Play like ...

idssdi · May 9, 2020

You can buy books that supposedly teach you how to play like someone. I know they exist for John Mayer, Robben Ford and Freddie King and I was wondering what you're opinion on these are?

I think a big part about playing like someone is having their brain and fingers(because feel an note choice etc.) And you can't really copy those because it's impossible to predict what a player would do at any given time if you're not actually the player themselve. I mean you can learn some of their licks and techniques but actually playing like them requires so much more that instead of buying these books and studying them you're probably better off learning some songs imo.

Dominik Gräber · May 9, 2020

Leaving the question to the Side If you should even try to Play exactly Like another guitarist, I think that If you want to and really study a guitarist you can come pretty close.
A big part of the Style of a guitarist is his Note choice. If you got that down you can already kinda make something that Sounds like guitarist X. If you then try to replicate their vibrato, prefered Type of Bending etc I think you can easily create a "John Mayer / Synyster / XYZ esque" solo. If buying a book really helps you achieve that I can't tell. I kinda doubt it though.

Bellah83 · May 9, 2020

Well, for players that understand enough to recognize and adapt what techniques make someone sound a certain way, they might work. Otherwise it's just clever marketing to get someone to by the book or product. It's mostly just guitarists or musicians in general that notice all of the nuance in playing. Fans just enjoy the music, so knowing few recognizable licks are enough to entertain them.
The school here is a good example. We know a lot of Syn's sound is just in his hands, but the name is enough to get people to check the school out. At some point you might bridge the gap between all of the lessons here and his style and eventually "play like Syn."

Brian Haner Sr. · May 10, 2020

It's kind of like getting the same haircut as someone else. The real "character" is in the shape of the face, the features, etc. So yes - you can emulate another player (and that's not a bad thing) - but it will always be filtered through you and end up sounding more like you than them.
I'm a BIG fan of transcribing other players and learning their licks. Getting inside their heads, so to speak.
Keep in mind - the more people you emulate, the more interesting the amalgam becomes.
Take Syn for instance. He took from Slash, Dimebag and Django. That's an interesting mix. Then he plays HIS note choices and plays what he hears. That becomes NOTHING like Slash, Dimebag or Django.
I have studied a few players in depth, (Joe Pass, Robben Ford, Brian May, Hendrix, Clapton, Frampton, etc.). If I had to, I could play "in their styles", but instead, I just threw them all into the blender, poured that into my tool box, and let it inform my playing.
It's a means to an end. But the "end" should always be trying to create something that only you would play.
Make sense?

idssdi · May 10, 2020

Brian Haner Sr. said:
It's kind of like getting the same haircut as someone else. The real "character" is in the shape of the face, the features, etc. So yes - you can emulate another player (and that's not a bad thing) - but it will always be filtered through you and end up sounding more like you than them.
I'm a BIG fan of transcribing other players and learning their licks. Getting inside their heads, so to speak.
Keep in mind - the more people you emulate, the more interesting the amalgam becomes.
Take Syn for instance. He took from Slash, Dimebag and Django. That's an interesting mix. Then he plays HIS note choices and plays what he hears. That becomes NOTHING like Slash, Dimebag or Django.
I have studied a few players in depth, (Joe Pass, Robben Ford, Brian May, Hendrix, Clapton, Frampton, etc.). If I had to, I could play "in their styles", but instead, I just threw them all into the blender, poured that into my tool box, and let it inform my playing.
It's a means to an end. But the "end" should always be trying to create something that only you would play.
Make sense?

Yeah, that makes sense! I do kind of the same. It's all about having more than one ingredient to put in the blender and making it your own.

Jesse Salmons · May 10, 2020

Brian Haner Sr. said:
It's kind of like getting the same haircut as someone else. The real "character" is in the shape of the face, the features, etc. So yes - you can emulate another player (and that's not a bad thing) - but it will always be filtered through you and end up sounding more like you than them.
I'm a BIG fan of transcribing other players and learning their licks. Getting inside their heads, so to speak.
Keep in mind - the more people you emulate, the more interesting the amalgam becomes.
Take Syn for instance. He took from Slash, Dimebag and Django. That's an interesting mix. Then he plays HIS note choices and plays what he hears. That becomes NOTHING like Slash, Dimebag or Django.
I have studied a few players in depth, (Joe Pass, Robben Ford, Brian May, Hendrix, Clapton, Frampton, etc.). If I had to, I could play "in their styles", but instead, I just threw them all into the blender, poured that into my tool box, and let it inform my playing.
It's a means to an end. But the "end" should always be trying to create something that only you would play.
Make sense?

Im with you on that. And i will say brian may is criminally underrated when it comes to being a player. That dude can play

Jesse Salmons · May 10, 2020

Edward John said:
Huh, I always thought that Brian May was overrated, maybe that's the case over where you are.

Brian May is one of my favorite players, he isnt as talked about as say Angus Young, Jimmy Page, or Jeff beck in my opinion as some of the greatest players of the 70’s and 80s

Jesse Salmons · May 10, 2020

Edward John said:
You know who isn't talked about, Tony Iommi.

Honestly yes. Im with you, Iommi is outstanding.

Brian Haner Sr. · May 10, 2020

Jesse Salmons said:
Brian May is one of my favorite players, he isnt as talked about as say Angus Young, Jimmy Page, or Jeff beck in my opinion as some of the greatest players of the 70’s and 80s

May is one of the most colorful, expressive, inventive, game-changing guitar players on the planet.
Transcribe a couple of his solos. They are easy to listen to and hard to play.

idssdi · May 10, 2020

Brian Haner Sr. said:
May is one of the most colorful, expressive, inventive, game-changing guitar players on the planet.
Transcribe a couple of his solos. They are easy to listen to and hard to play.

I learned bohemian Rhapsody for a jamsession (one of my friends is a HUGE Queen fan) and the solo was kind of ok but that more rock part is a lot harder than it seems.

Calvin Phillips · May 10, 2020

Might be the same note selection and pattern. But the actual pattern on the guitar determines the tone and I think that alone is where a lot of the style comes from.

Jesse Salmons · May 10, 2020

Brian Haner Sr. said:
May is one of the most colorful, expressive, inventive, game-changing guitar players on the planet.
Transcribe a couple of his solos. They are easy to listen to and hard to play.

Oh i agree wholeheartedly! Bohemian Rhapsody, Killer queen, and I want it All are my favorite solos he does, and its the subtle nuances that really make the solo. Plus the guys also got a PhD. He’s a literal genius

Ekrem Taha Ünlü · May 10, 2020

My idea is learn how to play like them and transform your playing!

AGA · May 10, 2020

Jesse Salmons said:
Oh i agree wholeheartedly! Bohemian Rhapsody, Killer queen, and I want it All are my favorite solos he does, and its the subtle nuances that really make the solo. Plus the guys also got a PhD. He’s a literal genius

I know! LOL! I saw an interview of him on the news and the corner of the screen said "Brian May. Astrophysicist and Rock Legend" That is literally the best title you could possibly get. Whatever game we are playing, he won.

AGA · May 10, 2020

I agree with you guys, Brian May's playing is unmistakable. To me, an attribute of a great player is when they have found a "voice" through their playing, so to speak, when you know exactly who's playing when you hear it.
His melodies are always memorable, which is another thing I highly value. And he is very inventive as well, he built his own guitar and he'd always play with a silver coin instead of a pick, I think all those things contributed to a very unique sound.

Jaxon Muller · May 10, 2020

Brian Haner Sr. said:
It's kind of like getting the same haircut as someone else. The real "character" is in the shape of the face, the features, etc. So yes - you can emulate another player (and that's not a bad thing) - but it will always be filtered through you and end up sounding more like you than them.
I'm a BIG fan of transcribing other players and learning their licks. Getting inside their heads, so to speak.
Keep in mind - the more people you emulate, the more interesting the amalgam becomes.
Take Syn for instance. He took from Slash, Dimebag and Django. That's an interesting mix. Then he plays HIS note choices and plays what he hears. That becomes NOTHING like Slash, Dimebag or Django.
I have studied a few players in depth, (Joe Pass, Robben Ford, Brian May, Hendrix, Clapton, Frampton, etc.). If I had to, I could play "in their styles", but instead, I just threw them all into the blender, poured that into my tool box, and let it inform my playing.
It's a means to an end. But the "end" should always be trying to create something that only you would play.
Make sense?

What do you think about when Kurt Cobain used to go on camera and talk about how he didn't believe in musicianship and in learning other people's music because it "wasn't original"? In his own words "everyone can play better than I can." How does a guy with that viewpoint become such a huge guitar icon? I'm curious..

Ed Seith · May 10, 2020

#WhatPapaGatesSaid

idssdi · May 10, 2020

Jaxon Muller said:
What do you think about when Kurt Cobain used to go on camera and talk about how he didn't believe in musicianship and in learning other people's music because it "wasn't original"? In his own words "everyone can play better than I can." How does a guy with that viewpoint become such a huge guitar icon? I'm curious..

Kurt Cobain is a great songwriter, not as much a guitar icon imo

It's a similar discussion you can have about Bob Dylan, great songwriter not really a great singer. Imo you can even have that discussion about Mick Jagger, Mick Jagger being a great performer but more of a talker than a singer.

Brian Haner Sr. · May 10, 2020

Ids Schiere said:
Kurt Cobain is a great songwriter, not as much a guitar icon imo

It's a similar discussion you can have about Bob Dylan, great songwriter not really a great singer. Imo you can even have that discussion about Mick Jagger, Mick Jagger being a great performer but more of a talker than a singer.

Everyone has their own approach. Kurt clearly didn't spend a lot of time on his chops - BUT - he did have some chops and he did know some chords. He didn't create himself in a vacuum. He obviously grew up listening to music and bands, and whether he wanted to admit it or not - he was influenced. Someone taught him those chords and he practiced. Was he Satriani? No. But he could certainly play a little.
On a separate note - I LOVE Dylan's voice. I like his versions of his songs much better than when someone else covers them. It's an acquired taste, but it grows on you. His phrasing and the way he takes a breath in the middle of a line, which causes an unnatural pause, is brilliant. I actually like his tone, too.
It's like listening to an old blues guy play guitar. Rough, out of tune - and awesome.
I would say the same about Jagger. He was born to sing Stones songs. Love his voice.
It's all subjective. But to me - perfection is boring. With singers AND with guitar players. I want to hear some human qualities. And perfection is seldom a human quality.

idssdi · May 10, 2020

Brian Haner Sr. said:
Everyone has their own approach. Kurt clearly didn't spend a lot of time on his chops - BUT - he did have some chops and he did know some chords. He didn't create himself in a vacuum. He obviously grew up listening to music and bands, and whether he wanted to admit it or not - he was influenced. Someone taught him those chords and he practiced. Was he Satriani? No. But he could certainly play a little.
On a separate note - I LOVE Dylan's voice. I like his versions of his songs much better than when someone else covers them. It's an acquired taste, but it grows on you. His phrasing and the way he takes a breath in the middle of a line, which causes an unnatural pause, is brilliant. I actually like his tone, too.
It's like listening to an old blues guy play guitar. Rough, out of tune - and awesome.
I would say the same about Jagger. He was born to sing Stones songs. Love his voice.
It's all subjective. But to me - perfection is boring. With singers AND with guitar players. I want to hear some human qualities. And perfection is seldom a human quality.

I do actually like Bob Dylan's and Mick Jagger's voice it's just it's not really like 'wow such amazing vocalists' more like wow these songs are made for them. I have similar feelings about Anthony Kiedis from rhcp, I think John Frusciante is a better singer but if you take Anthony away it wouldn't be RHCP anymore.

I do also very much enjoy small mistakes, I think Rick Beato had a video on it recently and I wholeheartedly agreed with him on it.

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