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[Alkaline]

At the end of the day a band is just the sum of all its parts, generally made up of people of varying technical abilities. But its the sum total of these musicians abilities that dictates how good a song is. You could have 4 very gifted musicians who couldn't write a song between them in a million years or you could have people who regardless of technical ability can play off each other very well and write amazing songs.

Good examples of this in my opinion would be:

Nirvana
Pavement
The Ramones
The Who
The Jam

[Keilan 303]

Originally Posted by Alkaline

At the end of the day a band is just the sum of all its parts, generally made up of people of varying technical abilities. But its the sum total of these musicians abilities that dictates how good a song is. You could have 4 very gifted musicians who couldn't write a song between them in a million years or you could have people who regardless of technical ability can play off each other very well and write amazing songs.

Good examples of this in my opinion would be:

Nirvana
Pavement
The Ramones
The Who
The Jam

The Who?!?!

All masters of their field!!!

[Hogisbald]

Originally Posted by Swingin' Ryan

It's normally the most technically skilled musicians that can't write a tune to save their lives.

Not all perhaps but certainly shred can blot out decent songwriting. Its probably a good idea (depending on the music style) to have a knowledge of chord shapes because this can inspire different ideas. Im sure this is a level of guitar playing which doesnt make your songs any better, maybe just the solos i.e. Dimebag ( who had the ability to shred and write amazing riffs)

[Dan Atom]

Originally Posted by Monk Rocker

Yeah, ability to listen to what is going on around is vitally important, I still think that technical ability is very important. As said, how else are you going to express your ideas?

Being a technically good musician does not mean that you can write a good tune, but just because you are very good technically does not mean that you can't write a good tune. And how do you define what a good tune is? I mean if Mozart was alive today he'd probably play electric guitar and shred like a madman!!

totally agree with this.

Originally Posted by daveofficer

yea but shredding is like a penis extension for ugly guitarists.

Not always. There are lots of guitarists who could shred but in the context of great songs (megadeth/pantera etc). Just because you're not into metal/shred doesn't mean it's all bad. Some is wank, some isn't.

[Alkaline]

Originally Posted by Keilan 303

The Who?!?!

All masters of their field!!!

Nah, not really

[Monk Rocker]

I just don't get the whole anti-shred and anti-guitar solo ethos.

I love guitar solos

[daveofficer]

Originally Posted by Dan Atom

Not always. There are lots of guitarists who could shred but in the context of great songs (megadeth/pantera etc). Just because you're not into metal/shred doesn't mean it's all bad. Some is wank, some isn't.

i like metal, i just don't like shredding solo's. i don't classic rock solo's as they tend to have more melody and add something to the song but the solo's that are just endless tapping and harmonic wankery just piss me off. i don't think it adds anything to the song at all and it's just a case of "right, we'll slot a 2 minute solo in here to appease the guitarists ego". yea i'm generalising but the point still stands that the ability to play a super fast shredded solo is not essential to a good band, which is what this thread is about. what is essential to a good band is being able to work together.

[Hogisbald]

Originally Posted by Dan Atom

totally agree with this.




Not always. There are lots of guitarists who could shred but in the context of great songs (megadeth/pantera etc). Just because you're not into metal/shred doesn't mean it's all bad. Some is wank, some isn't.

Yep, especially a lot of the solos from Megadeth's Rust in Peace album. Fast solo work but it sounds like it has been very well thought out and actually adds something to the songs.

[David]

You don't nescessarily need any technical skills on your particular instrument

What you do need though, is an ear for music, knowing how to use your instrument effectively, how to integrate all the other instruments musically, timekeeping and all the other things you need to be good at to get a band playing nicely together

Some examples - U2, I wouldn't say The Edge really is a technical master of the guitar, most of his work being fairly simple lines, but through some incredible uses of effects and creating and using space in a song it sounds excellent, so a case of not really brilliant technically, but amasing musical skills. or bands like Greenday or Blink 182, neither normally being too technically proficient, sticking to fairly simple riffing and powerchords, but being able to string those perfectly into fantastic songs. there are coutless other bands out there, playing very simple stuff, or noisey sloppy playing or whatever, yet it fits perfectly into what they do and their songs

You also get the inverse, guys who have incredible skills on their instrument, but who you kinda get bored of as they don't really incorporate everything musically into an interesting piece

Obviously musical style comes into this a lot - You can get a lot further with an indie or punk band with little skills, whereas you could never pull off something more operatic or heavy like Dream Theater or Metallica without knowing your way around your instrument, but in general, I think a lot more comes into it than pure musical ability on an instrument

And again, a persons preference in music also biases them slightly, I would rather listen to something more noise and melody based like Pavement, than something like Vai, who dosen't really keep my interest in a song. To a lot of other people Vai is the god and Pavement make tuneless gibberish

David

[David]

Art versus Engineering?

that kinda sums up some of it to me - making it up as you go along in your own style as you see fit, versus using building blocks to piece together something, perfectly organised, but dosen't always click as something from the heart can.

David