What is it about the guitar?

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Eurythmic

Eurythmic

majordomo plasticomo
What is it about the guitar, that makes guitarists almost always fall into leadership and/or creative control and/or frontman roles in a band?

Have you ever wondered?

I certainly didn't pick up the guitar with aspirations of being a sideman.

Why are there so few exceptions to this? Is it just that the guitar is more melody/harmony-oriented than the bass or percussion? Or is it something else?
 
so i came and read your post, then i left, (probably y i'm not a good reader of music) but now i'm back.. ahhhh the hard questions,,,such a simple one eurythmic, but hard,,,,so i say to myself,,,,,,THINK, think Think, think THINK, think Think & ah think,,,,hmmmm as i pause,,,,,geesh such a simple question , u think it would just flow from one's self......i think that i need to think on it,,,,,,good question
 
ok montra.... :)

Um....guitars are cool.

Its one of the most versital(sp?) instruments(sp?) ever made.
 
the same reason i voted for Bush...look at the alternatives.....

lead singers,drummers, and bassists are just too damn dumb and we (guitarists) are not quite as dumb...the lesser of a few evils, so to speak.....
 
still thinking on it,,,,,,,but i like webcyan's post of "guitars r cool" lol
 
Phil Lynott
Lemmy
Sting
Charles Mingus

and thats just off the top of my head just now
 
Because our 6x22 grid is the most complicated musical interface in the average band.

Bassist = 4x22
Singer = 1 Mic
drums = no notes
 
OneLouder,

Yup, there are exceptions.

About one for every twenty!
 
Spoken like a true guitarist, Eurythmic. The fact is, the only reason there are so many guitarists/ frontmen is that there are so many guitarists period. Let's be honest: it's an easy instrument to play. Just look at all the dorks like us that play it!
Aside from that, it (along with the piano) is one of the only instruments capable of producing chords, thus giving an artist that abilty to accompany himself. It is also among the minority of instruments that you don't play with you mouth, thus alowing the artist to sing along. And I can tell you that there are TONS of pianists/ frontmen out there, probably more so than guitarist/ frontmen.
After hundreds of years, the guitar eclipsed the piano to become the most popular instrument of the last century. Why? Electricity. It gave the guitar the means to achieve a volume capable of competing with other band instruments. Before then the guitar was just not loud enough to be generally popular as a band instrument, and was thought of only as a folk instrument for small ensembles.
Now that we are in the dawn of a new century, the popularity of the guitar is waning. Rock and roll is giving way to new forms of music that are mainly computer based. I would not be surprised if the most popular instrument of the current century proves to be the computer.
Fortunately there are still enough of us out here to support record sales, instrument manufacturers, and chat rooms like this for a few more years.
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
I picked it up because it was the dominating instrument of the music I was listening to back then.. Then I got asked to play bass in a bluesband, and after a few years of playing the bass, I've gotta say that bass is my instrument of choice if I ever have to choose...

Remember... this is playing bass with FINGERS.. bassplayers who use a pick are just second-rate guitarists... :D :D :D
 
Meshuggah said:
Remember... this is playing bass with FINGERS.. bassplayers who use a pick are just second-rate guitarists... :D :D :D
Click to expand...

;) :D DAMN RIGHT!!! :D ;)
 
Call me stupid....

But what in the heck does that mean!!!

I've been able to figure out IMHO, FWIW, and many others, but I simply cannot get LOL!

Please... help me.

Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
Aaron,

"Laughing out loud"

Which takes approximately 0.5 seconds longer to type out. ;-)
 
How many guitarists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

All of them..

One to screw it in and the rest to sit back with their arms folded saying "I could do that"
 
Oh yeah and how could I forget Les Claypool??!?!?!?!? (6x24 musical grid)
 
...complete freedom, or by other words--unrestricted creative license...my inability to concede to "limitations", imposed by others, creates a certain amount of solitude--EVERYTHING is now dependent upon "me"--this is how I have always survived in life...it's not that I whole-heartedly reject the creative input of others...more to the point that I simply haven't connected with the "right" people...I have a few friends with remarkable talent, people I would very much like to "work" with, but, for various reasons, we're not "close enough" to commit seriously...for years, I have been seeking someone to write with, and only recently has an old high-school mate expressed any real interest...and he doesn't even play an instrument...
 
Playing any isntrument is basically easy. Being any good on any one of them is difficult. Bad guitarists are a dime a dozen. Learning string instruments is a bit easier because everything is a pattern . Try learning your scales on a sax trumpet or piano. Learning on a guitar is easy but being good is not and maybe that is why there are so many bad guitarists, with no imagination.
 
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