solacematt
New Member
So this is inspired my MikeD's thread about not feeling he's a very good guitar player. This got me thinking about a few things, namely what matters to you more as a person who plays the guitar. Technique and how good a musician you are, or how good a songwriter you are? I'm 31 years old and after literally having the worst year of my life last year where I gave up pretty much everything from my job and publication, to my band for the women I thought I was about to spend the rest of my life with I picked back up what had been missing from my life for a year, the guitar.
Like many of you I picked up the guitar in my teen years. Some seem to think that your best years are those early years, but I think of those as your learning years and stepping stones where you don't really find your voice for a good ten years. Anyways, Most people I know think I'm a pretty great guitar player, and I suppose I'm decent, with the exception of one person; an ex-best friend/bass player. He was a very good technical guitar player but honestly I never really felt he could write a great song to save a life. He used to refer to me as a disgrace to the instrument because I didn't do a lot of flashy stuff (his heroes are Slash, Zakk Wylde, etc) and focused on writing songs instead. To me that's always been the most important thing as a player, and someone who plays in bands.
At the end of the day, I think all anyone wants to hear is a good song. Which is why pop radio and country does so well. Yes, there are some great players there, but first and foremost the song is at the forefront. Most of my guitar heroes (Billy Corgan, Chad Kroeger, Jerry Cantrell, Pete Loeffler, Daniel Johns) don't always show the most technical prowess but have wrote a lot of great songs. They are great songwriters.
So I ask you fellow PRS forum members, what do you consider yourself more, a guitar player (more technical) or more of a songwriter (someone who cares more about writing good songs)
Like many of you I picked up the guitar in my teen years. Some seem to think that your best years are those early years, but I think of those as your learning years and stepping stones where you don't really find your voice for a good ten years. Anyways, Most people I know think I'm a pretty great guitar player, and I suppose I'm decent, with the exception of one person; an ex-best friend/bass player. He was a very good technical guitar player but honestly I never really felt he could write a great song to save a life. He used to refer to me as a disgrace to the instrument because I didn't do a lot of flashy stuff (his heroes are Slash, Zakk Wylde, etc) and focused on writing songs instead. To me that's always been the most important thing as a player, and someone who plays in bands.
At the end of the day, I think all anyone wants to hear is a good song. Which is why pop radio and country does so well. Yes, there are some great players there, but first and foremost the song is at the forefront. Most of my guitar heroes (Billy Corgan, Chad Kroeger, Jerry Cantrell, Pete Loeffler, Daniel Johns) don't always show the most technical prowess but have wrote a lot of great songs. They are great songwriters.
So I ask you fellow PRS forum members, what do you consider yourself more, a guitar player (more technical) or more of a songwriter (someone who cares more about writing good songs)
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