02/02/2024
Technically skilled guitarists are a dime a dozen in today's world.
Nobody gives a sh*t if you can play that Metallica song note-for-note. If you want anyone to care about you, learn to play with feeling.
This might sound overly aggressive or already clear but I am amazed by how many people fail to grasp this basic rule of musicianship. Too many people dedicate the whole of their musical study to perfectly recreating someone else's musical feeling.
If you can perfectly play someone else's guitar solo note-for-note, you will remain, at best, equal to a radio.
That is not to say that there is no benefit to studying and reproducing someone else's sound. By all means, learn to play some famous song right, but don't keep playing it that way.
You are not a record player, a stereo, or an iPod. You can do what none of those devices are capable of matching: you can interpret the styles of other musicians and make them your own.
Learn to do that. Never cover a song exactly as it was played originally. Never play one of your songs exactly the same way twice.
It is not easy to do, but if you want to be a notable guitarist then it is imperative that you find a way to pour a little bit of yourself into your music.
Don't just play a song how you play it, play each song how you feel it right now. If you are angry, pour that anger into your performance. If you are happy, make your instrument a font for your Joy such that those who hear you play can feel your joy as well.
It is easy to say. It is difficult to do. This is the soul of the artist and if you can pull it off you will be a truly memorable musician, regardless of anything else.
