They have always piqued my interest, as I love a high-caliber display of effortless-looking skill. It’s usually manifested as lightning-fast finger manipulation (i.e. “fast playing”), and I often ask myself, “Holy shit, how does he/she do that??”
I guess my first exposure was when a buddy of mine played the album Rising Force by Yngwie Malmsteen back in 1984. My buddy (a budding guitar player) called him the “Arpeggio God.” In 1985 we saw Malmsteen play live at a small nightclub near Dayton, OH. A band called Talas opened for him, which was basically just a showcase for the virtuoso bassist Billy Sheehan. (As a side note, we talked w/ Sheehan in the parking lot for about 30 minutes before the show. Nice guy.) There were only about 100 people in the audience. They all looked like “rock guitar teachers,” and they were just standing there studying his finger work.
But my interest in both Malmsteen and Sheehan quickly waned. I guess I just got bored of speed for the sake of speed, and went back to listening to Eric Clapton, Joe Walsh, etc.
The reason I’m bringing this up is because someone linked to this video of Hiromi Uehara in concert in a recent thread. My first thought was, “Wow! Amazing!!” And not just her, but the bassist as well. I could practice daily for 20 years and never achieve that level of skill. But then after about five minutes or so, I just… got sick of it for some reason. Reminded me of my Malmsteen days.
Yep: the overlap between Mastery of Craft and Creation of Art is by no means 100%.
Or: There’s a fine line between making music and doing your scales.
That’s why I love folks like Julian Lage, a technically brilliant guitarist who is wonderfully musical. I have linked to this vid a few times: Julian Lage Solo Guitar Performance - YouTube
I would also point a jazz pianist Red Garland. His album Live at the Prelude, Vol 1 features passages where he lays down sheets of superfast triplets that create a gorgeous sonic landscape. That ain’t scales.
Oh, and to mention the obvious: Eddie Van Halen has the chops but always starts with the music. Chet Atkins, Mark Knopfler, Brian Setzer, John McLaughlin - there are plenty out there…
I think a lot of it has to do with how far one has to go to achieve such skill. I’ve been working quite a lot in a conservatory recently, and I’ve seen many a seven year old, dead-eyed and budding virtuoso in the halls with their instrument of choice, on break inbetween practise sessions from a circle of hell. These musicians begin at such a young age, with such a rigorous schedule, that there really isn’t time for much more. It seems that when they do get the time to be creative, they’re so shaped by their(or their parents) pursuit of skill that it influences everything they do. If all you’ve been taught your whole life, is how to play super fast and technically correct, it’s a very big leap to abandon that in favour of originality and creativity. Some people manage to do that, others don’t/aren’t even interested and instead continue to display their skill.
I don’t really consider being able to move your fingers lightning fast across a fretboard in and of itself the makings of a virtuoso. I’m a bass player and Billy Sheehan can play well but when he starts “shredding” it honestly sounds like hot garbage. The bass player Victor Wooten I would consider a virtuoso it’s not even a close competition. Not to brag about myself but when I play the bass I will use slapping, harmonics, two-hand tapping, double-thumb technique, etc. and I consider myself pretty good but when the song becomes more about showing off technique and not the feel of the music, you lose the listener, there is definitely a balance.
When I hear ‘bass’ and ‘virtuoso’ together, the name that instantly comes to mind is Christian McBride. Super melodic bassist who can also bow.
For drums, it’s Joe Morello or Louie Bellson. There are a lot of guitarists: Paco de Lucia and John McLaughlin quickly come to mind, but there are many others.
Fast or technically brilliant can often mean only that; a case in point is Wynton Marsalis.
Paul McCartney. First look at his compositions. Next, consider he played bass, rhythm, and lead guitar. He also played piano and drums. He was self-taught on all these instruments: no formal training.
Next consider his vocals. Today I heard the last minute or so of “Monkberry Moon Delight” from the Ram album on the radio and didn’t even recognize it as McCartney. His vocals are extremely bluesy and guttural. Juxtapose that with “Till There Was You.”
I have this theory that good sounding music always has a little yin in it’s yang… little imperfections that make the music seem more human. Hell, composers can create music on a computer now that’s virtually perfect but it just seems boring. It feels the same to me listening to musicians that have mastered the technical side of playing an instrument. It’s missing soul.
Yes, as a side-note, nothing is more boring & bland than “perfect” sounding music. Examples? Magic Man by Heart (played on the local station eighty times a day) sounds synthetic. Same goes for many songs by Yes.
I like a little bit of… scrappiness in my music. Would much rather listen to George Thorogood than Pink Floyd.
I like the “Flight of the Bumblebee” scene in the movie “Shine”. Some musical scores are so difficult, it’s amazing that anyone can play them in the assigned tempo. The sheet music for Art Tatum is very advanced, but Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Fats Waller make stride piano sound like a relaxed stroll through the park. On the other hand, a musician’s most popular songs are often his simplest ones.
I used to listen to a fair bit of virtuoso rock, like Malmsteen and Steve Vai. It has some charms, but my interest definitely waned after a while.
My favorite “virtuoso” musicians nowadays are top-level jazz performers. Some of them demonstrate such an intense connection to their instrument. Their playing can still be intensely technical, but with more attention given to making the music interesting and engaging for the audience.
