Neil Young - Guitarist

Douchiest---love it! All those hair/metal band musician’s are like "Don’t look over there, look over here. Ain’t I great?!" The singer, the guitarist, and the drummer, all trying to steal the spotlight from each other. Embarrassing.

Drummers have all heard the stories about the sheet music Frank Zappa put in front of drummers for their auditions. Few could play it, Vinnie Colaiuta being one who could. He works with Jeff Beck now, and is scary good. Another musically great drummer with insane chops is Steve Gadd, one of the handful of the best drummers in the world.

It is assumed, and is largely true, that a technical guitar player wants a likewise technical drummer. One exception was Danny Gatton, who had this exchange with his new drummer during the break between sets in their first show together:

Gatton: "You know all that fancy sh*t you’re playing?"

Drummer: "Yeah."

Gatton: "Don’t."

I am apparently incapable of making myself understood. No matter how many times I plead my case against technique being viewed as the NUMBER ONE or MAIN criteria by which a musician’s playing is judged, I still am perceived as being anti-technique. Why is that? No one would accuse me of that if they had heard the playing of Danny Gatton, as I said, one of my all-time favorite guitarists. You can’t play like Albert Lee without having technique to spare. Everytime I go to an Albert Lee live appearance, the place is crawling with guitarists, their eyes glued on his hands.

Of course technique is a required element, and a major one, in playing any instrument. Everybody knows that. But I hear a lot of guitarists and drummers who make it an end unto itself, rather than a means to an end. They sacrifice musicality at the alter of technique, using the music as a platform for expressing themselves purely through their instrument, rather than playing that instrument in service to the music. For those who don’t hear it, or aren’t bothered by it, consider yourself lucky.

Jim Keltner was asked for advice on rudiments and other technical matters, and his response was: learn them, then forget about them. In other words, don’t intentionally go out of your way to use them just for the sake of using them, but have them at your disposal when the music calls upon you to use them. That’s called musical wisdom, and it is a rare commodity. Another old axiom, attributed to both Duke Ellington and Count Basie: The notes you don’t play are as important as those you do.

Jim also said his favorite drummer, who he wished he played more like, is Roger Hawkins, one of my three favorite drummers of all time. Talk about musicality! He also played a press roll as well as Buddy Rich. Do Rock music listeners agree with Jim? Do they even know who Roger Hawkins is? Do you, dear reader? He is never mentioned here when people talk about the great drummers. That's what happens when you don't play the obvious, gratuitous fills I hear so much of in Rock music. Roger Hawkins could play rings around John Bonham, but he has too much class to play that way.

I have found that many musician’s who have highly developed technique are often prone to play in a manner as to make sure that fact is obvious to all. Guitarist’s parts are arrived at with a few factors involved, the balance between those factors being what determines the "kind" of player they are perceived as being. And different styles of music require different kinds of skills, thought the same basics are needed for all music’s, of course. Music theory is indiscriminate.

Albert Lee has been a big favorite of mine since the 1970’s. For those who know of him, I need say nothing more. For those who don’t, he is a Telecaster player who plays rather fast runs, in a basically Country style. He has played with Emmylou Harris, and was with The Everly Brothers for years. Dave Edmunds, another favorite guitarist of mine (and the best Chuck Berry-style guitarist of which I am aware. Keith Richards WISHES he could play like Dave), absolutely loves Albert’s playing.

I didn’t learn of Danny Gatton until the 1990’s, but fell hard once I did. Talk about technique! He was (R.I.P.) also a Telecaster player, and worked with Joe Barden creating those great Tele pickups. He was a guitarist’s guitarist, with highly developed chops, but also very musical sensibilities. Vince Gill nicknamed Danny "The Humbler".

I also love Richard Thompson, a Strat player. he has a very unique, immediately-identifiable style, like no one else. Also on a Strat is Marshall Crenshaw, thought of more a songwriter and singer, but also a fantastic, musical guitarist. He is also a really fine drummer.

And then there is Ry Cooder. His playing just makes time stand still. His middle break (okay, solo) in John Hiatt’s "Lipstick Sunset" is the most lyrical, beautiful music making I have ever heard from a guitarist. And for a perfect-for-the-song, musical guitar break, give a fresh listen to George Harrison’s playing in the middle of "Nowhere Man". His tone is absolutely electrifying! Compressed to the nth degree, but to great musical effect.

I love the approach musicians take on their non-main instrument. Rather than thinking in terms of the instrument itself---patterns of thought relating to the playing of the instrument in isolation, learned in the need to become proficient on the instrument---the musician approaches the playing of the instrument in terms of what is called for MUSICALLY. Stevie Wonder is a good drummer in that way, as was Andrew Gold (Ronstadt’s guitarist in the 70’s), Emitt Rhodes, and Todd Rundgren. And, yes, Richard Manuel. Levon Helm said when that when he got up to Big Pink to rejoin The Hawks, Richard, who had been playing drums during Levon’s absence, quickly became his favorite drummer. He was a FANTASTIC drummer, MUCH better in purely musical terms than Steve Smith. Richard was inducted into The Rock ’n Roll Hall Of Fame too, ya know!

If a guitar (or other instrument) part is perfect for the music in which it is played, if it works well musically, or even just sonically, what difference does it make how "hard" the part was to play, how much technique is required to play it? Why is technique for it’s own sake elevated to such a lofty position? I’ll tell you what I think: The evaluation of playing on purely technical terms is an objective one---just like sports stats. That's easy. The evaluation of playing musically or artistically is subjective, a much different endeavor.

Stewart, my musings on this subject are once again not understood. My point is not that technique is not a factor (or even requirement) in being a superior musician, but rather that technique is often the sole (or at least main) criteria with which musical talent is judged. Should it be?

Let me make a broad statement: All the technique that a musician needs is that which allows him to play with his body what he hears in his head. There are some musicians greatly admired for their talent and/or skill whose music I don’t care for, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that isn’t true for just about everyone.

Here’s a very good example of how I look at the subject: Steve Smith was the drummer in Journey during the height of their popularity. He is a very accomplished player, now playing Jazz, what he was doing before joining Journey. Richard Manuel was the pianist/singer in The Band (one of Eric Clapton’s favorite singers, and a musician Clapton recently called a genius), but also played drums on quite a few Band songs (primarily on their 2nd, s/t "brown" album). Smith’s drumming in Journey was largely what I consider pedestrian---very unimaginative, stock "Rock" drumming. But he played it flawlessly, thanks to his advanced chops. Manuel’s drumming is very unique and unusual, his parts very imaginative and interesting (and sometimes intentionally humorous, rare amongst drummers). They are also very musical, his parts always in service to the song. But Richard was pretty limited in technique, and a little awkward on the drum set.

So, on the one hand you have a technically advanced drummer playing forgettable, routine stock parts in songs that are nothing to write home about (does anyone consider the guys in Journey good songwriters?!). On the other, a pianist playing drums as a second instrument, whose drum parts are fantastic---very creative, unique, interesting, and above all musical. And they are played in the context of some of the best songs ever played by a Rock ’n’ Roll Band. So, who’s the "better" drummer?

aalenik's post begs the important question: Is technical ability what distinguishes one as a superior guitarist---or singer, or drummer, or whatever? Or is it something some elusive, more abstract, more, dare I say it, artistic?

In the mid-70's I jammed with a guy who, when the subject of The Band came up (as it often does if I'm in a musical conversation ;-), dismissed Robbie Robertson's guitar playing. I knew exactly why, as I myself at first had. That was before I realized the musical contribution his playing was making to the song itself. This guy was talking about Robertson's abilities at playing a guitar solo, the yardstick by which he judged all guitarists. How small. I didn't waste my breathe in the hopeless task of raising his musical consciousness---that comes from within.

I have heard plenty of guitarists whose playing I find unmusical at best, downright ugly if not, that's right, vulgar, at worst. Others consider them virtuosos. At what? Not making good music, in my opinion. To admire their playing is to me like considering a fast runner a great dancer. If that makes any sense.