What Makes a Guitarist Special?

On my way to the blues jam at Des Moines' Copa Cavana last night my good friend Kyle brought an interesting question to my mind. As we were driving I naturally had in my favorite Stevie Ray Vaughan CD to get psyched up to play some greasy blues when he asked me what makes Stevie Ray Vaughan so special? Why do I consider him to be better than a lot of guitar players?



Stevie Ray Vaughan



Well what makes any guitar player "special"? Is the fact that they can play a barrage of notes in a matter of seconds? Is it simply that their tone is just remarkable and unlike anybody else's? Is it the fact that they are such a musical genius that they just come up with the most interesting phrasing and take a song to astronomical heights that make people go wow? Or is it simply that they are such a great performer that they captivate audiences through any circumstance or situation?

All of these things are true in my eyes. But what makes a guitar player special is a combination of all or most of these things. Take someone like Stevie Ray Vaughan for instance. In rock, blues, r&b, funk, and soul circles he is widely viewed as a guitar phenom. The guys had incredible tone, downright scary phrasing and technique, and he was also an amazing live performer.

Guitar players are a dime a dozen these days. Anybody and everybody wants to be the next Hendrix or Page or Clapton or Vaughan but the reality is only a small few will ever have a shot at reaching this level. Its a matter of not only having the skills mentioned above but also being in the right place at the right time. There are many phenomenal guitarists out there that never make it because they just don't get noticed.

Instead these guys stick to the bar and festival scene around their general area of the country, relishing off the moments they have at different shows that make people go wow. I personally think I had one of these last night because for only the second time in seven years of playing I busted a string on stage in the middle of a solo. With no backup guitar to switch to right away I instead used my knowledge of guitar and my ear to finish the solo and another two minutes of the song with only five strings. Afterwards I got a rousing ovation.

Its moments like that which make guitar players a special breed. Each and every player has his/her own skill set, tone, technique, etc that makes he/she who they are as a musician. However to be I guess what you would say "super special" is having all of these qualities in a form that captivates people and makes them go wow when they see that guitarist play.

The question I have is where is the next Hendrix or Vaughan? They only way he/she will be found in my opinion is for the public to find them a create a following for them or join an existing one. So if you don't already, get out on your local music scene and find that special guitar player waiting in the wings looking for your help as a fan to recognize their god given abilities.

Until next time keep on rocking away music lovers,

JAS

Photo courtesy of Joe Bielawa, Flickr/Creative Commons