There are a lot of mediocre guitar players out there passing themselves off as “tasteful” and “restrained” by playing second rate, mediocre guitar solos with very few notes and very little flair. You could say there is an epidemic of mediocre musicians out there, making mediocre
music.
When I was growing up it was considered “cool” to actually be able to play your instrument. Guitarists and guitar solos were in fashion and guitarists weren’t afraid to actually demonstrate that they could play their instrument well. We practiced a lot and we weren’t afraid to show it.
Somewhere along the way, in the nineties, all that changed.
Seemingly overnight it seemed that guitar solos and playing fast and good became unfashionable. What once was cool, being proficient on your instrument, suddenly became uncool.
Bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden, who obviously had very little formal music training, became extremely popular. Suddenly, it wasn’t perceived as cool to actually play an instrument well. The new cool was being able to express yourself with
very limited musical knowledge. Like, look at me, I’m so cool I don’t even need to practice.
Millions of aspiring musicians and guitarists were now aspiring to be like the new group of musicians they looked up to: mediocre musicians with no real chops to speak of.
Well I think it’s about time that someone stood up for the right to play guitar solos that actually demonstrate
how good of a guitar player you are. I think it’s about time someone stood up for the right to play as many notes as fast as humanly possible, just because you can.
Playing a lot of notes very fast isn’t something to be ashamed of. Wanting to show people how hard you’ve practiced to become an accomplished guitar player isn’t anything to be embarrassed by.
I
think it’s about time someone made playing guitar cool again.
That person is obviously me.
In the following video, I demonstrate how to play the ultimate guitar solo and I break down what exactly the point of a guitar solo is, which obviously is to demonstrate how good of a guitar player you actually are.
Watch. Learn. And Enjoy.
