I’ve never been one to hold musicianship in particularly high regard – I mean, not as a primary reason for liking a piece of music. What I mean is, I’m not drawn to music by the musical proficiency of a particular artist – I can admire it, in much the same way that I might look at a new brick wall and admire the craftsmanship, but that’s not what attracts me to the music in the first place and it’s not something that I usually spend a lot of time thinking about. Personally, I feel that musicians can sometimes get in the way of a really good song but that’s probably just me.
And when we had the question a few weeks back about our dream band the names I chose (with the possible exception of Johnny Marr) weren’t people who are in any way renowned for their musical virtuosity. They merely represented bands that I liked and I felt that they might have some sort of collective synergy (if such a thing can be said to exist).
The point of all this apparently mindless rambling (not to say, work avoidance) is that a friend of mine has just written (and had published) a book all about drummers and it got me thinking about the whole issue of musicianship and why it doesn’t grip me in the way that it clearly grips most ‘music fans’. I know that lots of ‘Spillers feel very differently about this so tell me – am I missing something?
The Shameless Plug
I haven’t read my friend’s book yet so I can’t give it an unreserved ‘go-out-and-buy-it-immediately’ type of recommendation but from a brief skim through it seems to be a damn fine read – particularly if you’re of the same sort of vintage as me (i.e. a child of the late 60s/early 70s).
Anyway, the author’s name is Spike Webb and I’ve known him since the aforementioned early 70s. Here’s an Amazon link to the book itself:
Available, as they say, in all good book shops, now …
Finally, here’s a fairly random Cozy Powell video.
PS. Apologies to tincanman for not taking part in the Drummers thread from a few days ago – for what it’s worth I would have supported maki’s – oops – magicman’s Steve Gadd shout.
I admire great musicianship, especially guitar, which I struggle with myself. I love it when it’s done subtly, in synch with a good song, and adds to the whole sound. I hate it when it’s divorced from the song, and is just showing off.
There’s nothing better than a great jazz or blues combo locking into the riff and using the groove to launch into meaningful, dynamic soloing. There’s little more boring than a bad jazz or blues combo going through the ‘guitar’s finished, piano’s next’ motions. And, although I recognize that it’s difficult to play the guitar really fast, I want to hear the notes you play and how they relate to the melody of the song. In a fun way, as I’m dancing round the room.
I will seek and destroy the book you mention. Actually I won’t destroy it, I will buy it for a drummer mate. Now then.
Musicianship is great when it’s great cf: Steve Gadd, Jimi Hendrix, Stan Getz, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Carlos Santana.
But at other times it doesn’t make any difference to me how well you play the instrument – if I don’t actually like your work. Eric Clapton for example. Reason – don’t like him because of his politics. Other very musical types don’t reach me because although their craft may be admirable, their content may be uninteresting. Not liking to diss anyone apart from Clapton I’ll leave it there, except to say that I believe audiences prefer musicians to communicate to them rather than hunch over their instrument twiddling frantically.
Clapton is an arse.
I hate his modern-day polite interpretations of the blues too. There is no feeling there at all. The album of Robert Johnson covers he did is shite.
Having said that I do like his work with Cream and Derek and the Dominoes.
Totally agree with you. Liked Cream and Derek, but every blues cover i hear him do sounds ok but relatively bland, there are always much better versions.
Punk having been a huge part of my musical upbringing, I’ve always been of the opinion that virtuosity is irrelevant to good music. My limited experience of playing in bands/with others has confirmed the view. The amateur/semi-professional music world is full of guitarists who can dweedle away meaninglessly at 250 miles a second, play note for note every solo Hendrix, Clapton or Satriani ever produced yet who have a total tin ear when it comes to listening & responding to and playing off other musicians.
True virtuosity lies in the ear, not the fingers – knowing when to play, when not to play & the feel of the noise you should produce when you do play are what makes music interesting to play and to listen to.
As an example I give you the god-like genius of John Cale – a classical prodigy and virtuoso on two instruments from an early age, his work has never relied on that fact. His most interesting music is about the sound, not the speed of the fingers.
There are a couple of artists (I won’t name names because I know there are several people who adore their work, and I don’t want to sound like a troll) whose work I hate precisely because, for me, their virtuosity is hollow – they are technically brilliant musicians who are incapable of producing a single piece of work that I find in any way engaging.
Despite punk not having been part of my musical upbringing, I agree 100% with exodus. I am always hooked into a song by the music, never the words, so it’s important to me that there is something of interest and character in what they play. Virtuosity can do that but, in most instances, it’s just plain showing off. The spaces are as important as the notes.
It’s like good acting for me: when it’s right and true, it seems effortless. I like it when the music plays the band.
‘ I like it when the music plays the band.’ – a lovely way to describe it, Chris.
(Although it’s getting close to what a Tangerine Dream fan once said to me – ‘It’s not music you listen to, it’s music that listens to you’. Put me right off the band for life.)
My exhibit A is a lot of virtuoso guitarists whose playing does nothing for me. Certainly open to dissent from any who like their work, it’s all subjective after all. But for me it’s Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai. On the other hand, there are virtuosos like Joe Bonamassa who definitely do it for me.
I agree with what everybody has said so far, for me musicianship works in two cases. When the playing makes me feel something, moves me in any way, or when the ensemble gets into a groove (doesn’t have to be an ensemble to be a groove actually).