I can't believe Finnissy got no love. Sheesh.

In all seriousness, I love this set by Yngwie Malmsteen. Yeah, it's an hour of him playing with the New Japan Philharmonic:



Okay, that is two from Malmsteen, and I'll have people thinking I'm some huge fan. I'm not really, just wanted to put out some rarities I like.

I'm not arguing about the degree of difficulty involved in actually sounding a note because I am operating on the assumption that it is vanishingly small when compared to the act of actually creating music. Operating an air powered lug wrench takes a little practice, operating a multi meter takes a little more, but comparing those things with say, playing a Rachmaninoff sonata in a different key as a 7/4 latin joint is comparing apples to the space shuttle. I mean who cares where Faulkner went to grammar school.

Playing the piano is more complex because it allows for more meaningful complexity. That complexity is meaningful which adds to the creation of music. It is the product that matters. And whatever instrument allows for the most complex product is the most complex instrument and thus the hardest to master. There are other definitions of complexity but they do not bear directly on the creation of music. You can argue that intonation, timber w/e are meaningful dimensions but I would argue that they are merely stylistic and while they may provide an identity, they do not provide a body. The organism itself needs first to live before it can adopt a mode of life. These things seem more or less clear to me but perhaps they are unconvincing to others.

Anyway, if the above is accepted then what we have is an instrument where 10 fingers are free to create music using as many as 15 or 16 notes across 3 octaves (if the player has big hands) in any combination, permutation or concatenation.


This paragraph is wholly irrelevant to any argument I presented.

With respect to the piano it is the ability to play any song with which one is sufficiently familiar to hum out loud, in any key, any style creating an original, convincing and moving arrangement spontaneously and blowing bad azz lines over all of it. Which incidentally would be my definition for mastery of any musical instrument to the extent physically allowed.

Of course by that definition Van Cliburn would likely not have mastered the piano which is rofl, but great classical musicians who only recite historical works would be a special case and an exception would be made, the only one.

This is essentially wrong.

This is essentially right.

That's just gotta be the worst kind of bullsh** metaphysical cop out in the history of trolling.

You hit the range instructor man, he's dead.

You're really kind of a dick, you know that?

You want to start up a thread to debate which instrument is harder to play, have at it. But those are the only 2 things you brought up from my post?

I honestly do not believe an instrument cannot be mastered. So do a lot of people, especially players of instruments. As for "Mastering what YOU DO", what is wrong with that? Players that truly know and understand their own voice have mastered what they can do on an instrument. They feel or think it, they can play it. Not all of them have the physical or technical abilities to play everything possible, but they probably don't want to. But if their goal is an expression of themselves and their ideas, and they do that flawlessly, how did they not master what THEY DO on an instrument?

And you BOLD "Im missing a few points on my side of the this discussion" while not addressing any of the numerous points that I made. What is that?

Someone is really stinking up this thread.

my trumpet teacher when i was a kid was one of the main guys who helped arturo get out of cuba and immigrate to america.

got to meet him and see him perform a few times, really amazing trumpet player.

Very nice!

I was about to non-tradtional the thread up for my next pick

Don't you mean the climax occurs at 4:34 am in the morning, after a night of illustrious cocaine and hookers?

I purchased that silly album when it first came out and was impressed. Of course, I was young and naïve. Jimmy was good, but many were/are better by miles and miles of steel guitar strings. Country hicks like: Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Doc Watson, and Ricky Skaggs come to mind. Blues guitars by so many bloody buckets full I'll refrain from giving names as the list would be too long. I'll let Kudzu fill in the blanks. (Hi kudzu, I missed you). Not to mention a boat load of classical and flamingo style guitarists (including lute players that still think Vivaldi kicks ass).

My contribution is Cannon's Blues. By Cannonball Adderley and friends. It includes drum solos, bass solos, piano solos, sax solos and combinations of all in conjunction with a blissful quality that makes all the contributions of the players more wonderful. It wipes away the egomania of the one for the greater good and quality of the music.

Can't find a video of this particular song due to my inadequate internet skills I suppose. So just find it or purchase it and give it a listen.

This post is dedicated to Sonny Rollins.

I think I found it for you, Zeno:

And please, no. This has been done before. Jimmy Page is a terrible guitarist who murdered a bunch of old blues guys and raped all their wives. We get it.

This thread is about posting solos you think are underrated. So if you can think of one, post it.

Good point A-rod. Got it. Let's move on............

Unheralded? Underrated? Underappreciated?

I nominate Leo Kottke. Pretty much everything he has ever done since he is a soloist.



Welcome back Kudzu!!!!!!!

leo underrated and under appreciated?

me thinks not.

He is in the lounge. He never gets mentioned here other than by me. He is more underrated than Jimmy Page for sure

Underrated SOLOS. Not musicians. Sheesh people.

I don't spend my hours listening to obscure bands, I'm sorry. You can be an overrated guitarist and have an underrated solo.

Dry County by Bon Jovi, I would say Wanted Dead or Alive or Bed of Roses but those are more widely known, this is a true hidden treasure.. starts at 4:40.. lasts till 7:something.. worth every second https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK_0owG3dwc

Nice submission. Never heard that song before.

Reminds me to post this one. Only in Dreams by Weezer. If you aren't familiar with the song it's ****ing amazing and you should give the entire song a listen. And the solo is elite. It's a jam song but for a jam song it's ridic. Not even really sure where the guitar "solo" begins. Technically probably about 7:15 but you should start listening from 4:59 I think, all the way through the end of the song.

Eric Johnson is one of those unique players who constantly blew me away with his playing, but every time he sang on a song, I'd want to throw up. For the most part, I'm fine with skipping most of those songs, but this one, it's worth it for the solos. Skip to 1:33 - 2:34, then skip again to 3:18 till the end



"All About Eve" is another one of his with phenomenal guitar work and annoying vocals.

Rivers is a pretty freaking dope guitar player. And he is capable of a lot more then he puts on record. Dude can rip!!!!

i love weezer. and not just cuz they have a song about my name.

I can't believe somebody named their kid Undone (The Sweater Song). Your parents must have been hippies.

they actually were big hippies, but its "beverly hills" not undone.

actually a funny story, so like 10 years ago i'm in seattle and i go into a starbucks, this is right after they just started asking for your name when you order.
so the girl taking my order asks me my name and when i tell her swear to ****ing god (and i'm 23 at the time) she says: "oh were your parents big weezer fans?"

.................................

i was so tempted to be like "ya my name was actually mike till i was 18 then they forced me to change it".