This guys got it all - plays rhythm, bass line and lead all independently together. Not unlike Bach Three Part Inventions on piano - three lines played with two hands.
His technique and touch are exceptional, but the effort on a song as empty as "Beat It" makes his playing seem busier than it needs to be. The song is simple and is arranged to allow Michael Jackson's vocal to supply the drama and anticipation, building, finally, to the release with the VanHalen guitar solo, the closet to complexity this song has. It was, and remains an effectively cathartic moment in rock and pop music history. Miguel Rivera's treatment has him sustaining rhythm, base and melody admirably, but the song, without the vocal pyrotechnics on top of the mix, is repetitive; there is no other segue to a middle portion , nothing that conveys a more nuanced mood. It's monochromatic. I'd like to hear involve his wonderful skills on a more substantial tune. Guys with skills that good should have material that gives them something to work with. Joe Pass, doing "Cherokee", solo ---------- Ted Burke tburke4@san.rr.com
Let't not forget Don Ross, a great Canadian guitarist.
I've seen him live at a festival. The previous three-piece band took about 20 minutes to set up. He got up on stage, adjusted the tuning and was ready to play in about 30 seconds flat. ---------- Custom overblow harps. Harmonica Combs and Tools.
Ted, the thing is there are big differences between playing for average listeners, for other musicians or for yourself.
Most pop is simple, but if you weigh all the skills a musician has- speed, accuracy, tone, etc., one that often gets overlooked is the ability to figure out exactly what the audience is listening for (and delivering it even when you really want to play something else). When you are playing for yourself, that's fine. When you are playing for other musicians, it's concern, but only a middling one. When you are playing for the unwashed masses it might be the most important one of all.
Fair enough. I may just be worried because my bass guitarist keeps moving our songs towards jazz. I like the results, but I was hoping for more groupies!
The best bands I was in had a set list , the priorities being "dance tunes" for the most part, things the audience appreciated, and then those ones that were show cases, which highlighted the band's chops. In in the more show offy numbers, there was a structure we stuck with; everyone knew how long they had to preen and be seen, and everyone knew when to fall back and take it back to the head. What worked best was making sure that every solo I got counted; short and sweet and precise for most of the night. Girls liked that. ---------- Ted Burke tburke4@san.rr.com
Here's an amazing Toronto guitarist (and a really good guy -- we met after a show and he put me in touch with an audio engineer, was very supportive, etc):
Also, I don't know if you guys are aware of the primitivist acoustic guitar movement, led by great artists like William Tyler and Steve Gunn, but it's great. Here's a really enjoyable example:
And finally, Erik Mongrain with his laptap style:
I tried to give you all something slightly different here. I hope these satisfy both the 'reach' and the standard of melodic complexity that ted holds sacred.
---------- Check out my music at http://bmeyerson11.bandcamp.com/
