Who has written some of the most complicated

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Spiral Architect- A skeptics universe

and anything by Spastic Ink
 
Al DiMeola - Elegant Gypsy
Phil Keaggy - Madrid Lights, The Master & The Musician
Pat Metheny - anything
 
Roy Clark

I don't know of his original material,but i saw an instructional video of his once and was blown away by his playing skills.
 
philbagg said:
Paul Masvidal - Cynic

Chuck Schuldiner - Death
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I'll second Chuck Schuldiner.Not only did he play some complicated stuff,he sang while doing it.
I'm a big fan of old King diamond/Mercyful fatel & Fates Warning.They came up with some good stuff.
 
Dani Pace said:
There once was a man named Andre Segovia (rip) who wrote some pretty intricate music for guitar. He played classical guitar so that may have put a few restrictions on some of what he wrote, after all there are only 4688 possible chords (including variations and inversions) which can be done on a 17 fret nylon string classical guitar.
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Based on that first sentence, I was really hoping for something more like...

There once was a man named Segovia
who played intricate lines that would blow ya...
mind on classic guitar,
but limited by the barre,
only had 4688 chords to show ya.

:D
 
IMHO, it's certainly valid to argue that complexity doesn't necessarily make for fine music. Some of my favorite guitar music is heartbreakingly simple in ways. But there are some of us who find that, for whatever reasons, our hearts beat faster when listening to complex arrangements played well... whatever floats your boat and all that.

I've always found myself leaning in that direction. Select recordings by Yes, Holdsworth, McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Fripp/Crimson, Metheny, Morse, and many others have been my gold standard for creativity (music that requires numerous listenings to decipher) through the years. The recent release of "The Way Up" by Metheny's group (one piece in four movements) is a great example of an extremely complex arrangement, played beautifully, that reveals itself slowly to those interested enough to invest some time. Check out the live DVD if you haven't already. Man oh man.
 
mcmetal said:
Roy Clark

I don't know of his original material,but i saw an instructional video of his once and was blown away by his playing skills.
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Ditto that.
The man is an incredibly talented guitarist and multi-instrumentalist (banjo, mandolin, fiddle)--plus an amazing ability to play different genres.
 
Paganinni ... if myou can play this stuff you should be able to play anything.
 
I was wondering how long it would take for people to start discussing the merits of complexity vs simplicity. :rolleyes:

Neither is better than the other. And I don't believe the premise of this thread was to make any assertion otherwise. It is entirely possible for someone to just have a taste for something. I love technical stuff because it's fun to listen to. I also equally love simpler stuff, again because it's fun to listen to. Some days I feel like listening to one thing, other day I'll feel like listening to something else.

Funny really. Music isn't a sport, but the air of 'competitiveness' that surrounds it ("X is better than Y"/"No dude, Y is better, and you suck for thinking otherwise") would make you think someone's keeping score.
 
legionserial said:
I was wondering how long it would take for people to start discussing the merits of complexity vs simplicity. :rolleyes:

Neither is better than the other. And I don't believe the premise of this thread was to make any assertion otherwise. It is entirely possible for someone to just have a taste for something. I love technical stuff because it's fun to listen to. I also equally love simpler stuff, again because it's fun to listen to. Some days I feel like listening to one thing, other day I'll feel like listening to something else.

Funny really. Music isn't a sport, but the air of 'competitiveness' that surrounds it ("X is better than Y"/"No dude, Y is better, and you suck for thinking otherwise") would make you think someone's keeping score.
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I agree. I love the complex riffing of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and the Joe Harriott-John Maher double quintet and others. I also love simple rock and pop riffing, especially the heavy mob like Sabbath, Zeppelin, AC/DC and Purple etc. I dig loud wild energy, adult reflection and technical sophistication and poppy fluff.
When my younger sister and I were kids and when I was at school, 'fave bands' was a bloody contact sport and badge of coolness rolled into one. It was always a fight to 'prove' the artists you liked were 'the best'. And to put down X for liking Y. I can laugh at such folly now, 35 years on, and just rejoice in being shamelessly eclectic.
 
Yup. My favourite bands right now are Nirvana, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Psycroptic. The former being uber-simplistic, the latter 2 being pretty damn technical, especially Psycroptic.
 
J.S. Bach

He didn't write for guitar but he did write for the Lute-close enough. I realize the OP said he wasn't interested in classical for the purposes of this thread but if you want complex chord progressions, thick/rich textures and interesting counterpoint, Bach is your man.

The progressions in Bach's lute suites are fucking awesome. Highly recommend.
 
legionserial said:
I was wondering how long it would take for people to start discussing the merits of complexity vs simplicity. :rolleyes:
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Reminds me of an incident that took place about 20 years ago...

I was a member of a composer's collective. While sitting around talking with two other members of the group (Arthor Weinstein & Steve Norton, for those keeping score) I somehow got dragged into a heated discussion/argument with Mr. Weinstein regarding his claim that "I [meaning he] value simplicity!" and then citing examples of his works that purportedly demonstrated this. I wound up countering with "No, I value simplicity!", citing examples of my works that purportedly demonstrated this. And so it went, back & forth:

"I value simplicity!"
"No, I value simplicity!"
"No, I value simplicity!"
etc etc etc

...untill at one point (probably around the time when we both realized that it was futile, puerile, and pointless) we turned to Mr. Norton and asked "Well, what do you think?"

Steve slowly finished the craft-brewed ale he's been sipping and quietly replied

"I value complexity."
 
Victory Pete said:
You just cant leave me alone can you! I suppose you can nail all Gilmore's solos, even ones that were multitracked.
VP
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I'd have responded the same no matter WHO said that, dude. ;)

I love Gilmour's playing, I'd say he and Joe Satriani are far and away my two biggest influences. I can't say enough about the guy's note choice and touch and phrasing (though I've never been really floored by his vibrato, for some reason).

That said, while I can't pretend I've sat down and learned every single solo of his, I haven't heard anything he's played that I couldn't play myself. Even years and years ago before I really "got" Floyd, people used to always tell me how much my playing would at times remind them of Gilmour, and that's probably only gotten worse after a couple years of binge-listening to his stuff. My sparser, bluesier playing is hugely influenced by the guy. I don't say this to be a dick or cocky or anything, but I feel pretty comfortable saying that yes, I probably could do a pretty convincing rendition of any of his solos, even the ones he'd spliced together from several takes, in a single pass. I LOVE his playing, but I love it not for it's complexity or technical difficulty, but for his impeccable note choice and sense of feel.

And for you guys talking about how "music isn't about musical complexity" (and dintymoore, I'm looking squarely at you here), honestly, what's your point? This is a thread about complex music. Yes, music doesn't have to be complex to be good. We agree. However, it also doesn't have to be simple to be good, either. Some people enjoy fairly complex music - some don't. If you happen to be in the later group, that's cool and I respect that. However, I really don't understand why you'd feel the need to post in this thread, then, if you don't appreciate complexity. To somehow come off as more "astute" and "sophisticated" and "tasteful" than the other participants, because you truly "understand" music and don't confuse the "quality" of a piece by how fast it is or difficult it is to play? Um, really? I love some pretty complex stuff (as well as some stuff that's bone simple), but I don't come shitting on every thread about a punk rock band because their guitarist can't sweep pick, either. Live and let live, you know?
 
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