crazy 8 year old guitarist

[Ed Dixon]

The kid has some amazing talent. It's clear he has a gift to play, as what the video shows is not something that is just taught. Whehter one likes what he played is not the point. The point is that not one in 1000 guitar players can play half of what he played, regardless of age.

He reminds me of some 4-6 year old piano players I have seen, who were just absolutely great. In almost all these cases it's not that they had a good teacher, but that they had the born ability that a teacher just allowed to come out.

I suspect we will hear from this kid again in the future.

Ed

 

[Codmate]

Lol - that really is quite poor. I don't see why anybody would be blown away by that kid's 'technique' - turn off the distortion and it would sound like ass.

His legato is innacurate, he misses whole bunches of notes and bums just as many.
Sloppy.

I was expecting something impressive after reading this thread.

Those clips of the young japanese girl playing classical pieces like Andrew York's Sunburst are 1000 times more impressive as her technique is very good and she actually displays musicality.

 

[Ed Dixon]

If it's really that poor, I suspect we can quickly see a video from you showing how it should be done. You would of course play both all the right notes he played and the numerous ones you say he missed.

Ed

 

[Larry Gude]

Thank you...

Lol - that really is quite poor. I don't see why anybody would be blown away by that kid's 'technique' - turn off the distortion and it would sound like ass.

His legato is innacurate, he misses whole bunches of notes and bums just as many.
Sloppy.

I was expecting something impressive after reading this thread.

Those clips of the young japanese girl playing classical pieces like Andrew York's Sunburst are 1000 times more impressive as her technique is very good and she actually displays musicality.

...very much!

 

[Codmate]

If it's really that poor, I suspect we can quickly see a video from you showing how it should be done. You would of course play both all the right notes he played and the numerous ones you say he missed.

Ed

I don't have to - if you want to see true virtuoso playing just download a Tommy Emmanuel, Andrew York etc. video.

There are many thousands of players that can do what that kid is trying to do (actually more like 'pretending to do) - but do it well.

Listen to Steve Vai - then listen to that kid's playing again.
Big fat difference. Trust me.

If you want to hear my playing you can go buy my album when it comes out at the end of August - www.smokehand.co.uk .

If I were to post a video of myself playing scales etc it would (a) be very very sad (b) turn this therad into some kind of speed-playing pissing-contest, which is something I'm very much against.

 

[scottboyher]

I don't have to - if you want to see true virtuoso playing just download a Tommy Emmanuel, Andrew York etc. video.

There are many thousands of players that can do what that kid is trying to do (actually more like 'pretending to do) - but do it well.

Listen to Steve Vai - then listen to that kid's playing again.
Big fat difference. Trust me.

If you want to hear my playing you can go buy my album when it comes out at the end of August - www.smokehand.co.uk .

If I were to post a video of myself playing scales etc it would (a) be very very sad (b) turn this therad into some kind of speed-playing pissing-contest, which is something I'm very much against.

IT IS A KID YOU ASANINE! Not Steve Via. DAMN!

 

[Codmate]

IT IS A KID YOU ASANINE! Not Steve Via. DAMN!

Oh, that makes it great then.

Sorry, I didn't realise that you had to multiply percieved talent by the inverse age of the artist. My mistake.

 

[Zed10R]

I've seen kids like that all my life. Maybe not as young, but they are all the same. I've seen them come out of Julliard that way, so being a "insert whatever you want here" trained guitarist means nothing. (I don't know if I spelled Julliard right). I've seen them amaze throngs of people with their spellbinding musical magic. I've seen them enter - and WIN all sorts of talent competitions, and I was impressed as well. But then I played in "bands" with them. And you know what?? There is NOTHING to be jealous of. All people like that know is how to play a shit load of notes, one after the other, really friggin fast with their fret hand. They cannot stop soloing. To them, a good song is one huge long monkey spanking solo from beginning to end, with a drum beat and some yodeling in the background. Their pick hand sorely lacks any precision, strength, or endurance, they have no timing other than FAST, and they CANNOT hold a tight rythm. Chords? What are chords? Double picking? What's that?? Crunch what? How? Of course there are exceptions. My favorites are James Murphy, Chuck Schuldiner (RIP), and Alex Skolnik (sp??....from Testament). But as a whole, superduper shredding skills = absence of any musical talent. Anyone remember Nitro???

The physical ability to play like that is something any human being with fingers can learn. Just like anyone can learn to be in a "cover band". It is NOT talent. It is a learned skill. Talent cannot be learned. Talent is in the mind. It is how you think and how you create. Can that kid create anything but a bunch of random notes thrown together? I don't think so. But, IF he does have musical talent, he is well on his way to becoming an amazing musician.

 

[gusfmm]

Lol - that really is quite poor. I don't see why anybody would be blown away by that kid's 'technique' - turn off the distortion and it would sound like ass.

His legato is innacurate, he misses whole bunches of notes and bums just as many.
Sloppy.

I was expecting something impressive after reading this thread.

Those clips of the young japanese girl playing classical pieces like Andrew York's Sunburst are 1000 times more impressive as her technique is very good and she actually displays musicality.

I quite second that.

I liked the first kid much more than the second. Second showed, IMHO, very erratic playing and quite limited chops bag. Sorry Ed, but this is the truth.

Now the first one played very accurately and clean, very nice technique. I, having studied Paul Gilbert's technique myself a bit, could see 99% of this kid's playing being a carbon-copy of Intense Rock Part I video though. But I think he's got a lot of potential. In the future, should he continue playing, he'll probably evolve his playing to a more soulful and less chop-based playing while still maintaining a superb playing technique. That could be some dangerous combination actually.

Bottom line to me is, these examples show you what one can do should you have the time/be consistent and put yourself into a constant practice routine
to improve your technique. Practice makes the master (but we knew that, right?....)

 

[Aaron Cheney]

No doubt that kid has given up many sunny days to practice, and he can do something many guitarists can't. Good for him. I could do that too if that's what I chose to practice. Any of us could. Shoot... most of us had learned one of the more diffucult languages on the planet by the time we were only three years old... and without any formal training! It all depends on what you choose to practice.

Whenever I see something like this it reminds me (this might get long ) of a job I had as a kid. I worked at a rifle range owned by the Puget Sound Bench Rest Rifle Club. The PSBRRC was shooting club dedicated to one thing, and one thing only: to shoot 10 rounds in the smallest grouping possible. Didn't matter a bit where on the target the grouping was, it just had to be small.
A "bench-rest" rifle barely even resembled a rifle: it was a block of wood mounted on a tripod with a barrel attached to it. The "trigger" was a camera plunger. Before the match they set up whirligigs and pinwheels all along their sight-lines to gauge wind directions and speed. They would sight the target only once, then stand back and watch the whirligigs for wind variation, pulling the plunger when conditions were just right.
Those guys could put 10 rounds all through one bullet hole at 100 yards. They could do it in the size of a quater at 200 yards. Within an 8" diameter at 300.
They were unquestionably the best in the world at what they did, but in that persuit they had forsaken every other good and worthwhile aspect of marksmanship. I always found it more funny than impressive.

It's hard to draw conclusions about this kid when all we get is a 2 minute clip. I would have been much more impressed if he had been rocking with a full band, playing in the pocket and demonstrating feel. Knowing when to hold back and when to let loose. Showing that his playing served the song. Demonstrating the kind of restraint that only develops through musical maturity.

A

 

[HangDawg]

I'm going to get the chance to record a wanker like this. He's older though, 17 I think. He was there while I was tracking the drums and did some scratch guitar tracks. Faster than hell, absolutely no feeling/finesse. He can barely bend a note cleanly. But, to say there is no talent or skill involved with such whankery is stupid.

 

[Ed Dixon]

Listen to Steve Vai - then listen to that kid's playing again.
Big fat difference. Trust me.

I am quite familiar with Steve Via's work. He is very very good. Much of what the kid plays is similar to what Vai did in Crossroads (the movie). He's also not 8.

For 8, the kid is amazing. I have also hear others of similar ability and age, and most of them were very good as well. The question is where he goes from here.

Ed

 

[Ed Dixon]

I don't have to - if you want to see true virtuoso playing just download a Tommy Emmanuel, Andrew York etc. video.

Tommy Emmanuel was 12 in 1966. That makes him something like 50 today. Andrew York is also clearly an adult. Both are clearly very good players, and neither is anywhere close to 8 years old.

One has to compare apples with other apples...

Ed

 

[geet73]

You mean this kid?...the site loads a lil slow..but worth it!

http://www2.strangeland.com/asp/sho...at=0&gal=0&sort=&searchfor=guitar&FType=Video

This kid is sloppy as fuck. Jesus. I can play random notes, too.

 

[Zed10R]

I'm going to get the chance to record a wanker like this. He's older though, 17 I think. He was there while I was tracking the drums and did some scratch guitar tracks. Faster than hell, absolutely no feeling/finesse. He can barely bend a note cleanly. But, to say there is no talent or skill involved with such whankery is stupid.

Skill, yes. Talent, no way. You could teach a monkey to do that if you could get it to pay attention.

 

[Ed Dixon]

Skill, yes. Talent, no way. You could teach a monkey to do that if you could get it to pay attention.

The line that separates skill from talent is fuzzy on a good day. I think the video shows the kid has some skills. How much talent he might or might not have is not so clear from a 2 minute clip.

Teaching the average anybody to do what he does, at any age is generally not possible. It takes more than a good teacher to achieve that level of playing ability. It requires some level of ability that is inborn.

It's a little like the falicy that if anybody practiced enough, they could be a concert pianist. It just doesn't work that way...

Ed

 

[scottboyher]

It's a little like the falicy that if anybody practiced enough, they could be a concert pianist. It just doesn't work that way...

Ed

Yes... That what I wanted to say.

 

[MrBoogie]

Oh my god. I have to agree with the comment about the jealousy in this thread.

The comment about what that kid is "pretending" to do is so absurd, and OBVIOUSLY coming from jealousy! If you actually listen, the kid's technique is pretty damn good (I didn't say "perfect"). There's no "pretending" there. If you want to hear some pretending, check out the solo on "Cult of Personality" by Living Color....and Burnin Vernon got all kinds of kudos for that sloppy mess of un-intelligible noise!! But that is NOT what the kid is doing in that video clip.

The whole techinque vs feel arguement is so tired and stupid!! They both have their purpose. There's plenty of people who are all technique, and plenty who are all feeling, and even more in between. There's nothing wrong with any part of that spectrum. It's simply a matter of personal preference.

If you jealous guys can't just admit the kid has spent some serious time practicing his instrument and appreciate it for what it is, just move on.

Playing a million notes per second is not any more musical masturbation than hanging on the same note bent too sharp like I've seen soooo many blues player wannabes do.

my 2 cents are worth as much as yours!

ps: in case there's any doubt, obviously i'm talking about the first video clip...not the sloppy kid playing noise

 

[Purge]

Hey, just curious. How many of you guys had that great sense of musical soul at the age of 8? Or maybe another question: How does one achieve soul? Hmmm...my guess would probably have to be...that you'd have to go through life long enough for life's experience to fucking happen to you.

Eventually, this kid will lose his job and his girlfriend will fuck half of his best friends, among other assorted joyous experiences. When that happens, I absolutely look forward to buying his record, since he'll already have the physical talent to say what he needs to say.

I am completely laughing my ass off at the dumbshits who are bagging on this kid. You've absolutely gotta be fucking kidding me.

 

[Purge]

You could teach a monkey to do that if you could get it to pay attention.

I will happily give you every single piece of musical and recording equipment I own if you succeed at this. I'll even pay shipping!