What is "EASIEST" and "WHO IS BEST" (Grrr!)

[Silly Moustache]

As well as the AGF I frequent other fora some about guitars and some not, but I do see such questions occur frequently, so today, I have developed my standard responses - what do you think?


What is the easiest - instrument, music, method etc.

This is my new standard response to questions about playing music / instruments which include the word “easiest”:

If you want do do something enough - then easy or difficult is irrelevant.

If “easiest” is your priority, then that activity is not for you.


This is my new standard response to questions about musicians, e.g. Who is the better guitarist - Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Django Reinhardt, Tommy Emmanuel, Chet Atkins, Slash, The Edge etc.

Each is best at being themselves. Music is not a competition.


Thoughts?

[Mr. Paul]

[QUOTE=Silly Moustache;6187301]

If you want do do something enough - then easy or difficult is irrelevant.



Sounds like wisdom but of course does not hold water in any practical sense.

[Bax Burgess]

I grew up asking the same questions, because that's what I had always heard. As it happened to me, it became a form of idiocy. I think I've bucked it.

[No. 534]

What Homer said...

[Mr. Jelly]

I believe it's about the music and technic is a diversionary tool. Most of us will take that route to get attention if it's available to us. But it still comes back to the music. Face it, most good music has nothing to do with guitar.

[tbeltrans]

If something is worth doing, I mean REALLLY worth doing, to you personally, then do it. All the other stuff about talent, and how heard it is, and all that over-thinking stuff, is baggage.

As for who is the "best" guitar player, there is no such thing as far as I am concerned. There are too many variables to make "apples to apples" comparisons. Besides that, why are comparisons necessary?

I never understood why music needs to be a contest, with folks entering contests, battle of the bands, and all that, instead of just playing and enjoying the sounds being made.

Tony

[AxeDude]

Originally Posted by No. 534

What Homer said...

I wish I had this wisdom when I was about ten.

[catdaddy]

I agree that music should not have to be a competition, but a competitive spirit is something that can motivate some folks to better themselves and achieve things they may never have done in isolation. One of the best examples of this was the songwriting of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. They constantly competed with and pushed each other, and as a result produced some of the most creative and best crafted songs of their generation.

[Tony Burns]

I like tackaling a tough tune every now and then -very challenging and fun -

[guitar george]

I try to avoid using words in their superlative form such as easiest, hardest, best, worst, cheapest, most expensive, greatest, worst etc. Using these words means there is nothing beyond what you have stated and you have stated the absolute extreme. There is no way I would know what is the ultimate easiest, hardest, best, worst, cheapest, most expensive, greatest, worst anything. Statements using these words are seldom correct because there are always things that you are not aware of that exceed the ones you know about. I also avoid phrases like "you never" or "you always", etc.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by catdaddy

I agree that music should not have to be a competition, but a competitive spirit is something that can motivate some folks to better themselves and achieve things they may never have done in isolation. One of the best examples of this was the songwriting of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. They constantly competed with and pushed each other, and as a result produced some of the most creative and best crafted songs of their generation.

To me, the kind of competition between Paul McCartney and John Lennon was a part of their teamwork. One didn't go off crying because he "lost". They both "won" through their combined efforts, and in the process, pushed each other to go farther. This is not unlike what many experienced learning guitar with neighborhood friends. One guy copped a lick off a record and then somebody else cops another to show that he can do it too. Through that friendly "competition" both parties go farther than they might otherwise. There are no "winners" and "losers" in that situation.

Tony

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

If you want do do something enough - then easy or difficult is irrelevant.

If “easiest” is your priority, then that activity is not for you.

Each is best at being themselves. Music is not a competition.

I know exactly what you are getting at here and agree. Cheapest, easiest. Good things require effort, time, and investment.

Best. Who cares? At some point in your life you grow up and end up coming to grips with being good enough.

Bob

[catdaddy]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

To me, the kind of competition between Paul McCartney and John Lennon was a part of their teamwork. One didn't go off crying because he "lost". They both "won" through their combined efforts, and in the process, pushed each other to go farther. This is not unlike what many experienced learning guitar with neighborhood friends. One guy copped a lick off a record and then somebody else cops another to show that he can do it too. Through that friendly "competition" both parties go farther than they might otherwise. There are no "winners" and "losers" in that situation.

Tony

I disagree that there are no "winners" in that situation, there are, however, no "losers". Which reinforces my point that in some contexts music competition can result in a person experiencing self-improvement that might not have happened otherwise. It's disingenuous and facile to simply state that "music is not a competition" in a completely negative sense when clearly some musicians have benefitted from engaging willingly, if not with great pleasure, in competition.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by catdaddy

It's disingenuous and facile to simply state that "music is not a competition" in a completely negative sense when clearly some musicians have benefitted from engaging willingly, if not with great pleasure, in competition.

Na not really "disingenuous" or "facile". I think you are confusing the art form with artists themselves.

"Music" is art and art itself is not a "competition". However you are correct, humans are very competitive and thus artists can certainly be competitive .

[mdhttr]

One of my favorite movie lines, from Tom Hanks as baseball manager Jimmy Duggan in "A League of Their Own" - "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great."