How to Prevent Guitar Track from getting Exhausting/Boring

  • Thread starter Thread starter prof.obsessor
  • Start date Start date
Greg_L said:
Write more interesting guitar parts/songs.
Click to expand...

I think this is the best bit of concise advice you need really.

But as for this ear fatigue...I find drillhammers, jet engines, 2-stroke engines, high pitched screams, that sort of thing, fatiguing to my ears. I've never found the sound of an electric guitar fatiguing. If it's played boring I want it to stop and/or fall asleep, but then that's nothing to do with the sound, that's the boring playing. I didn't hear anything even close to fatiguing about the guitar sound in that youtube link.
 
Greg_L said:
Like I said, be more interesting.
Click to expand...

What is your intention? You've repeated the same thing five times. If you would please leave this thread alone, I would appreciate it. Because while I agree with your point, I'm looking for a more diverse set of information and the other people are giving it to me. So, if you're not gonna say anything else, leave, would ya?
 
Rhythm guitar is a rhythmic piece of a band. If all you do is strum for groove, you can mix it up to be interesting. I can’t think of a piece I’ve ever heard that was only a strummed guitar. Just clunking along on the down beat, I imagine would be boring.

I remember Roy Clark once strumming a guitar about a billion BPM and it wasn’t boring.

Aside from theatrics, the rhythm guitar is there for a kind of glue, meant to hold other pieces of the ensemble together.

Many singers just strum along as they sing, where the singing is the focus.

If you isolate any multi track recording you will probably find boring parts, because there needs to be some bed on which to build the rest of the song.

You may hear the term pads used to describe backing for songs, that alone would bore you to tears but in context you might not even notice them.

I would not obsess over “writing” guitar parts. Do your thing and let your soul shine thru.
 
fritsthegirl said:
I think this is the best bit of concise advice you need really.

But as for this ear fatigue...I find drillhammers, jet engines, 2-stroke engines, high pitched screams, that sort of thing, fatiguing to my ears. I've never found the sound of an electric guitar fatiguing. If it's played boring I want it to stop and/or fall asleep, but then that's nothing to do with the sound, that's the boring playing. I didn't hear anything even close to fatiguing about the guitar sound in that youtube link.
Click to expand...

Probably our thresholds and choice of words are different. I find a singled-out electric guitar sounds easily gets fatiguing if I don't love the sound of the guitar (for me, that is usually a clean or slightly overdriven Tele). If you don't understand what I'm talking about, that's okay.
 
prof.obsessor said:
What is your intention? You've repeated the same thing five times. If you would please leave this thread alone, I would appreciate it. Because while I agree with your point, I'm looking for a more diverse set of information and the other people are giving it to me. So, if you're not gonna say anything else, leave, would ya?
Click to expand...

Oh dear.
 
miroslav said:
Personally....I find acoustic guitar strumming to be about 10 times more boring than electric, just because so many people do it the same way....BUT....it's all in the strumming style and the arrangement.

You could take almost any instrument and play it in a boring repetitive fashion....so it's not the instrument by itself.
Also, before you go looking for EQ/Processing/FX to solve the boring problem....again, consider the playing style and arrangement.
I mean....Greg was making the right point, even if you didn't like how he said it. :)

As an example:
I just cut some tracks for a song where the piano part is doing a steady beat with the chord progression...just a single chord hit on every down beat. On it's own, it is very boring, but, when the drums, bass, guitar parts are added, all of a sudden that piano track works because it creates a rhythmic foundation while the other instruments play around it.

Yes, the right playing style and arrangement are the #1 "boring" solutions.
Click to expand...

The original question already admitted that part of this has to do with composition/arrangement. So, recording without bass, drums, keys and just with electric and vocals is new to me and this really is going to push me to get more creative with the guitar. I already know that and appreciate the advice when it is delivered with good intention (and not repeated five times in a row).

But most of these replies are making me think that this forum is full of people with little knowledge and gear who just want to become famous quickly or something, so that you more knowledgeable people are thinking "oh well, here's another wannabe who think he can fix his lack of talent with an EQ or something" and insisting on giving me the same answer.

If that is the case, I understand and I will find a community where people make better assumptions about each other mostly. I have no need to prove myself or anything. I only want to engage in conversation and be inspired by diverse approaches to the same issues.

Perhaps I was not very successful in communicating my question, too. I kind of regret it now. I just wanted to try a different forum. In any case, I appreciate anybody who tried to give me advice with good intentions. Thank you!
 
Manslick said:
Rhythm guitar is a rhythmic piece of a band. If all you do is strum for groove, you can mix it up to be interesting. I can’t think of a piece I’ve ever heard that was only a strummed guitar. Just clunking along on the down beat, I imagine would be boring.

I remember Roy Clark once strumming a guitar about a billion BPM and it wasn’t boring.

Aside from theatrics, the rhythm guitar is there for a kind of glue, meant to hold other pieces of the ensemble together.

Many singers just strum along as they sing, where the singing is the focus.

If you isolate any multi track recording you will probably find boring parts, because there needs to be some bed on which to build the rest of the song.

You may hear the term pads used to describe backing for songs, that alone would bore you to tears but in context you might not even notice them.

I would not obsess over “writing” guitar parts. Do your thing and let your soul shine thru.
Click to expand...

That's nice, thanks. This issue really arose because I used to record with many more tracks before (bass, drums, keys, along with rhythm, vocals, and acoustic, sometimes lead guitar, too) but now I've gone much more simple. I used the guitar previously to provide that bed that you talk about and now when it is about the only instrument besides vocal, it of course sounds not the same. So, I'm working on figuring out how to handle the electric in this new barebones style.
 
You know you would get better answers if you posted a clip ;)
 
Here's a clip of a basic guitar/vocal duo (with some drum machine beats)....nothing boring about it at all.

 
prof.obsessor said:
Manslick, I've gotten the same answer from him several times. Is it not enough?
Click to expand...

It's the only right answer. Write and play better. I'd write it in crayon for you, but this is just words on a screen. You seem to be looking for some magic formula and/or someone to hold your hand. Just write and play better. That's all you have to do. I'm sorry if I'm being too blunt for your liking. The world isn't all unicorns and candy canes. Just write and play better.
 
P.S. - Write and play stuff that's more interesting.

For the 3rd or 4th time now, put up a sound clip so we can hear your goods and maybe give you some ideas that aren't based off the very vague and limited info you are giving us.
 
RAMI said:
Funny how the OP accepted everyone else's answer other than Greg's, even though most answers were just a variation of Greg's. :eek:
Click to expand...

That's how it always is. I say something, someone else repeats it or agrees with it, I'm a dick, they're a hero. :laughings:
 
Greg_L said:
That's how it always is. I say something, someone else repeats it or agrees with it, I'm a dick, they're a hero. :laughings:
Click to expand...

Sounds like my last relationship. :laughings:

.....and I'm not even sure if that smiley belongs there.
 
Has anyone suggested that this guy write better guitar parts and/or play better?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top