A Classical Musician Is Introduced To The Electric Guitar For The First Time
Вставка
- Опубліковано 15 жов 2022
- Finally! I had the opportunity to meet with Graehme, an accomplished guitarist, who gave me an introduction to the electric guitar, covering a bit of its evolution and history, its special qualities, its roll in a rock band, and demonstrating some of the things is it capable of. It was a delightful session for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the instrument! Maybe I will get a chance to try one out someday!
This was truly interesting. I loved it. Your rock journey, Amy, is becoming more and more exciting, I am sure for you, but for us, your followers, as well. And I can't wait to get to the drums, my favourite instrument (if we don't count vocals as an istrument). 😊🖤
Tried to send you message but it failed :(
I meant tried to send message in telegram but it failed . I’m a “virgin” telegram user lol
YES!!! It's wonderful to be along for the ride!!! 😀👍
Another one to add to the pile is "sultans of swing", which is one of the most expressive examples of completely CLEAN electric guitar playing, just the guitar and the players fingers. I know you'd enjoy it as it fits into the melodic universe of rock you've enjoyed so far
Just two words you need to know.
David Gilmour
🎸🎶💖🎧
If you don't mind Ill kindly add three more. Stevie Ray Vaughn.
@@harlanmonk569 I hear ya.. & you do have a very good point..🤔
.. However.. if we're gonna start adding to this growing list of freaking legends. it's impossible to not include Mick Ronson.. 🎸🤘⚡💖
No doubt he's great. Lets see.... How about the bearded on Mr. Billy Gibbons?
A few extra ones here too, Paul Gilbert, Vinnie Moore
That's not how you spell Paul Gilbert.
I had to pause the video and click the like button when you spoke of learning the lesson to never, ever pause in the middle of the guitar solo! 🤘🏻🎸🤘🏻 🙃
Rock came from the blues. The blues came from suffering. There’s a inherent beauty to overcoming suffering.
The blues also came from African musical traditions, which introduced a very powerful counterpoint to the Western musical traditions. Rock is the ongoing discovery of how that African influence plays out in a Euro-dominant culture. You want to have your mind really blown on this dimension, check out how the Japanese influence on Rock plays out as Japanese artists contribute to this journey.
@@matthewpeters7766 agreed. Also let us not forget the native Americans who contributed to the form. Great rockumentary out there called “rumble”. Check it out.
Rock didn't exclusively come from the blues. There are plenty of rock bands that have little to no blues (ex. Megadeth, very much classical-based) Though yes, most rock songs are heavily blues influenced. And my favorite rock music is the blues. I would actually go as far as to say that blues is a foundational rock genre in itself.
In fact, Smoke on the Water, the example riff used in this video, is actually derived from Beethoven's 5th backwards.
If we're talking about a guitar that sounds like a singing voice, you really need to check out Jeff Beck. He's one of the pioneers of British rock guitarists and at the age of 78 now he's still on tour. Go see him if you get the chance, who knows how long he'll be able to continue. You won't regret it. Check out his covers of the Beatles "A day in the life", or, as you're coming from the background of classical music, his interpretation of "Nessun Dorma", played on electric guitar.
Jeff Beck is often called a guitarist's guitarist, as he's never had a huge amount of commercial success but has been a major influence for so many iconic guitarists, including Eddie Van Halen.
Steve Vai is another master of making a guitar sounding like a singing voice.
And Gilmour
Don't forget Malmsteen I think the sound he has is more present "" for her to listen to. Via is more sharp or maybe it's more minor?
Yes! Jeff Beck is arguably the most exquisite and sophisticated guitar virtuoso working anywhere close to rock music. (I say close because he started out as a more basic, blues-based rock guitarist in the 60s, then absorbed a lot of jazz-rock fusion, along with an astonishing combination of work-ethic & creativity.) An earlier commenter mentioned Rick Beato, who's a very good UA-cam music analyst and teacher. To get oriented to Beck's musical universe, I'd recommend Beato's recent video about him,
ua-cam.com/video/nV9bnaqqfq8/v-deo.html
where he gives a variety of hints as to the multitude of techniques involved and what to watch/listen for.
Other tunes to enjoy include Because We've Ended as Lovers, Nadia, Angel (Footsteps), Behind the Veil, Beck's Bolero, and pretty much anything else on his "Live at Ronnie Scott's" album (which is also available as a YT performance video).
@@dragonfly.effect Thanks for that! Here's another one worth checking out: ua-cam.com/video/3uIrlSLKP6A/v-deo.html
@@w.geoffreyspaulding6588 ua-cam.com/video/dL_ThJ0Y4T4/v-deo.html
If you want to listen a piece with a very expressive lead guitar, I suggest ‘Shine on you crazy diamond’ by Pink Floyd. This song has, arguably, the most expressive guitar solos… ever.
I agree, the perfect introduction.
Yes, that would be a dream come true if Amy would react to and analyse “Shine on you crazy diamond”. David Gilmour’s guitar playing is just as emotional and expressive as a painting by Monet or Chagall and in this song he comes to his full right. A true masterpiece.
I can't argue with this, but I would also suggest "Dogs" or "Sheep" from the Animals album
@@pabo619 Definitely, but we should be careful. Maybe those songs are a little too overwhelming for her😅
🥱
As a lifetime Rock n Roll/Heavy Metal/Blues Rhythm guitarist I find this channel so interesting and her insights wonderful. One of my new favorite YT channels
i totally agree. Isn't she a gem?
I was a bit disappointed that the guitar playing was essentially limited to one sound, when a couple of pedals could have demonstrated so much, so many different sounds available. It was mentioned that a Van Halen song had a horn sound that had been created by the electric guitar, that sound didn't have to be reproduced, but a few different examples (bits from Brothers In Arms, Comfortably Numb, Ace of Spades, Layla, death metal, etc) would have gone a long way to demonstrate its capabilities.
I get that, but sometimes we forget what a rabbit hole the guitar can be. Start talking about delay times, chorus and flanging, etc. and the uninitiated might get brain lock
"Limelight" by RUSH also has lyrics that would have some personal meaning for you Amy. Neil Peart (R.I.P.) was a poet as well as the drummer of RUSH. He helped evolve the the lyrics a rock band could use to enhance the experience of a song.
alex has said his solo there is his favorite. but try la villa strangiato. or watch them working man live in cleveland time machine tour rush
I would definitely agree that Amy should try "Limelight" as an example of how expressive the guitar can be, telling the story of how lonely being a shy "rock star" can be.
She has reviewed, in depth, La Villa Strangiato
I am so surprised, as an introduction to electric guitar, that there was really no mention or demonstration of the controls and location of the pick ups on bright and darker sounds and that one can combine and isolate pickup position. Also that the dry sound was not demonstrated without the pedal sound, whichever he was using. Also introducing Amy to the common whammy bar device is important. These are primary things. Like the mute and sustain pedals on piano and harp. The volume and tone controls-- the switches and knobs. And that the variations of tuning are primary issues. Amy's journey is always delightful and I appreciate the video. Thank you.
Coincidentally, Les Paul famous for being a pioneer in the development of the solid body electric guitar (among other things), when asked later in life, who’s guitar style did he enjoy. He said he liked Mark Knopfler. He played guitar on “Brothers In Arms” by Dire Straits.
As far as i know, to this day Mark Knopfler is the only guitarist with a dinosaur named after him.
Brother's In Arms. is definitely the other side of the guitar sound. Minimalist achingly beautiful sound and emotion.
@@littlejimmy7402
Poor Tony Iommi only managed to have an eel-like fish named after him.
Please interview Steve Howe! He's not only one of the greatest guitarists of all time but an expert on the history of guitars!
Great suggestion!
Ohhh la la!
How on earth would you get someone like that on the channel?
@@karlsloman5320 It could be as simple as asking if he would do it. Steve did an interview with the UA-cam channel Jazz Guitar Today in July, and JGT has only 10K subscribers.
@@karlsloman5320 Sadly I believe Steve Howe is not the biggest celebrity today. I've seen an interview with Jordan Rudess on a fairly -- possibly not very much -- typical reaction channel. So inviting Steve Howe or someone like him could be easier.
I’m so glad he chose a Rush riff, I’ve been clamoring for them since your first upload. You have to do 2112
Worthy of a 3 hour analysis!
As soon as I saw the Fly by Night poster in the back, I was routing for him to put his endorsement in!
@@memsesosmo5084 Ofc, he had to save the best for last.
Electric Guitar is a great application of the science of Electromagnetic Induction. Those pickups have 6 magnets (on for each string) surrounded by a coil of wire. The magnetic field interacts with the metal strings, which when they vibrate, produce an electric current in the pick-up. Thats the signal which goes to the amplifier via the volumen & tone controls of the guitar. That is the basics he didn't really tell Amy.
There are so many sounds possible on an electric guitar and it is such a flexible instrument, which can be played many ways.
There was ALLOT he didn’t tell Amy…..
Some electric guitars use piezoelectric pick-ups, am I right?
@@westelaudio943 Piezo pickups are used in acoustic/electric, as well as being implemented into some electrics to get quasi-acoustic sounds.
@@Ninjametal
Yes, basically a piezo transducer glued to the inside of a hollow body guitar, connected to a 1/4" jack - done.
But If I remember correctly, I've also seen small piezo disks tucked under the strings at the bridge of a solid body guitar, or maybe bass, which I suppose gives you extra gritty sound.
The "lots of things" that he did not tell Amy are too technical.
He is explaining the basics.
after all these years enjoying rock music, I finally know what a riff and lick is ...
...ah, yes, but do you know what it means when someone refers to a guitarist's 'chops'? That one eluded me for years (until the internet days started) 😁
@@stuartmiller7419 needed to search that one as well. As I understand it, it's knowing very well what you want to play without necessarily mastering everything of your instrument.
I like her initial description of rock instruments as 'factory noises'.
Industrial Rock is a thing:
"Stahlwerksinfonie" by Die Krupps is a very fascinating piece of music.
Killing Joke is another influential band in that segment, going back to the (post-) punk rock era.
Ministry, Fear Factory, Nine Inch Nails are bands of today influenced by earlier industrial rock.
Especially early on in their career, Einstürzende Neubauten have performed industrial music, but they have transcended the form since then.
To get an understanding how diverse Rock music can be and how harmonic and melodic changes can be incorporated into Rock music, I would love to hear you explore more "Progressive rock" artists such as: Yes, Dream Theater, King Crimson, Rush, Frank Zappa and of course, Led Zepplin and The Who.
Yes, each of these! Also, a full Pink Floyd album, when Amy feels she's built enough knowledge of genre.
I would add Tool, Soen, and Opeth to the list.
I hope that some Peter-Gabriel-era Genesis will also be considered, whether "Firth of Fifth" or something else from Selling England by the Pound, or Foxtrot, etc. Steve Hackett's playing was influential for Brian May and a number of other guitarists, too.
With Yes, "Close to the Edge" or "Roundabout" would be great choices. And so much from King Crimson, or even some of Robert Fripp's other projects with Frippertronics, or Jimmy Page using a bow on his guitar...
As for post-punk guitarists, one of my favourites would be John McGeogh, whether with the band Magazine or with Siouxsie and the Banshees. Another from the late-1970s and early-1980s would be Andy Summers of The Police. The riff from "Message in a Bottle", for example, is immediately recognisable.
I’ve been suggesting Echoes and Close To The Edge on everything since her first video showed up in my recommended lol
Yes. Yes. BTW... here's the title track from that Rush Fly By Night poster. He's playing a semi-hollow body guitar but it's way thinner which tames the feedback a bit compared to the one Graehme shows (which can be stuffed a bit with cotton to tame the feedback). ua-cam.com/video/jgTQv8erbh8/v-deo.html. Which brings us back around to Yes because Steve Howe plays hollow bodies of many shapes and sizes: ua-cam.com/video/KILKNCakDYw/v-deo.html
This was a great conversation. As a rock guitar player with 30 years of experience, I fully approve!
Amy, for an extreme virtuoso performance on a custom 3-neck 12-string 6-string, bass *and* HARP guitar, play Steve Vai - "Teeth of the Hydra".
Another would be Eric Johnson - "Cliffs Of Dover" - specifically the version recorded Live in Austin, Texas on December 14th, 1988 (often referred to as "Peak Eric").
I'm 46 and have been playing guitar since I was 13. I'm a classically and jazz trained woodwind player as well. I've learned a ton from this video.
The guitar riff often serves as the main hook of a song, more so than the vocal melody.
Most Rolling Stones songs start with a guitar rif that is the base of the song. Everything is built from there.
Of course we need to describe what a "hook" is. It's the "earworm" - the part that really sinks into the memory.
Even in elementary school in the early 70's, I knew that riff from "Smoke On the Water". It is what I think of when I hear the word RIFF"
if you are telling the history of rock guitar, I think it pretty essential to talk of the development of distortion. came from 40's blues and was tinkered with using various methods of putting rips in speakers and over driving gain. Listen to Link Wray guitar sound on "Rumble" from 1958 - its so far ahead of its day
Agreed!
One artist you may want to look into, Amy, is Andreas Vollenweider, who is a harpist. One of the unique things about Andreas, though, is he plays an electric harp. He created it himself. He also won at least one Grammy award, so well worth any musician's time to listen.
If you want to know the varieties of sounds a guitar can make, react to Good Company by Queen. In that song Brian May uses his guitar to imitate an entire orchestra of Dixieland Jazz, that includes cornets, trumpets, trombones, clarinets and even tubas.
Good call! 👍
I would also suggest "How Long" by Mark Knopfler
This one here: ua-cam.com/video/LfAfS0JleJI/v-deo.html&ab_channel=Agosto
Being "introduced" to high gain electric guitar first is a bit nasty and really unrepresentative of the last 70 years.
I was just about to post that exact suggestion for just the same reason! Also worth digging a little into how Brian and his Father built Brian's "Red Special" guitar from scratch. So much thought went into creating it! No wonder it turned out to be such a versatile instrument.
May I suggest watching Brian May talk about the Red Special.
When I saw that rush fly by night poster my face lit up haha, my fav band
In the past 10 years or so of my life, I have had by mind blown by the harpsichord and the electric violin. If I had known of either I might have stuck to my lessons on the piano or the violin...
Yellow Shark by Frank Zappa was a live performance in 1993 attended by the Who's Who of the Modern Classical masters.
"G-Spot Tornado" was finally realized to it's full potential. "Quote: Zappa thought that the composition was so difficult to play that it could not possibly be performed by a human." You must listen to this selection from the Yellow Shark CD release. The Video Version with Dancers was very impressive too, but distracts from the music.. Also read up on this concert.
I think Zappa also designed the overhead mic array for recording the orchestra, which I think became the preferred method to record orchestras to this day.
@@Gizzlefitz I may have misquoted about the mic array but I have the album and I know I read that somewhere, may be not this Berlin orchestra maybe I’m completely mistaken. I prefer the Mothers Lumpy Gravy, would make a good reaction. Yellow Shark is pretty out there and not a general representation if that’s even possible. People mention Inca Roads a lot and I think that’s as good as anything, personally I’d go with “I Am the Slime” for some of that vocal and lyric.
@@Hartlor_Tayley I agree, many much better examples, but given her background I thought it would be interesting to see what a "Rock" Guitarist could achieve when unbridled. Inca Roads is a good intro too, but I really think Grand Wazoo, + Sleep Dirt equally says it all...! (The entire albums)
@@alldayadventures5418 grand Wazoo ! Yes it would be great
Mr. Bungle please! Lol.
I'm pretty sure both "licks" and "riffs" as terms came from jazz into rock. I had always heard "riff" as short for "refrain".
Same here. I hadn't heard of rhythmic figure until now. I can't recall if it was My High School Jazz or College Jazz class, but the teacher mentioned riff was short for refrain
Think of "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller, it was a signature of swing jazz if not where the term originated.
Ha! I knew the Canadian dude would play Rush! Very interesting conversation with disappointingly little guitar playing. Still it was worth the listen. And, yes Amy, you should really listen to Rush. Probably the best combination of rocking hard with nearly classical virtuosity. I look forward to seeing/hearing it.
Steve Vai had an electric harp player on his The Story Of Light tour. Theres live videos available so that woukd be cool to check out.
And there is the reverse journey that rock fans can take into the incredible world of classical music. I got into opera some years ago and it's like rock turned up to 11.
I went from classical, opera and prog rock to prog metal for the same reason - turned up to 11. Some prog metal could almost have been penned by a modern Tchaikovsky. Imagine what Mozart or Schoenberg could have done with an electric guitar...
To me, an opera prima donna is both lead singer and lead guitarist, e.g. ua-cam.com/video/1xzo-XaIVVQ/v-deo.html
Couldn't think of a better intro to the world of guitar rock. Great job Graeme!
I am currently working thru Tommy Igoe's Groove Essentials book. Fun seeing a poster of his hanging on Graehme's wall.
You should do a sound journey - from the electrified sounds of the 40s until now. Quite a ride...
The call and response aspect of Rock, is important to bring up. Fills between vocal lines, and to highlight chord, tonality and sectional changes is an important aspect.
I'd like to add a few things that I feel would bring some understanding and also overlap in some ways with any stringed instrument.
The first is in regard to harmonics and false harmonics. You'll often hear a guitar solo where a particularly high note is hit, which can be a harmonic node of an open note, but it might also be a false harmonic where a fretted note is activated with a pick, but a harmonic is also created with a finger on the picking hand touching the string. When you add the sustain that is possible with an electric guitar, and false harmonics, you effectively add octaves to the range of possible notes.
The second is feeback, which is a connection made through the open air between an amplifier and the pickup of an electric guitar. rather than through a wire or wireless interface designed to carry signal This feedback is on one hand something like the effect of a theremin in that the tone is a result of the proximity and facing direction of the instrument in relation to the amplifier. A skilled guitarist who is comfortable playing at the high volumes required to make this possible has yet another palette of sounds, but one that is accessed in a very loosely controlled and chaotic situation.
The part on repetition really stuck out to me
because I think it's noteworthy to mention, that many rock musicians
started out really bad at their instruments.
Firstly the music instruments hadn't been around all that long,
and then many musicians started without a lot of guidance or parental support,
which you will see in classical music.
So if you want to understand Bruce Springsteen or any kind of bands,
these were usually youngsters who watched the Beates and Elvis,
and later any number of influential artists, bought the cheapest
instruments they could find and started mimicing what they saw.
Now imagine a youth culture, that is in constant rebellian against their eders,
so they group in lttle bands and each of the members would take on an instrument,
not relying on years of knowledge, but on what was free and what they wanted to learn.
Famously the German punkrock band "Die Toten Hosen" (the dead pants)
Assigned the instruments randomly at the start, and everybody figured it out from there.
So then you have teens with instruments, eagerness and icons.
And they'd start jamming, studying riffs and solos and figuring out how to play as a band,
and it's mostly a selection process of promise, connections and dumb luck
which makes up our musicscape in the end.
And music changed so much in these few decades,
that expertise came with the popularity, not necessarily the other way round.
I do not understand why I cannot find you or Virgin Rock on Wikipedia Amy - you are amazing! Maybe that's my "old world' mark of legitimacy, IDK - but your recognition and fresh, brilliant 'take' on rock music is invigorating. Please Don't Stop!! Happy New Year, 2023 - PJK
great quote for what your doing is it's not the destination, it's the journey and the experiences you encounter along the way that make this memorable for you and all of us.
You also have guitar fills. It also done by other instruments especially drums. Thay are used in pauses between vocal lines and transitions to different sections. A good example of a lot of guitar fills is a song called Brown Eye Girl.
“Mississippi Queen” by Mountain. With Leslie West on guitar & vocals might be considered the first “heavy “ rock song with an epic riff.
Absolutely!
I have a great deal of respect for you because you approach the music as a true student with a genuine desire to learn & understand, instead of just criticizing something that is outside your usual experience. Be well & best wishes to everyone.
I think that Virgin Rock needs to explore progressive rock a little deeper.
It can be far more thematic than the 3-4 minute song format.
Why does everyone keep saying this? Of all the popular music genres, progressive rock is the most alienating of all. It has a relatively LOW overall popularity, compared to many genres. The reason for this is that it lives more “in the head” than from a musical place. It’s less genuine.
@@yinoveryang4246 for the reason I stated. It’s less driven by the radio 3-4 minute format and allows more development of a theme, something she finds lacking in most of the music she’s listened to so far
I want the alphabet soup approach of you never know what your gonna get instead of this rigid structured approach. Lol The commenting is more enjoyable when its chaotic. Lol.
Progressive rock is more is generally more sophisticated. As a classical i find it more interesting.
While Rock guitar is steeped deeply in the blues; it is able to pull from so many other musical styles and genres. Richie Blackmore has explained he came up with the riff for Smoke on the Water by inverting Beethoven’s Fifth.
Blackmore was either trolling or trying to sound really sophisticated when he said that - because Smoke on the Water is a really simple song, so maybe it's a way of saying "well, actually I borrowed it from Beethoven" as a "defense", because this kind of stuff is difficult to prove (I mean, when you listen to the interview, he comes off as really egotistical in it - maybe he's being "ironically" egotistical and just trolling the interviewer, but to me, Blackmore has always come off as a guy with a big ego, at least based on what I have heard about him). Smoke on the Water has nothing to do with Beethoven's 5th. It's a bluesy riff - nothing to do with anything classical. There are definitely classical influences in Deep Purple's music, especially in the solo sections (for example Highway Star or Burn). But most of their riffs have nothing to do with classical.
It may be a coincidence, but check out Maria Quiet by Astrud Gilberto - sounds suspiciously similar to Smoke on the Water...
Young friend of my son went to a Blackmore's Knight gig in Germany. Blackmore started playing a Beethoven motif and Knight gave him a really shitty look... Blackmore's ego is certainly greater than his ability. Jeff Beck, Adrian Belew, Rob Fripp, and a host of others are better guitarists.
Blackmore is usually full of shit. Good musician, poor human being.
Graehme (?) was quite eloquent in his presentation of the rock guitar & related info. A very good choice to have as a guest, Amy. Very enjoyable. 🎸👍🏻
I loved the quizzical look on her face as she was trying to identify that rock piece by Rush.
As Ritchie Blackmore once stated, the riff of Smoke on the Water represents the introductory intervals of Beethovens Fifth, phrased a bit different and played backwards.
Do you actually believe that Blackmore was being serious when he said that?
It's quite obvious that Blackmore was either trolling the interviewer, or he was trying to make Smoke on the Water sound more "sophisticated" than it actually is (because it's a really simple riff, so saying "actually, it's just Beethoven played backwards" makes it sound more sophisticated, so that people don't mock it as a "beginner riff" - and these influences are difficult to prove/disprove). Smoke on the Water is a bluesy riff, nothing to do with Beethoven's 5th or anything classical. If you want to hear classical influences in Deep Purple's music, just listen to some of their instrumental solo sections (for example Highway Star or Burn).
@@MaggaraMarine Ok then, get an idea for yourself if he is joking or not. Begin with 3:30 -> ua-cam.com/video/YzJJgSls5-U/v-deo.html
On the other hand, it is quite obvious that Deep Purple in particular made very frequent use of old church keys and classical patterns.
Additionally try this one, it's quite funny, in particular the comments of Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull.
@@JoachimPaulNE Yeah, I'm familiar with this interview. But honestly, I think he sounds either extremely pretentious, or he's just trolling the interviewer (or maybe a bit of both at the same time). The riff is a blues riff, nothing to do with Beethoven. You can play the beginning of Beethoven's 5th backwards and hear that it sounds nothing like Smoke on the Water. Neither the note choice nor the rhythm are similar in any way.
This video gives a good explanation to Blackmore's complex relationship with the song, and also comes up with a couple of explanations for why he might have said what he said in that interview: ua-cam.com/video/j9omS04VbQw/v-deo.html
It is true that there are classical influences in some Deep Purple stuff, but these are mostly not in the riffs. Most of their riffs are very much blues-influenced, and so is Smoke on the Water - that's just standard blues stuff. (As mentioned in the video I linked, Smoke on the Water riff sounds suspiciously similar to an older bossa nova song. It may be a coincidence or subconscious influence, though, because this combination of notes is such a basic blues pattern.)
Was looking for this
It is so educational to watch you explore modern popular rock from a purely classical perspective. I always thought of riffs, ostinatos, and leit motifs being from different galaxies in my mind. Now I'm forced to imagine Bach listening to and analyzing Foghat. So many rock musicians studied classical piano, at least in passing, as children. So I guess parsing and extracting their classical influences back out of the music makes sense.
Hi Amy! As usual this video is amazing!
I won't give advices about who you should listen or shouldn't listen to, I'm just saing that you should go to a rock concert. Chose a rock band you get familiar to, and go to a live performance!
I've never listened to a live symphonic concert, but the first time I listen to "Ode to joy" played not in my headphones but with a professional system, with the right speakers ... it was something inexplicable! And I think that in a live concert is should be even better!
You've just started listening to rock music in a home context, "filtered" by headphones or by a Hi-Fi system ... you should go to a performance in a live contex, with the open sound, surrounded by people like you singing, screaming, jumping and air guitaring.
All different kind of stuff!
Enjoy it as much as you can!
Have nice music!
The quintessential rock guitar riff/vocal performance: 'Mama' (1971) live on GTK by Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, the loudest band on the planet. Brilliant and brutal, complete with guitar and keyboard solo's and vocal scatting. Blues rock nirvana. The Aztecs (Australia) were a big influence on AC/DC.
I am a professional guitarist and have been teaching contemporary guitar for 12 years. Excited to learn a thing or 2 from you and Graehme in this video.
One thing regarding to RIFFs, as I see it, they are a sort of sinthesys of rythmic and melodic features in a very short piece of music, always reapeted a number of times, but specifically designed to draw the attention of the listener very quickly, that means, thay have to be very "catchy" and not boring. Rock music has its roots in blues music and from its inception it is formed by very simple and maybe obvious (to the academic listener) musical elements, both rythmic and harmonic, so, above all what has to stand out is the creativity of the songwriter.
The electric guitar is not just the think held and played, but also the peddles, effects, and amplifiers.
The most wonderful thing about the guitar is that it's been redesigned and re-engineered by players all over the world. It's a great form of expression and there's really no 'right' or 'wrong' way of playing. There have been so many innovators in the hands of unique artists who pushed the envelope for the instrument including Jimi Hendrix's explosive tone all the way to Sonic Youths weird tunings. It's exciting to think about and to wonder if there could be any new innovations for the future. I think most of the newer innovations in last few years has been around digital emulations of popular amplifiers. That Fender Tone Master series for example is pretty amazing.
To make a little contribution and suggestion; Mike Oldfield has an album that's made only with guitars, not only electric guitars, all types of guitars including acoustics, classicals and some synthed electric ones, if that's the correct term. For the whole album, he did all the sounds, including percussion sounds, all with various guitars. It's a great album to listen and experience the variety of sounds you can produce with a guitar, especially electric ones. Suggested to anyone who might be interested.
Edit: Forgot to name the album because, the title is literally "Guitars"
Which album is that?
@@anthonyphilips7171 Oh sorry, its title is literally "Guitars"
I would like to see your take on "Great Gig in the Sky" by Pink Floyd.
The greatest thing about the electric guitar is not the guitar itself but the fact that we drive amplifiers beyond their optimum capability to overdrive the tubes of tube amplifiers, when the rest of the world moved on to the clarity of solid state and then digital amplification, guitar alone thrived on overdriven tube amplifiers as the desired result.
Now that you have had a brief intro into the 'nuts and bolts' of the electric guitar I suggest, as many others have, that to hear it played in the most expressive way there is one most essential port of call - anything by David Gilmour, late of Pink Floyd.
In my opinion, widely shared, the solo which concludes the song 'Comfortably Numb' is an extrordinary expression of feeling by a musician of any genre on any instrument. This just happens to be by David Gilmour on the electric guitar.
The way he builds the solo to the final pitch of intensity of feeling is monumental. I am usually in tears by then.
'Comfortably Numb' is always the finale of a Gilmour live show. There many versions. The one I think is the most intense is the performance '2015 in South America. Live from Allianz Parque, São Paulo, Brazil DEC 12/2015'. The whole show is a wonderful example of 'plugged in' rock music.
It clearly resonates with people. This YT video has been viewed over 8.2 million times.
Bear in mind that there is a huge range of tones and sounds possible with electric guitars that were not demonstrated here, probably due to time constraints. They are not all rough and/or terribly loud by any means
The talk box would have been interesting to see presented and demonstrated to Amy.
Anybody want to have her hear "Cliffs of Dover"? I think she'd really dig it.
Thank you for this wonderful conversation with Graehme. He certainly was knowledgeable about the guitar, a skilled guitar player and an articulate speaker.
Talking about using the guitar as a means of expression, one bit of music immediately came to mind; "Prince Rupert's Lament" on King Crimson's Lizard album--which is actually the last of three songs that comprise a suite titled "The Battle Of Glass Tears". It's more than making a guitar cry, it's Robert Fripp expressing the emotion of mourning in a more immediate way. I would say it puts "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" to shame, but it's an unfair comparison. There is nothing gentle about Prince Rupert's Lament, it's gut-wrenching anguish and despair played only on guitar with Fripp's signature infinite sustain and backed only by a kind of death march by bass guitar and kettle drums. The only thing on the subject I can think of with similar expressive intensity is "Great Gig in the Sky" by Pink Floyd, but it uses vocals and keyboards for most of its expressive power instead of guitar.
One other thing to keep in mind as far as composition, and how a guitar player (particularly rhythm guitar players), thinks about composition, is simply in following the chord progressions. While riffs are catchy, and are typically what stick with us, knowing how to follow chord progressions is equally, if not more important. The really good guitar players are masters of applying rhythm and chord voicings to the progression that really make them stand out. Of course, riffs and chord progressions go hand in hand, with the riff often being a component of the chord progression.
After watching this particular video I think a little Peter Frampton might be in order just to throw Amy a little curveball on electric guitar.
@@steveh7108 Yeah, he forgot to demo the talk box. How can he have missed that? After all if she is going to do certain Frampton or Joe Walsh songs then the talk box is essential guitar related equipment.😁
@@LeeKennison 😊👍
I went from learning the basics of guitar with chords to discovering the band Yes and wanting to learn to play their songs. From there I wanted to learn more of Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, The Moody Blues. Which then led to learning keys, rifts and licks. Then as I matured appreciating Jazz guitar.
It would be interesting to hear an electric guitar do the same riff going though different sound box/pedals to hear the diversity that can be brought to the stage.
Probably, most of the people here watching this video are electric guitar players (as myself) looking to see your reaction to this instrument, so most or all of the talking here presented is not new for us, but I trully was amazed by the depth of knowledge and attention to detail that the guitar teacher featured in this video gives on this topic. Very good interview.
Personally, I'd love to hear you experience, and subsequently analyse and break down, 'La Villa Strangiato', from the album 'Hemispheres' by Rush. I refer to the studio version, in the first instance (even though the live versions are worth experiencing, too, perhaps prior to your analytical video, to actually see how the various sounds are created).
I suggest it because, first, it's an instrumental piece. Second, because it encompasses much of what you discussed, here.
P.S. It was interesting to see the cover to Rush's Fly by Night album, behind Graehme's head; and then he goes and plays Limelight, after I wrote this!! 😊
I second this request and the fly by night thing as well 👍👍
I definitely recommend music by Yes: 'Close to the Edge' or 'Awaken'. You will hear a lot you know and stuff that's new for you come together.
The 'development' of ideas is exactly what a lot of progressive rock and metal is
I have been listening to Rock music since 1962 and I can honestly say that in watching your discussion the amount I learnt was immeasurable. Please do this type of video again, possibly exploring other instruments or genres and sub-genres.
Though some may regard it as sacrilege, while you are playing any piece, pause as much as you want to to get your immediate reaction and thoughts out to your audience as that is the purpose of your reaction videos; after all, most of your viewers will be familiar with what you are playing, so one listen interspersed with comments should not hurt.
Also, if you were surprised by a guitar sounding like a horn, take a listen to Pink Floyd's Echoes where David Gilmour makes the instrument sound like a seagull.
I was thinking that if you listened to something like "I can't Keep from Crying" (Winterland 1975 recording), with Alvin Lee playing what is essentially a very long guitar solo, you could not do a reaction video without pausing in the guitar solo. In this piece he displays a range of guitar techniques in a jazz-blues type piece that includes an organ in the background, picking, strumming and tapping the strings on the frets as well as using the mike stand as a bottle neck and down tuning a string during the piece then bringing back up again in a progression. I mention this since there is a reaction video to organs in rock groups.
The beginning of British rock guitar was Hank Marvin, of Cliff Richard's Shadows. Listen to his Stratocaster playing, which influenced pretty much every great British guitarist. He played short, memorable melodies, something George Harrison obviously picked up on. Still active today, still making gorgeous music in Australia.
I disagree. Hank Marvin influenced a lot of Brits (myself included) to start playing, but the Shadows' musical style unless backing melodious rock-n-roller Cliff Richards was surf music. British rock guitar grew from R&B groups like the Rolling Stones and Animals, who were copying black American blues players (and introduced blues to white Americans). One of the blues greats famously said, "Those British guys want to play the blues so bad. And they do".
@@mimikurtz2162 Nah, I think op is right. Just about every British guitarist in that generation, from Eric Clapton to Tony Iommi, called him a major influence. I'm pretty sure I've seen a Tony Iommi interview where he said Marvin was the reason he started playing.
@@daveqr Yes, he influenced them to start playing, but it ended there. That is not the same as influencing their style or genre. Hank Marvin was NOT a rock musician, and no early rock guitarists copied him as professionals or took his music forward.
I watched a t.v. bio about Neil Young while in Canada in 2003. He also said he was hugely influenced by Hank Marvin.
@@toniyoung5131 In what way?
Amped violin? NeObliviscaris are masterful at blending a distorted violin in a progressive metal song. Its absolutely fantastic. I recommend Forget Not,Eyrie,or Intra Venus for a true rollercoaster ride. All instruments shine without sounding muddy. The drums are top notch,the bass is phenomenal while dual guitars and vocals blend perfectly. Highly recommend them!
Don't forget that there are as many genres or styles within rock as there are within classical music. Punk rock is distinctly different from progressive/classical rock which is different from metal and hard rock, and that may be different from blues rock or country rock, etc. So there is no single concept about how rock music will be composed or structured. Some rock pieces are very simple (verse, chorus, verse), while some - especially progressive/symphonic rock - may be extremely complex and be a rock equivalent of a classical piece (sometimes even using classical music instruments, such as the harp, the church organ, or the background played by a symphony orchestra). Also, some pieces are short (one-three minutes), while other pieces are 10, 15 or 20 minutes long. When it comes to the sound of the rock guitar - it is also so diversified that you can't speak of any one style. Graehme has shown you the overdrive sound of the guitar, but it can be as little as the completely clean sound (with maybe a bit of some delay, chorus or reverberation added in) all the way to a guitar that drives electronic instruments and thus producing ethereal, unusual sounds.
Graehme is using a guitar with humbucker pickups - pickups that uses two wire coils to cancel out the noisy interference picked up by single coil pickups, on a Gibson Les Paul. The "cutting board" he was referring to is a Fender Telecaster. It is also a solid body, but normally comes with two single coil pick ups, and the strings load through the body as opposed to over the bridge. They do give different tones, and I would think that because the Tele strings through the wood body, the material would matter more. If you strum an unplugged Tele, you will get more resonance than you might imagine. You would never actually play it that way, but it does give off sound. The differences between the two is mitigated once effects pedals come in.
Having been a musician for over 50 years and able to play 7 different instruments I think it would have been more interesting for Amy to hear some of the variety of sounds you can get from the electric guitar rather than the composition of songs. The electric guitar is extremely versatile and he spent more time explaining composition of rock rather than showing her the plethora of sounds you can create. ✌️♥️🇬🇧
As an aspiring musician of over 45 years and barely able to sort of play 3 different instruments, I'm not one to disagree with you, coot; it *was* more of a discussion than a demonstration. It's expositive nature, however, was offset by the fact that it was a completely excellent discussion and the establishment of a conceptual framework for the electic guitar's role in rock seemed to be illuminating for Amy. Maybe they could do a follow-up/sequel wherein Graehme explores some of the tonal possibilities of the instrument, providing Amy with some insight into what she's hearing?
@@grievouserror yes, it was interesting. Maybe a mention of Chuck Berry would have been a good example of how the electric guitar became more than just a background instrument. Only showing her the typical rock distortion didn't really demonstrate much. Some soft flanger, phazer, reverb or echo would have been nice. As you say, maybe they can cover this another time. Any half decent multi effects peddle, like a Roland can achieve this. And this is coming from someone whose primary instruments is drums. 😁 great to discuss with you dude. ✌❤🇬🇧
Sounds like a great video for another day!
@@rosewoodsteel6656 blimey. I'm always surprised when someone answers a comment I made ages ago 😂 yer, at the time I hoped that I would get a reply from Amy, but I've noticed that as soon as a You Tuber opens a patreon account they stop worrying about YT and concentrate on keeping the paying customers happy. These days I don't bother commenting to the person, it's more aimed at other people like your good self. Thanks for the reply. ✌️♥️🇬🇧
Amy, another very big thing to understand, is the format of radio and the advent of FM stations.
AM was really the only format people had in cars, from the 30s through the early 1960s. You bought a car/truck..AM radio.
AM radio was basically a money format. 40 popular songs(which were played repeatedly during the day). Basically, the station was in control of what you listened to.
You heard the fluff music that had catchy melodies and lyrics. Think of a classical station only playing 1812 Ov., Claire de Lune, and other overly well known cl music. No one ever heard lizt, Shummann, vivaldi, . Longer pieces like Gismonde Troi, Isle of the Dead, et al never heard.
Rock songs were short, to the point and usually about love.
Then.....FM. Now, longer pieces were played, more obscure music was played and a following developed, centered on most of the songs of an album. The world changed with FM stations.
Also the length of songs and the lyrics changed to reflect social conditions.
So much more Nuance involved.
We have the benefit of a lifetime of listening....hope you can dial it all in
Also, studio recordings evolved.
At the start, band stood in front of a microphone and sang. Song recorded. Later the addition and subtraction of sounds and musical/vocal parts were experimented with.
Rock music began to shift away from vocals supported by band, to the bands musicianship being the focus. More to come....
Very informative - thank you all.
Another great vid, thank you. A lot of Rock music comes out of the 'Jamming' process. A freedom that comes from the fact that the majority of rock musicians do not read formal music, but they have an advanced ability to feel and intuit music, as it unfolds. Question: Do classical musicians Jam? This would be a great subject in an of itself.
Neil Giraldo of Pat Benatar fame has a really great natural flow to his guitar work. Very innovative and energetic. Knows how to back up and match the vocal lines in a song. He is my favourite due to his ability to evoke emotions and atmospheres so well.
and very under rated. Excellent guitar player!
@@pauljohnstone180 A truer statement has never been made, I'll throw Gary Richrath in there as well
His playing on Precious time was outstanding.
Agreed, he rocks but has such a sense of melody too!
18:50 barracuda, HELL YES!!
A pickup doesn't pick up the string's sound as mentioned in the beginning of this video.
The pickup contains a magnet and a coil, the magnet creates a tiny magnetic filed and when the stings which is a piece of metal wire, vibrates in that magnetic field, it changes the magnetic field slightly - that's a physical fact.
These changes in the magnetic filed, create a low current in the pickup's coil - another physical phenomena, and these currents are then amplified by the amplifier.
So the short story is that a pickup converts movement into electric current which is amplified.
This is why the type of wood for example from which the guitar is made of, has a very little affect on how the guitar will sound, I know that die hard guitar players will not agree, but hey, physics!
The middle guitar movement by Dave Navarro in the song Three Days is magnificent. Supremely sonic!!
Musical expression is born out of many things, but mostly intimately through personal experiences which, particularly in the rock genre, can be very intense. Metal, espeically, has this engine like quality with many gears, sounds and power. Like orchestral music, metal can have many transitions and intricacies and also elicit deep emotions and healing as well. Thank you for your thoughts.
Wonderfull class or classes, Thank both of you
Very cool! 😀👍 Also the _Rush_ poster on Graehme's wall! 😁👍
Listening to this informative discussion, I would speculate that a guitar "lick" is akin to Baroque improvised ornamentation. Listening to "historically informed" performances of music by JS Bach and others, the ornamentation introduced by individual players is similar if you consider that as an analogue to how licks are used when developing a guitar melody or solo, which in a rock song functions much like a concerto cadenza but in a very compressed number of bars of music (if it is notated).
I like the fact he has a Rush Fly by Night poster behind him. 👍
Rock is EXTREMELY diverse, and I'll tell you that as a former classical singer myself who is a big rock fan. While this guy did a good intro, I think he didn't try and confuse you with just how diverse rock and metal are. Progressive rock and metal for example has big themes of classical music in it much more than your straight ahead popular rock music. You will start getting 10, 20, 30, etc minute songs and complete movements of music. There is another UA-cam channel on here from a classical composer who has gotten quite into progressive rock, and also metal by exploring those subgenres.
I think you would get a kick out of the band Dream Theater. Their keyboardist went to Julliard for classical piano when he was 8 or 9 years old. A lot of the other members went to Berklee College of Music for more contemporary music. I think you'd also get a kick out of guitarists such as Steve Vai or Yngwie Malmsteen as well.
I would love to see this same type of discussion about rock drumming.
PS: wonderfully done you guys.
I love your interesting studies of music that you're not familiar with. It makes me listen differently to one of my favorite genres. I'm not sure if you're familiar with them, but there is a set of twin sisters, Camille and Kennerly Kitt, who are harpists who use their instruments to cover a lot of classic rock.
They have good stuff.
Suggestions for fun:
Martin Mull -- "Licks Off of Records"
PDQ Bach -- "New Horizons in Music Appreciation"
If you are looking for musicians to interview I strongly suggest Leland Sklar, a bass player. He has his own UA-cam channel so should be open to collaboration. He has been playing with multiple bands across all genres since the mid-1960s.
Truly an interesting conversation. Hearing the different worlds of classical and rock, with their very different technical vocabularies and paradigms, find common understanding and translation between terminology makes for a highly educational video.
Not what I was expecting, I'd somehow thought you might be getting more of the 'nuts and bolts' of the instrument, or perhaps going through some of the different sounds it can produce, clean, distorted, wahh etc.
That ability to electronically modify the sound really does make the guitar one of the most versatile instruments around.
Graehme is awesome. Can’t wait to hear you analyze some Rush🇨🇦 Love your reactions Amy!
0:45 He spelled his name, and still you get it wrong...
@@michavandam thanks for spotting that. I did have an ‘h’ in there! Darn autocorrect!
Rush is awesome. Have been a fan since 1977.
True musician. Has a RUSH poster on his wall.