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Post by andyhowell on May 10, 2019 9:36:53 GMT
Every time I log on here using my computer I am reliably informed that I am now a guitar legend something that I feel is increasingly cringeworthy. Isn't it time we had a change in categories, such as 'Also Plays the Banjo'?
The problem for me with this is that it encourages feeling of adequacy. Of course, I'm a legend. I often play live, write and sing my own songs, record my own guitar pieces and often record other people ...
... and then I actually listen to my stuff and reality comes down on me like a ton of bricks. I only ever sing the same and the same chord sequences (though I try to fool people by changing the tunings).
Oh, I feel less like a legend and more like someone who is so inadequate!
Surely I am not alone?
:-_
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Post by geddarby on May 10, 2019 10:15:11 GMT
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Post by lavaman on May 10, 2019 10:54:50 GMT
Try thinking of yourself as a guitar leg end
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colins
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Posts: 2,320
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Post by colins on May 10, 2019 11:52:58 GMT
Try thinking of yourself as a guitar leg end Yes like Michael Foot, he was a leg end in his own lifetime.
We could have categories, you know like they put on our school reports, Could Try Harder, Likes to be the Class Joker, Will Never make Anything of Himself, More interested in the Girls than his Study (that was me).
Colin
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Post by fatfingerjohn on May 10, 2019 11:54:40 GMT
You're certainly not alone when it comes to using same/similar chord progressions. I remember seeing James Taylor in Birmingham some years back and he said that, whilst he had written about 160 songs he'd only really done about a dozen different ones; the rest were all variations of similar themes, progressions and finger styles. So there's hope for us inadequate mortals yet!
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Post by bellyshere on May 10, 2019 13:44:57 GMT
I like being inadequate. Nobody likes a show off. The new categories could be inadequate, adequate (just) and bloody show off.
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Post by dangad on May 10, 2019 15:03:05 GMT
First world problems!
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Post by andyhowell on May 10, 2019 21:43:56 GMT
Try thinking of yourself as a guitar leg end Ah that’s a good idea
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Post by malcolm on May 11, 2019 6:57:05 GMT
You're certainly not alone when it comes to using same/similar chord progressions. I remember seeing James Taylor in Birmingham some years back and he said that, whilst he had written about 160 songs he'd only really done about a dozen different ones; the rest were all variations of similar themes, progressions and finger styles. So there's hope for us inadequate mortals yet! This is a big problem with "singer/songwriter" music everywhere. I'm old enough to remember when singers weren't expected to write their own songs and it made for a much more varied repertoire. i don't want to offend anyone, but it seems to me that most singer/songwriters just write what they can play so it often sounds the same. When we play what are now always called "covers" we are challenged to play something unfamiliar which, when we do it well, does not bore the audience.
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Post by dreadnought28 on May 11, 2019 8:14:12 GMT
You're certainly not alone when it comes to using same/similar chord progressions. I remember seeing James Taylor in Birmingham some years back and he said that, whilst he had written about 160 songs he'd only really done about a dozen different ones; the rest were all variations of similar themes, progressions and finger styles. So there's hope for us inadequate mortals yet! This is a big problem with "singer/songwriter" music everywhere. I'm old enough to remember when singers weren't expected to write their own songs and it made for a much more varied repertoire. i don't want to offend anyone, but it seems to me that most singer/songwriters just write what they can play so it often sounds the same. When we play what are now always called "covers" we are challenged to play something unfamiliar which, when we do it well, does not bore the audience. Yes, Frank Sinatra wasn’t a bad singer of covers, neither was Elvis Presley. It’s always puzzled me why picking up a guitar suddenly demands a change from singer to singer/songwriter. I prefer to entertain.
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Post by andyhowell on May 11, 2019 9:10:25 GMT
malcolm As somebody who runs a club I can happily respond that most covers are pretty boring as well. Like a lot of songwriters I try not to write on the guitar for these reasons. I’m just not that good at it :-) However, people do like hearing original material that is interesting. The problem with most singer songwriters I come across is that they can’t create a balanced or paced set!
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colins
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Posts: 2,320
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Post by colins on May 11, 2019 9:27:10 GMT
I was always rubbish at writing lyrics, I could put together a pretty decent tune, so with my sets I tended to play a mix of traditional, covers, and a few original instrumental bits. Of course when I played 'classical' gigs, well I never even considered doing something of my own, Dowland, Tarrega and Llobet were so much better at writing it than me!
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Post by robmc on May 11, 2019 9:30:47 GMT
Don't worry Andy, I'd guess in 860 posts or so you will metamorphose into your next stage of guitar being.... Whatever that may be.
I'd guess that most commercial popular music is currently being written by the same bloke (or blokette) sitting in their pyjamas penning their next hit to auction off to an 'artist' .
Look a little deeper though and there's amazing music being created by individuals.
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Post by malcolm on May 11, 2019 10:32:34 GMT
Yes, Frank Sinatra wasn’t a bad singer of covers, neither was Elvis Presley. It’s always puzzled me why picking up a guitar suddenly demands a change from singer to singer/songwriter. I prefer to entertain. I agree, and I also prefer to entertain. I think that is the duty of anyone who has the nerve to perform in front of an audience. There's no excuse for boring covers either in my opinion. However, I know that this is only my view and lots of people disagree with me. I can think of several people who will jump up on stage at the drop of a hat and nearly have to be dragged off, after boring people for half an hour.
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Post by grayn on May 11, 2019 13:18:25 GMT
Perhaps we change Legend to Bellend. Keeping in real, in the 'hood.
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