Originally Posted by
Mesotech
Refin, there are several key elements to your playing that are quite difficult to master. Many of them can be learned and practiced to perfection, some of them can't be - either you have it or you don't.
You do.
There's been much 'to do' about your picking technique, but what I hear from your playing goes much deeper than that alone. You have a keen sense of melody that is difficult for most to create. You play guitar like many people play piano. Meaning, when you play, you're not simply picking notes out of a canned scale pattern, but instead are playing a musical progression of notes that enhances and compliments the melody carried within. The dynamics accent the melody notes, and keep the supporting notes subdued. The phrasing compliments the piece by not rushing anything (even though you have great speed skills). When you use speed, you're not doing it to demonstrate that you 'can', you are using it to get from one place to the next. All of that is tough to do, but it can be learned and practiced to perfection.
What can't be practiced to perfection is your sense of emotion in your playing. It is something that is felt rather than heard. I have taken some of your solos apart note by note to try and grasp what it is you're doing, and even if I can play it note for note it never sounds the same as when you play it. Most times, I can't even play it.
Likewise with your sense of passion. Perhaps passion falls into the same category as emotion, but they mean different things to me. Emotion is the way you play something, the feel of the music, while passion is your love for what you're playing, what you - the artist - are feeling. When I listen to your recordings, I can tell that you love what you're doing, or you wouldn't be doing it.
Above all else, is what happens when other people listen to your playing. THEY feel good about what you've played. For me, whenever I see that you've recorded something new, I get the same feelings inside of me as when I'm standing in line for a rollercoaster ride. A sense of anxiety for what is about to come, a burning desire for it to hurry up and download so I can listen (even my 6MB/sec cable modem isn't fast enough to get the song for me). Then, as on a rollercoaster, your string of notes are like riding to the top then racing down the other side ready to climb the next hill. When it's all over, I can't wait to do it all over again, and again, and again. And that's not just me. I've played several of your recordings for other people to listen to (musicians and non-musicians) and they express the same sensations to me about what they just heard. I have yet to find someone say "eh, it was OK, but not really great". Every single one of them has been amazed and thrilled to have enjoyed the song.
I say keep doing what works. Keep working on getting better at it too. To repeat what has become a common phrase around here, it's not a race to the finish, it's a journey. Some people are just farther along the path than others. You're way on up the road from most of us, but we're on our way.