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Looper's Delight
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> >But the end result is the same. The solo ends up set in stone, to be > >recited in an identical manner with each new performance of the music > >whether it be a pop song or a classical piece. With a few exceptions > >(there are always exceptions) the solo does not change. This >contradicts > >your earlier assertion that the pop solo always changes. > > In my experience, the converse is true. Except for things such as the > first solo in Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb", solos (and I suppose that > I'm speaking of guitar solos at this point, since I haven't been able to > recall a significant number of keyboard solos in pop/rock) are winged > each time. Maybe they start the same, or there's an ending lick that it > moves towards, but usually not. One of the things that I, and the > guitarists that I've run into look forward to in a solo is the chance to > make something new on the spot. This is probably more true pop music from the 70s or earlier. More recent pop solos that I have heard live are reproductions of the recorded versions. You might recall a recent complaint by Eric Clapton that not enough players today in rock are willing to solo in a truly off-the-cuff manner. > >> Think about the amazing amount of attention that guitarists pay to > >> solos--why is that? In pop music, a solo may only occupy 10% of a >song. > >> 90% of the time a guitarist is playing rhythm--why so much energy >spent > >> on considering solos? > > > >Is this truly unique to guitar players? How about sax players, >keyboardists, > >and other soloing musicians. > > > Pop (non-jazz) keyboard players, on the other hand...I don't know. I >was > hoping that some keyboard players (those who view keyboards as their > primary instrument) would speak up regarding this. Kim, as always, is > quick to defend non-guitar music from the Six String Klan, but I think > even he is more of a guitarist than a keyboard player. I too hope a keyboardist will speak up because none of the keyboard players I have met were particularly interested in soloing in a pop context. Maybe in a jazz context but of course we're not talking about jazz here. Bass players I've met tended to be more impressed by a good bass groove than ripping bass solos. My guess is that because guitar is the featured instrument in rock and pop (sorry, I can hardly tell the difference), the guitarist is expected to solo more than the keyboardist. > Someone, I believe it was Kim, said that he enjoyed the more ego-free > attitude in dance/electronic music, and while I'm opposed to excessive > ego in any field, I've never been entirely convinced of the stance of > synth humility. The whole "all solos are masturbatory, boring and > needless" is as groundless as "all dance music is boring, repititive and > needless". I'd prefer that guitarists have less self-importance, and > keyboard players have more, to reach a happy mean. Although, as far as >I > can tell, the Age of Shred has been gone for some years now, and the > guitarist who wishes to flount his technical ability needs to go to the > independent labels that cater to metal. > > Please, keyboard players, speak up. Might I suggest the keyboardists in electronica _do_ solo, but not in the way you'd expect to hear them? Paolo Valladolid --------------------------------------------------------------- |Moderator of Digital Guitar Digest, an Internet mailing list |\ |for Music Technology and Stringed Instruments | \ ---------------------------------------------------------------- | \ finger pvallado@waynesworld.ucsd.edu for more info \ | \ http://waynesworld.ucsd.edu/DigitalGuitar/home.html \| -----------------------------------------------------------------