Thanks for the Silence

I once had a friend who played the guitar very well. We both were in the same band and we used to play rock and roll and blues standards. We rehearsed a lot and got many gigs in town. I think our sound was pretty good and most of all, we had the time of our lives.

Well, this friend of mine was very good at soloing. He could play amazing guitar solos very fast and actually it was very impressive. It was good for our show and people were delighted with him. Everything was going well but I started noticing something.

Every time he played a solo, no matter what song it was, he did the same thing. Fast scales, thousands of notes per second, impressive techniques, etc. It was ok in the beginning but then it was annoying.

I think guitar players must be very tactful and be able to play just what the song needs. You just can’t always play the same fast stuff and show off your speed as if you were in a race. A good guitar player must know when to play quietly or what it’s more, you should know when silence is better.

So, don’t worry about being the fastest player. Speed is important but that’s not the only thing to develop. Worry about melody, arrangements, silences, etc. That’s the main difference between music and a circus show.