I started playing this game
in my head: name three guitarists, then
start exploring how they defined your musical world.
Take Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix
and Eric Clapton:
How did they define musical
boundaries? Well, how about roots
(Johnson is the source), astonishment (as only Hendrix) and musicianship
(Clapton exactly right)?
What about connections? Let’s see: there’s a direct line from Johnson
to Hendrix (how did he come up with that?),
a link between Johnson and Clapton (that’s perfect for the song), and an
eternal contention for supremacy between Hendrix and Clapton in the OMG
department.
How about John Lennon, Keith
Richards and Jimmy Page? Boundaries set
by genres (Rockabilly, Blues and Celtic-Indo-European-something-or-other
Folk?). Strong connections on riffs,
riffs, riffs?
How about Woody Guthrie, Son
House and James Taylor?
How do just three names sum
up what appeals to you, where your boundaries are, what styles you dig, how you
play, what you aspire to? How do they
differ? How are they similar?
It’s a fun game. Try it.
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