, like they're cheating, which is ridiculous.

I get what you're saying, I think...