What exactly is skill?

[Gruupi]

This is a spinoff from Ellwoods post where he starts asking about technique.

 

How does everyone here define or quantify skill. Every one has different thoughts on the subject. My definition means to be able to play what you hear in your head. It is much more than just speed. Its all tied into rhythm, tone, and note choice.

 

First of all you need to play what you want in time. There are as many different ways to play to a beat as there are musicians. If you can only play really fast runs without really locking in to a groove you are missing an important part of technique.

 

Ellwood seemed to question what was meant by feel. Its the tiny little idiosyncricies (sp?) that set one player apart from another. The little micro bends and vibratos. Whether you hammer on/ pull off or pick every note. Its the way you play notes at different volumes in a phrase.

 

Your tone is also an important part of technique. Its how you percieve a sound and how you achieve that sound by both buying the right gear and how you play it. Some people spend as much time on tone production as actual practicing of notes or songs. For instance what angle you attack the string with a pick/ or fingers can make a huge difference in tone.

 

The notes you chose to play is part of your technique also. How much theory do you need to play what you hear in your head. You can play a whole career of valid music just on the blues or pentatonic scales. But you may want to dig much deeper and learn what the jazz greats are talking about, or study what makes Bach's music sound so good. If you are a solo player you need to learn independence of parts say between bass, chords, and melody.

 

All these things are what I describe as technique. No matter what kind of music you play defines what techniques you need. Everyone tries to interject taste into the equation but that is another subject and entirely subjective!!! It does take skill to play any type of music. There is very little popular music that doesn't have a very defined rhythmic pulse. There are alot of bedroom guitarists who can play as fast as lightining but lack this rhythmic pulse. So again, technique is a means to an end to be able to play whats in your head. The true music heroes were the ones who had something new in their heads and aren't we glad they took the time to learn the things they needed to learn to express them to us.

[Hardtail]

Lots of good stuff Gruupi.

 

How do I define skill for myself? Right now, it's simply to have good timing/rhythm. If you don't have that, you're going to stick out like a sore thumb.

 

The average (non-musician) person won't always tell how good your scales/arpeggios, hammer-ons, pulloffs are but if your timing stinks, they'll know.

 

There's certainly more to this as you've already pointed out but I think timing has to be worked on from the very beginning. Why do you think all of our music teachers made us tap our feet when learning our instruments?

[Dr. Ellwood]

good subject and I am glad you extended it to a new thread. Skill in guitar playing can be best demonstrated by sighting examples of jobs done in music. Can we call skill technique for example? I think we can for this conversation. I would say one of the highest skills in guitar playing has got to be the studio guitarist. A player that can walk into a studio sit down go over unfamiliar charts..play through it with the producer listening and with just a few production directions..deliver a very accurate rendition of what the writer and producer wants. Skill is being proficient in many different types of music and being able to apply those principles throughout his compositions. But here is the real test..to me anyway... with skill and technique at his fingertips be able to PERFORM his music in front of maybe thousands of people and do a credible job. Being a skillful musician is not only understanding his own instrument but those of others...and understanding how he fits into a organization of instruments

[A String]

As I mentioned in my other post, I like a good balance.

 

One of my favourite guitar players is David Gilmour. He has stated that he knows his technical abilities are lacking, but the feel he has just blows me away. The way he can pull you into a song and the emotions he can instill; Just amazing. For some people however, he sucks.

 

To sum up, I feel that skill is in the ear of the beholder.

[Dr. Ellwood]

Originally posted by A String:

As I mentioned in my other post, I like a good balance.

 

One of my favourite guitar players is David Gilmour. He has stated that he knows his technical abilities are lacking, but the feel he has just blows me away. The way he can pull you into a song and the emotions he can instill; Just amazing. For some people however, he sucks.

 

To sum up, I feel that skill is in the ear of the beholder.

Well Gilmores technical abilities may not be what HE wants them to be..but I bet they are on a pretty high level compared to many many guitar players. He looks at his technical abilities probably much differently than you or I do.

[Hardtail]

I saw the tail end of a show last weekend with Gilmour playing. I think it was called "Fender Strat" or something like that. My guess... duh... is that they highlighted Strat players in this concert.

 

Anyway, I saw Gilmour playing. He sounded great to me.

[LPCustom]

I think Gruupi nailed it, at least in my understanding of what guitar playing skill is.

 

You could say it different ways. But I think it would amount to the same thing.

[A String]

The thing with Gilmour is how he writes and his limitations in ability.

 

I read an interview where he stated that when he writes, he plays a guitar solo over the first track. He will then rewind and play a solo again over a second track. This process is repeated over and over again until he has several tracks full of solos. He then pick out his favourite parts and cuts them together. Once he is happy with the way it sounds, he learns the solo.

 

Aside from this, he is limited in technical ability when compared to the likes of Malmsteen etc. As far as I am concerned, malmsteen lacks the emotion in his playing that I feel makes Gilmour great. I think Gilmour has struck a balance between feel and ability, that allows him to be more accessible to the most amount of people.

[Dr. Ellwood]

Originally posted by A String:

The thing with Gilmour is how he writes and his limitations in ability.

 

I read an interview where he stated that when he writes, he plays a guitar solo over the first track. He will then rewind and play a solo again over a second track. This process is repeated over and over again until he has several tracks full of solos. He then pick out his favourite parts and cuts them together. Once he is happy with the way it sounds, he learns the solo.

 

Aside from this, he is limited in technical ability when compared to the likes of Malmsteen etc. As far as I am concerned, malmsteen lacks the emotion in his playing that I feel makes Gilmour great. I think Gilmour has struck a balance between feel and ability, that allows him to be more accessible to the most amount of people.

You know what..I think you are right!

[revorhythm]

I think Gruupi hit everything, but KBP brought up another good point. Timing is everything. You could play one freakin note, but timing is what makes it sound either good or bad.

[Billster]

I think Gruupi highlighted the major points, and would only add that one needs to assess their own goals relative to those categories.

 

I don't think you can ever be complacent or satisfied, you always need to look forward, but maybe you feel an emphasis from time to time:

 

Now I must improve my rhythm.

 

Now I must improve my understanding of harmony.

 

Now I must improve...

[A String]

Originally posted by Billster:

I think Gruupi highlighted the major points, and would only add that one needs to assess their own goals relative to those categories.

 

I don't think you can ever be complacent or satisfied, you always need to look forward, but maybe you feel an emphasis from time to time:

 

Now I must improve my rhythm.

 

Now I must improve my understanding of harmony.

 

Now I must improve...

I think that's the great thing about music. There is always more to learn.