Liog/Dave style stum pickign

[Matty Boom]

Phatnev

1st. You are learning a style of playing that makes Dave so F___ ing good

dave isnt THAT good. yeah he's got a unique style, but he's not a god on guitar. just throwin that out there.

one thing is for sure...he's better than me, i have trouble playin "his style"

I will give you credit for Dave "not being a god", but you certainly cannot say "Dave isn't that good". Dave might not be the soloing, crazy riff master that Jimi Hendrix is; But his style is incredibly unique and extremely brilliant. Dave has a much different way of playing and doesn't play yur typical open chords. I'm sure this is all obvious. But as you said "one thing is for sure....he's better than me", wait until he's not better than you before you make a statement like "Dave isn't that good"

i can make that statement "dave isnt that good" because it's true! in the grand scheme of the guitar world, dave is nowhere near the top 100 guitarists...hell, he's admitted it!

and you wanna know why he's not that good? because all his songs, even though many of them have creatively written parts to them, can ALL be learned (and perfected) in a year if you work at it enough. i'm sure the top guitarists/song writers of the world, their repertoire could not be learned and perfected in a year.

the man formed a band that i have loved for the past 6 years, he's the reason i started playing guitar. however, it doesnt mean that he's the awesome player that people on this site make him out to be.

most of the rational folks here have a rational take on dave's abilities (or our perception of them)

no one here would probably argue that dave could pull off a stevie or a hendrix solo

but, he's an absolutely wonderful rhythm guitarist and he's a pretty damn good songwriter too (as far as him pretty much bringing up his own style, imo)

so, say whatever you want...but when dave matthews has a guitar in his hand, he's a very gifted individual

[mikee]

Very well put Matty.

The whole "learning all Dave songs in a year" is a bad example. If you work hard enough, you could learn most shit in a year. Depends on how much time you want to put into it.

Not only is Dave an AWESOME guitarist, he also plays so effortlessly; which allows him to dance like a funky whiteboy. And, his vocals are superb! Playing exceptional rhythm, dancing like a funky whiteboy, and singing....must mean he is a verry good guitarist. Most great guitarists focus so much on their playing, while they're playing, that they don't have the option to dance....and still sing on key. If Dave sat there and just played guitar I'm sure your opinion would change. Maybe I'm dead wrong. Either way, we're talking about two different opinions.

[mikee]

Oh and one other thing:

About Dave admitting he is not in the top 100 guitarists, you're right. But Dave wouldn't put himself in the top 100 of anything...that's just how his humbleness is.

[eks8597]

Dave's strength is his singing, he doesn't do guitar solos but he does do voice solos, that is where he is wailing and just making stuff up. He's one of the top 100 in the world at that, which is of course arguable but the top 100 guitarists is very arguable too of course. But the fact that he is also pretty decent at guitar is very cool too. 8)

[mikee]

Yeah no one can agree on the issues at hand, that's what makes us all individualists. I personally think, Dave is an incredible guitarist. But I also think, it's debatable.

[barneco2000]

IMO, it's a great style to learn. Strum picking adds such a dynamic element to your sound...especially when you're playing solo. The key, as most everyone is saying, is selective muting. It not really that hard when you get it down....after a bit, it becomes intuitive and your fingers learn to do it automatically. I may get flamed for this , but if your hands are big enough, utilize your thumb. We're not playing classical music, after all. I have big hands, so I can reach all the way to the D string with my thumb when i need to mute for playing higher notes. Helps with stuff like the very end of 41...etc.