Metropoulos Forum

ironically, a/the? most important topic is relegated to the 'off-topic' part of the forum..... what is yours? is it unique in some way? and if you know, how do you think you 'got' it ?

I'ts when you are at ease with who you are. Even if you listen to hard blues, rock or whatever and got long hair and all , it just may be that a natural "bluegrass" feel or "classical" melody vibe is what comes out. Embrace your talent. Love your licks/songs, dont constantly judge what you do by what others do. I worked at speed and technique for many years, it came natural and I felt compelled, but I alway's had alot of bends that I had coming out that was more Hendrix, clapton in comparison. Rhythm and timing was initially instilled in me and that is what I gravitate towards. "Free your mind and your ass will follow".

The Love & the Passion of the instrument. The more one is exposed to as many styles of music one can incorporate in their abilities along side of their teachings.
Knowledge is the greater of all and to express what you know, what your thinking, transfered to your instrument you will evolve by default.
THIS will be an evolution of your personal style. Life's journey's will write you these songs.
The Modes of music are the Moods of life. Sad is to minor as Happy is to Major/Dom7th.
This will be your emotional tug of war...
Now shaddup and play yer guitar Vern ...


Jimmie K.

Your guitar is nothing more than an extension of yourself..
When you cry it crys when your mad its mad etc... It will breathe your emotions with extreme pregudice....

i think style is something we are born with. like finger prints. like a signature. to the way we communicate. its just something that is.
u cant help but have a style.
the goal in getting that voice out is practice of the tools. just like when you learned to write your name.
to be as free as riding a bike with playing. that would include seeking out and finding the tools as well as practicing the tools and their application to freely, at will, express.
style is not something to worry about creating you cant help it. its already there.
i believe its the plan on how to achieve the tools needed thats gets that voice to out and heard.

I bought mine on eBay...

I quit trying to sound like someone else.

- WOT

LOL!


I tried to sound like other people, and failed. What was left I accepted and embraced as my personal style.

VG

interesting perspectives ..... my particular approach lately is to let myself drift back about 20-30 years and try to capture some kind of simple image related to my peronal experiences then simultaneouly try to sound like one of me influences/guides. right now it's rik emmet's vibe in '78 - 'what's another day of rock 'n roll' - 'street fighting man' etc...... It ends up sounding like me but because i'm using their approach to the guitar, their vibe complements my own and and creates a tension necessary for me to enjoy listening or playing music. I have no interest in playing or hearing someone play on 'autopilot' for example, which just happens to be impossible if i can 'stay with' -not focus- on the Sound as it comes out of the cab, not my hands or what's in my mind (these take care of themelves mysteriously - and i don't need to know how). Once i'm there, this gives a space to be free, to feel, imagining images etc while playing....... I study my influences, not to play like them, but to capture the way they feel about their instrument, themelves, and life. It's in their tone, vibrato, the way they 'look at the neck', thumb wrapped around?, fingers flatter across neck? How the strap hangs, are they 'centered' or rely more on fretting hand over rhythm hand? How they 'chop up' the scales/fretboard, etc. Where are their 'safe places' to hide when in trouble? How do they get out of trouble? Do they repeat the mistakes, alter and do a theme variation treatment, or just go with it and call it Grunge or punk? I personally always try to keep melody in more proportion than tension. It's all in the percentage for me 75/25 these days. And each of my influences has these essential vibes that are basic to his style and that is what i enjoy trying to 'get' . It's more valuable for me rather than copping licks or tone exactly; although i confess in taking apart reverend G's , john norum and billy duffy for extra scrutinization lately. Once i can get the vibe off them, it matters less what kind of tone i have, as long as it has the 'essential' part of good tone. And we around here all know what that is.............and of course, listen to them drums !

I find my strongest influences are what I first started listening too.
Band of Gypsys constantly plays through my head with it's fantastic rhythmic basis and super scalding leads.The early Jeff Beck Group,and my early years in the London music scence.Rory Gallagher,Steve Miller.
It's great that we sound like ourselves,because influences aside,our own sound is what inspires us,and is our own creation!
It is still fresh in my mind and if I can ever get together a turntable and a decent system,I can't wait to enjoy all my classic albums from the sixties and seventies,they are in flight cases,spent years in a London attic wrapped in Saran Wrap.I had 3 flight cases made and shipped to London.Loaded up my collection and sent it back home to the States.Past inluences are amongst the strongest motivation for my own personal playing.

no doubt, early influences sure do stick. Interestingly, i found that several of my infulences were influenced by blackmore, who i never was totally into, but turns out i have alot of blackmore in my style, 2nd generation. But it doesn't come out a blackmore really, except maybe his rhythm work which seemed centered on the fretboard with G D strings and alot of open strings. That is something i did pick up and keep in my style. thumb wrapped around style and the solo to 'stone cold' really affected me a well.

Listen to Blackmore's playing off "Who Do We Think We Are", "Machine Head" and "Burn". Inspired playing. "Lazy" is a gold standard.

And Rik Emmet? Man I seen Triumph in the late 70's / early 80's and he was great. He covered every musical style in his solo. Rock, jazz, classical. Excellent player. Nice guy, too. Got to talk with him after the show.

yeah, emmet' a good example. I'm a blues based player, while emmett is very schooled with lot of theory. Yet there is alot i can totally relate to in his style, mostly rhythmic and chordal riff stuff more so than his solo style which does need some theory to pull off. His vibe is what has always interested me. Very loose and natural. great live tone as well. White non-master superleads in the '78 bootleg show i have in the vid player right now.

VelvetGeorge wrote:LOL!

I tried to sound like other people, and failed. What was left I accepted and embraced as my personal style.

VG

+1

I went through a HUGE Rik Emmet phase as a teen...had a white Yamaha SBG3000 like he used to play, videotapes of Triumph live at the US festival, and one I still have which is pre-thunder 7 in the early 80s...has a serious spinal tap vibe about it...Heh! Saw them twice, once on thunder 7 tour and the next on Sport of Kings. Have an old Emmet instructional cassette still in a box. I used to go on these church conferences in Montreat, NC every summer when I was in high school...at the talent show I would play a guitar solo I based off of Emmet's in Rock and Roll machine. What I liked in him was what I liked about Page and Lifeson....the fact that they stretched out into different styles and types of music.

Even though my friends say I have a Jimmy Page style to myself, I (and others) noticed that when I play blues, I try to make staccato style riffs like you would with a slide to be rhythmic without one. I rarely use just my pick on my right hand but use a lot of chicken picking and sweeps. I find I take a lot of things I like from a slew of different players and make a nice salad of them.

Right now I'm studying Zakk and most stuff I play is starting to get that Zakk bug. Yet, I'm not trying to be Zakk... just learn how he does his thing.

I think I ran into my style by having a love of the blues, especially the old "Bluesbreaker" album. I really like Duane Allman as well so I think it just naturally happened. There is something that burns inside of me that wants to be unique and individually noticed. Only if you have that feeling and passion for the music, will you grow a style all your own.