Favourite type of alt. Music to draw inspiration from.

[Richard O'connor]

In synyster gates master class he talks about how people like John 5 turn to country music to aid playing techniques. Syn turns to gypsy jazz and I think Guthrie govan has said he like to listen to classical Indian music.
Interested to hear what other people turn to?

 

[Daniel Sobota]

When I’m not listening to heavy music, it isn’t electric guitar-oriented music. If I’m listening to something with distortion, it better be heavy stuff. With that being said, non-rock/metal music that I like is ambient music, movie soundtracks, Scandinavian/Viking folk music, Japanese folk music and industrial-darkwave sort of thing.
I’m not really listening to jazz or classical (except when it’s a part of a soundtrack), but it’s something that I’d like to apply to my playing eventually, because a lot of those classical arrangements are incorporated into metal, whether it be in songwriting or even with the instruments themselves. If Bach was alive today, he would most likely be playing symphonic keyboard parts in Dimmu Borgir, I feel like that sort of thing would attract him.

 

[Dave Ward]

I like jazz but more saxophone than guitar with a few exceptions. I really like the improvising in jazz. Sonny Rollins would be one of my favourites. Charlie Parker was amazing too. I get a bit intimidated because of the advanced chord progressions and sheer speed sometimes but it can be inspiring too.

 

[Zé Marques]

8-bit, 16-bit, classical, jazz and funk music. Sometimes reggeaton, because simple melodies are sometimes the most pleasing to hear.

 

[Flip Twogood]

Periphery. plini. I built they sky. Angel Vivaldi. Corelia. Dance Gavin dance. Polyphia. Jason Richardson.
Mastadon. Monuments. Opeth. Veil of Maya. Trivium.
All these guys are musical geniuses and guitar/musical wizes!

 

[Syn Gates]

I’m listening to a ton of piano right now. I love sax players as well because it forces you to phrase your lines more vocally because it requires space in order to take a breathe and I definitely appreciate that philosophy and it’s definitely necessary at times but I don’t mind being a bit verbose with my lines as long as I feel that they are creative rhythmically and melodically. That’s why I LOVE piano players. I also love the way that piano chords are voiced. They’re very unorthodox on guitar but once you get the hang of a few of them, they really open up super unique ideas even when arpeggiated. A few of my fav piano players are Chopin, Debussy, Prokofiev(please check out his Piano Concerto N. 3 in C maj it’s fuckin brilliant) for classical and Art Tatum, Thelonius Munk(so harmonically odd in a wonderful way), and Herbie Hancock(brilliant energy) for jazz. These are just a few but you could spend a thousand lifetimes studying these guys.

 

[Zachary Yates]

Check out made for Wesley by future by rhythm future quartet. It’s gypsy Jazz on YouTube. Booty swing by parov stellar. Electroswing. A thousand years, Christina Perry, Stevie Ray Vaughan – voodoo child. Just to get some variety there.

 

[Richard O'connor]

Thanks I’ll definitely give them a listen. My musical diet consists very much of rock/metal and film music (love Hans zimmer) so I’m always on the lookout for something different. I enjoyed looking into gypsy jazz, I’d never really heard it before.
I also wondered whether it is worth looking at violin players. Especially the slower stuff with the way they voice their notes. A lot of finesse and emotion.