Drew Vics is a guitarist living in New Jersey who has been playing rock music for about 25 years. His most recent influences are guitarists such as Mark Knopfler and James Taylor.
His self produced, debut CD, "No More Waiting" was entirely recorded, mixed and manufactured in his basement digital studio.
For more information, visit Drew's
site at www.drewvics.com. Comments may be directed to Drew Vics.
© Drew Vics
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Click here for a printer-friendly version of "Just Play It".
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Any real guitarist might say I`m not a real guitarist. At least that`s how I feel
from time to time. For the past 25 years I`ve been playing these things, doing what
I want with it, letting my influences come through on their own, not trying to mimic
any one guitarist in particular. I guess by now I`ve developed a certain original
style, by learning and playing the music of various guitarists both new and old.
Still I wonder, how original could my guitar playing be if I`ve been playing other
guitarists riffs for so long?
The answer lies in the fact that we didn`t learn how they learned and each guitarist
has his own feel for his instrument. Some guys can make the thing talk like you
wouldn`t believe, you`ll swear they have some effects hooked up but it`s all in the
way they pick and fret the notes. It`s in how they shape the sound.
At times I feel like I`m not a real guitarist because I can`t play all the scales on
purpose and tell you what they are. I can`t visually look at the fretboard and tell
you where every single note is. For me the magic is in playing. Yes, by learning
more I can play more, but if I had to learn every note before I could play them I
wouldn`t want to bother. I picked up the guitar and played, that was it. Any real
guitarist will tell you: Just play, worry about the details later.
The point of this article is this: Play your guitar, develop your style. Let your
guitar playing be a natural extension of you. Later on when you really wish you knew
more about the guitar or a particular style, study and learn.
If we all kept playing what everyone else played there would be no shaping the
future of this instrument. The next revolutionary player will be playing the guitar
the way he or she wants to play it, because no one told him or her otherwise.
It's been said that in order to be a great writer, one should write. It holds true for
guitarists too. If you want to be a great guitar player, play.
Additional Columns by Drew Vics
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Additional Inspiration/Motivation Columns
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- And 33 more in the Guest Columnists category, view the index
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Vol. 17, No. 2: Feb.-Mar. 2012
