Saturday, April 30, 2016

Musician pet peeves

I try not to be a judgmental person. Live and let live. But as a guitarist, I can’t help but have pet peeves about fellow guitarists. I’m not bagging on anyone personally and I’m sure I have some qualities that my rub others the wrong way but this is my blog so I’m gonna let my pet peeves be known.
1) ” Don’t touch my guitar” Ok… I know a man’s guitar can be like his woman but c’mon. Do you really think I’m gonna mess it up. I’m a guitar player too. Get over it, it’s just a guitar.
2)” I need to drink to play my best” I can totally relate to having a beer or two to loosen up. A few beers throughout the course of a gig is fine. If you need to get drunk before you go on stage, you will never play your best, regardless of what you think.
3)” I only know it in the key on the record” Ok, this is where the boys are separated from the men. Yes, you learn a song from the record. Maybe most bands play it in the same key. But occasionally, you will find yourself in a situation where you have to play it in another key. Learn to transpose, it’s part of being a professional musician.
4)“My amp sounds best when it’s this loud” I know we all want to be heard. Trust me, it’s a fruitless effort. While you may not be hearing yourself as well as you like two feet from your amp, the audience is getting more than enough volume twenty feet away. Maybe your amp does sound best at that volume but the band as a whole needs to sound like a unit, not a guitar player with a backing track.
5)” I just can’t get my tone” Translate to: “I’m playing like crap”. I know we all have an ideal tone and yes, there are times where things just don’t seem right with our rigs. This should not diminish your playing ability. You should be able to play just as well on a rented back line as you do on your own rig. Tone is secondary, capability is primary.
OK….I’m not trying to offend but after playing for many many years I have practiced a few of these and endured playing with people who practice some of these.


Scott

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