Songs Aren't As Important As Picking Perfection

Two highly overrated players I'd be totally ok with never hearing ever again.

I was obsessed with Di Meola as a teenager, and have almost all of his discography. Now, I find him all but unlistenable. He's the anti-Midas; he takes music I love and makes it lame.

And Yngwie is a novelty act. A guy who spins plates and nothing else; fun for 5 minutes, and then the longer it goes, the worse it gets.
 
Flamencology said:
Two highly overrated players I'd be totally ok with never hearing ever again.

I was obsessed with Di Meola as a teenager, and have almost all of his discography. Now, I find him all but unlistenable. He's the anti-Midas; he takes music I love and makes it lame.

And Yngwie is a novelty act. A guy who spins plates and nothing else; fun for 5 minutes, and then the longer it goes, the worse it gets.
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You're focusing on the wrong thing. You should be working on your pick rotation. Not how Al DiMeola interprets Mediterranean music.

Focus.
 
Even if I could learn to play like that, which I can't. I wouldn't want to because the sounds produced are not the slightest bit appealing to me.
I think it's neat that they can play like that, but after 30 seconds I gotta say "uncle"
 
I won't bother listening to either.

DiMeola never struck a chord with me...he was by far the weakest link in the Trio, who while a bit of novelty themselves had two particularly singular and important voices in McLaughlin, but especially De Lucia.

Yngwie is a rehashed, coked up, myopic, and uninteresting take on Ritchie Blackmore that went to inspire others to do the same...for that he is persona non grata for my ears (that being the crappy music he made despite the a technique that was clearly prodigious to many, not the lack of ability to control others and prevent them from copying him).

The music ALWAYS come first and these two lack any of the type of musicality that I find appealing. I'd appreciate the ability of Al, but I'd trade it in a second to write tunes like and perform like Ben Harper.
 
IamSeaDevil said:
Even if I could learn to play like that, which I can't. I wouldn't want to because the sounds produced are not the slightest bit appealing to me.
I think it's neat that they can play like that, but after 30 seconds I gotta say "uncle"
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It's not so much about playing as fast they do. It's more about having the command to play what you want to hear and be comfortable at it.

In all his videos it boils down to rotating your pick just ever so slightly so the pick brushes the string as opposed to getting caught in a flat position.
 
Dogsinotpalc said:
I won't bother listening to either.

DiMeola never struck a chord with me...he was by far the weakest link in the Trio, who while a bit of novelty themselves had two particularly singular and important voices in McLaughlin, but especially De Lucia.

Yngwie is a rehashed, coked up, myopic, and uninteresting take on Ritchie Blackmore that went to inspire others to do the same...for that he is persona non grata for my ears (that being the crappy music he made despite the a technique that was clearly prodigious to many, not the lack of ability to control others and prevent them from copying him).

The music ALWAYS come first and these two lack any of the type of musicality that I find appealing. I'd appreciate the ability of Al, but I'd trade it in a second to write tunes like and perform like Ben Harper.
Click to expand...

It's a picking lesson. Not a mock trial.
 
You know what would make both of those guys truly great?

The ability to construct a melody.

They both need to learn and return.
 
James Franciscus said:
What about the lesson?
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interesting. speed picking is not something I am proficient at (I generally don't play that way). but. i'll give it a whirl next time I have the guitbox out.

then I'll revert to my usual noodling and plinking and plonking whilst I watch Family Guy.

:mth::mmad::markfacepalm:
 
I like his observations on Eric Johnson - that Yngwie's "Sweep Picking" and Eric Johnson's "Picking" are almost the same process but used completely differently.
 
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