Hi, gang!
Let's talk about space. Not studio recording space. Sonic space. Your guitar part. We all want to be heard, to stand out, to express something with a guitar.
...
But instead of defining
Hi, gang!
Let's talk about space. Not studio recording space. Sonic space. Your guitar part. We all want to be heard, to stand out, to express something with a guitar.
But instead of defining ourselves clearly and concisely, we muddy up our own message, our own voice. Let's see if you are as guilty of this as I am.
Playing sessions means making the other party happy. In most cases, it is a producer. Producers don't necessarily care about your legacy as a guitarist. They care about putting out the finest product they can. And that means satisfying a market.
So when they tell me what to do, I do it. If all goes well and I hear something the producer or artist hasn't, I'll suggest it. If it works, better for me. However, a trend started a long time ago...(spinning-hourglass visual...)
This trend was to double almost everything. Rhythm guitar on the left and right. Double the electric rhythms with acoustic guitars on the left and right. Double the acoustic guitars with high-strung acoustics on the left and right. Add some really heavy guitars on the chorus on the left and right. Made a big juicy sound.
Add some color guitars, tremolo, chicken pickin' tick-tock guitars. Single strums. Then a solo, often harmonized and written out. Often the producer wasn't even a guitarist. Many times the solos I was asked to play were lame. I didn't even want my name on some recordings. That stuff could kill a reputation fast. And it almost did years ago. Anyway, as a budding arranger/producer in my own right, I learned this style and did OK.
Move forward to today (hourglass visual spinning in reverse). I started noticing fatigue setting in. Listening to music. I was getting