I can respect that, instead of being like million of guitarist that buy a million guitars into billions of different tunings, they buy all these amps, and they never properly learn how to play. And he, just with his love of music, wether respect or no respect for the "legacy" the fact is, he's much better than those who actually "prefer" or "love" the instrument, who don't even respect it enough to learn how to play it properly.
Hi, I'm Allan Holdsworth. I don't really like the guitar too much. Hey, check this out. (**plays insanely fast & intelligently phrased legato runs all over the neck. Shrugs**). Whatever.
For the record he doesn't hate the guitar! He wanted to recreate a sound( Like a horn or other wind instrument) that he heard in his head and has been frustrated trying to create that sound on the guitar. He also doesn't like his older recordings because he feel's his latest work is closer to the sound in his head!
"I never really wanted to play the guitar...guitar is not the instrument i would have chosen"...now, imagine if he really liked the guitar...who knows, we'll never find out
I can believe he said he didnt even like guitar. what a fucking asshole. I love guitar and I will never be as good as him......... well mabye someday.
I've heard it all now, Allan Holdsworth refering to a guitar as being like a spanner and that he doesn't really like the guitar. He's sank in my estimation now no matter if he can play the guitar with one hand shoved up his jacksie!
I understand what he means. Once you hear Michael Brecker play tenor sax or Herbie Hancock or McCoy Tyner play piano, it forces you to confront the guitar's limitations. On the other hand, a healthy attitude is, "Okay, I have this guitar...how much music can I make with it?!"
You'd think after so many years of not really liking the guitar he'd have maybe...decided to learn an instrument that he actually DOES like? It almost seems like he's either lying or trying to piss off guitarists who really care about the instrument and their craft
@shadowknight132 Well I didn't know that he changed his mind over the years, but to be fair the synthaxe is essentially a guitar with a digital setup. I don't think it counts as a new instrument per se. That's like saying I learned a new instrument by adding the Roland GR-20 guitar synth to my rig. Though I have seen his Synthaxe playing it is pretty damn sharp!!
@shadowknight132 Well a synthaxe is built from the framework of a traditional electric guitar; it even has strings on it. A sitar or a lute or mandolin have different string tunings/groupings/scale lengths, etc. I see what you mean by that though.
What I meant to say is that, anyone who knows guitar well could pick up on a bass, synthaxe, sitar, lute etc MUCH more easily than if they switched over to a saxophone or flute for example! :)
@shadowknight132 I think he played violin for a while in the early 70s. I've heard him make those remarks about disliking guitar before. I know he is a big fan of sax. Thanks for the post btw.
@shadowknight132 Sitar is a completely different tuning, technique, and discipline. A synthaxe can be played by anyone who already plays guitar. A sitar can not.
@shadowknight132 Haha well I agree with him. If I could've gone back and chosen I would've started piano instead at a really young age. I love guitar but if I could choose I'd do piano. Just so much more beauty and improvisational possibilities if you ask me.
Actually, I hate guitar hubris, so Allan not liking it is really cool. Guitarists are so often cringeworthy for all the extraneous shit they carry with it. Allan, deep down is a nerd and he did it by his rules.
@Samsgarden Funny, I never mentioned anything about guitar hubris - as far I know, nobody likes it! I know that after this recording he went on to admit that he loves guitar now. In any case, I was simply asking: if someone doesn't like something, why should they stick with it for years or even decades if it truly makes them unhappy? Personally if I hated guitar I wouldn't play it, I'd try to find another instrument that better suits me and my playing aspirations...
sorry to give you that impression, I was just adding my spin on your comment.
I like Allan because he doesn't remotely embody the guitar 'ethos'. For him, it's just a vehicle for sound. I imagine that if I were to take up the instrument, it would be extraordinarily difficult to shake the 'guitar culture' and the aimless pissing contest that accompanies a fair chunk of it.
On the unhappiness thing- I think that's just AH and his super self-criticalness.
@Samsgarden I understand what your saying but your impressions about the guitar 'ethos' as you say kind of throw me off because as a guitarist I can't really say I'm all too familiar with these "pissing contests" you're referring to. All my guitar playing friends and I have always been in friendly competition in terms of jamming and learning. Perhaps I'm just one of the lucky ones in my experiences with the instrument HAHA! In the end though, my frame of mind is similar to AH's - it helps!!
@ZachCanPlay Well, I wouldn't say he's an asshole per se, but for someone who loves the guitar passionately, I guess hearing such an influential guitarist say something like that CAN understandably evoke that sort of thought about them haha!! :P
@BernietheShredder I am actually the same way with guitar. I much rather the sound of piano and really wish I spent a lot of time on that instead. In this stage of my career as a guitarist it would be insane to quit and start all over almost on a new instrument.
@musichopper I know what you mean, though you know what they say: you're never too old :P
As much of a dick thing it is to say that I suppose it still rings true to me (which is why I said it). Of course, after learning the guitar so well, I understand how difficult (or nearly impossible even) that it would be to pick up a new instrument altogether)! :)
@ShredST I don't wanna start a big argument over this (especially since my original post was like three months ago). I just wanna say that it's somewhat implied that he thinks the guitar doesn't have the greatest sound - after all, why would he spend so many years trying to make it sound more like a brass instrument, or applying his knowledge as a player on peripherals like the Synth Axe?
"I don't really like the guitar... for me" lol that just cracks me up. well i guess that is the key to his amazing legato tone! genius! from now on fuck guitar tone... i want mine to sound like a bullfrog!!!
The interesting thing is that the technique section in "Guitar for the practicing musician" from 1984 clarifies that he hammers on and LIFTS off to sound notes.
So he's not using pull offs, he's using lift offs as the counterpoint to hammerons.
Oh I found out how to do it. Check out my other video about the carvin interview. Study how he angles his fingers when he does an hammer off. He straightens his finger when he hammer off. Like how would to do tap 2 notes per string.
....or ""it's like a chick -with-a-dick"" as John Scofield once described his own playing in an interview as compared to that of other rock/fusion players..
Too bad in his entire instructional video he doesn't show any lagato phrasings to practice. If the producer of the video actually knew how to play guitar, he would have had him show a few examples, no doubt.
No, he likes the guitar just he doesn't believe it is for him. but think about it, if we had the same approach to an instrument, maybe we'll improve it. There's still hundreds of possibilities for the guitar that is not explored. Thank goodness that it is an fairly new instrument compared to others.
@shadowknight132 I totally get that. I play guitar, and I'm pretty good, and do enjoy it. But I've always loved the piano, I love to see people play it and wish I had started playing the piano years ago instead of guitar. It's more me
@dtjesus101 Have you ever considered using a midi pickup? I am placing one on my 6 string bass, really looking forward to it. It will drive a Roland GR-20 synth. 4-5 really good sounds.
@metalmike04 /watch?v=wDDWVpNiovE Oh really??? I've only been playing the guitar since 5 and my dad teaches jazz fusion. I like djent with insane legato playing in it. Like meshuggah. Fredrik Thordendal OBVIOUSLY takes huge references in his soloing from Allan. But thats ok. Don't listen to me. You fucking faggots!
@AvengeXKing that video is just someone who normally plays djent covering a holdsworth song.that has nothing to do with influence. the genre djent refers to the percussive low tuned attack on a distorted guitar,not the jazz fusion esque leads.Thortendal does indeed have a large influence from Holdsworths lead playing, but, because of that was not the reason djent was created. thats like saying all tapping played on a guitar is rock because van halen popularized it. grow up and enjoy the music.
@metalmike04 Not really but when it comes to soloing over poly-rhythms in obscure time signatures then you can consider djent a metal version of jazz fusion. OPEN YOUR MIND YOU CLOSED MINDED EMO TRANNY!
@AvengeXKing do you know what the definition of djent even mean? it is most certainly not a "metal version of jazz fusion" though a few djent players use his techniques doesn't mean it defines the whole genre, holdsworth isnt the only jazz fusion player you know? and grow the fuck up, everybody here can obviously tell you are the kind who looks for a big argument.
@AvengeXKing Djent is a bunch of hipster prog fags that think they can create good music like Holdsworth or Meshuggah but gay it up with screamo vocals. Bunch of wankers
What's funny is that it's truth. You can hear a crap-load of Holdsworth in all the Meshuggah solos and Misha Mansoor of Periphery is also highly influenced by Holdsworth.
"I wat trying to make the guitar sound more like a wh*re."
MrAlexGTV 1 month ago
@MrAlexGTV LOL, i love holdsworth but that made me laff! xD
dvnupldr 2 weeks ago
one of my heros
stomachlining 1 month ago
I can respect that, instead of being like million of guitarist that buy a million guitars into billions of different tunings, they buy all these amps, and they never properly learn how to play. And he, just with his love of music, wether respect or no respect for the "legacy" the fact is, he's much better than those who actually "prefer" or "love" the instrument, who don't even respect it enough to learn how to play it properly.
Jamsessionroom1337 1 month ago 6
@Jamsessionroom1337
Yup :) You must admit that he is a genius. He changed the tone of the guitar forever. He will never be forgotten even centuries pass his death.
shadowknight132 1 month ago
@shadowknight132 What he did with Tony Williams at the time revolutionised music forever actually.
MyCreationHede 1 month ago
This is what you call noodling? LOL...I wonder what PLAYING sounds like :-)
JasonWB007 1 month ago
Hi, I'm Allan Holdsworth. I don't really like the guitar too much. Hey, check this out. (**plays insanely fast & intelligently phrased legato runs all over the neck. Shrugs**). Whatever.
alexmortland 1 month ago
@alexmortland That's the funniest thing I've read on here in a long time!
JasonWB007 1 month ago
For the record he doesn't hate the guitar! He wanted to recreate a sound( Like a horn or other wind instrument) that he heard in his head and has been frustrated trying to create that sound on the guitar. He also doesn't like his older recordings because he feel's his latest work is closer to the sound in his head!
spider62able 2 months ago
I feel sorry for the guy
TosiekDegutis 2 months ago
If he had only been given a saxophone rather than a guitar when he was young, he might've turned into Kenny G.
xsited1 2 months ago
geetar
FatFuckRecherche 3 months ago
Well allan if you noodle..!?what do most of us do? :P
JJStuffEngineering 3 months ago
Anyone know if Allan tried to pursue sax later on? i've never heard anything about it....thx
glueforall 3 months ago
Gee-tah Allan.....you have mastered the GEE-TAH!
glueforall 3 months ago
His voice sounds like George Harrison! Very nice. He was a violinist who didn't know how to play guitar, that's why his style is so weird.
tacomadc 3 months ago
"I never really wanted to play the guitar...guitar is not the instrument i would have chosen"...now, imagine if he really liked the guitar...who knows, we'll never find out
P00TANARA 4 months ago
WTF?????????????????????????????????????
RamsesCairoC 5 months ago
Another reluctant genius .
HotRodSixString 5 months ago
I can believe he said he didnt even like guitar. what a fucking asshole. I love guitar and I will never be as good as him......... well mabye someday.
Shi7Disc0 6 months ago
I've heard it all now, Allan Holdsworth refering to a guitar as being like a spanner and that he doesn't really like the guitar. He's sank in my estimation now no matter if he can play the guitar with one hand shoved up his jacksie!
snrdmnd 6 months ago
I love his accent so much
bloodbadge 6 months ago
I understand what he means. Once you hear Michael Brecker play tenor sax or Herbie Hancock or McCoy Tyner play piano, it forces you to confront the guitar's limitations. On the other hand, a healthy attitude is, "Okay, I have this guitar...how much music can I make with it?!"
Modes9 6 months ago
GIVE ME UR TALENT IF U DONT LIKE THE GUITAR, U FUCKEN RETARDED DUCK
math1st 7 months ago
@math1st
Shut up faggot scum.
rololoo 6 months ago
Check out Allan Holdsworth Interview Live @ Johnny D's. Allan says he now loves the guitar.
shadowknight132 7 months ago
Ow now brown cow!!!!! LOL
stutrol 7 months ago
"Ah doont really lak the guitar..." (owns guitar)
SedanChair 7 months ago
You'd think after so many years of not really liking the guitar he'd have maybe...decided to learn an instrument that he actually DOES like? It almost seems like he's either lying or trying to piss off guitarists who really care about the instrument and their craft
BernietheShredder 8 months ago
@BernietheShredder
He did. He learned the synthaxe.
He did say in a recent interview that now he LOVES the guitar.
shadowknight132 8 months ago
@shadowknight132 Well I didn't know that he changed his mind over the years, but to be fair the synthaxe is essentially a guitar with a digital setup. I don't think it counts as a new instrument per se. That's like saying I learned a new instrument by adding the Roland GR-20 guitar synth to my rig. Though I have seen his Synthaxe playing it is pretty damn sharp!!
BernietheShredder 8 months ago
@BernietheShredder
But if you think about it, synthaxe is not the same as the guitar. It just has a fretboard of a guitar. It's like you would say a sitar is a guitar.
shadowknight132 8 months ago 8
@shadowknight132 Well a synthaxe is built from the framework of a traditional electric guitar; it even has strings on it. A sitar or a lute or mandolin have different string tunings/groupings/scale lengths, etc. I see what you mean by that though.
What I meant to say is that, anyone who knows guitar well could pick up on a bass, synthaxe, sitar, lute etc MUCH more easily than if they switched over to a saxophone or flute for example! :)
BernietheShredder 8 months ago
@shadowknight132 I think he played violin for a while in the early 70s. I've heard him make those remarks about disliking guitar before. I know he is a big fan of sax. Thanks for the post btw.
AisAbsolute 5 months ago
@shadowknight132 Sitar is a completely different tuning, technique, and discipline. A synthaxe can be played by anyone who already plays guitar. A sitar can not.
Dooality 5 months ago
@shadowknight132 Haha well I agree with him. If I could've gone back and chosen I would've started piano instead at a really young age. I love guitar but if I could choose I'd do piano. Just so much more beauty and improvisational possibilities if you ask me.
Fishies125 4 months ago
@BernietheShredder
Ha ha.
Actually, I hate guitar hubris, so Allan not liking it is really cool. Guitarists are so often cringeworthy for all the extraneous shit they carry with it. Allan, deep down is a nerd and he did it by his rules.
Samsgarden 7 months ago
@Samsgarden Funny, I never mentioned anything about guitar hubris - as far I know, nobody likes it! I know that after this recording he went on to admit that he loves guitar now. In any case, I was simply asking: if someone doesn't like something, why should they stick with it for years or even decades if it truly makes them unhappy? Personally if I hated guitar I wouldn't play it, I'd try to find another instrument that better suits me and my playing aspirations...
BernietheShredder 7 months ago
@BernietheShredder
sorry to give you that impression, I was just adding my spin on your comment.
I like Allan because he doesn't remotely embody the guitar 'ethos'. For him, it's just a vehicle for sound. I imagine that if I were to take up the instrument, it would be extraordinarily difficult to shake the 'guitar culture' and the aimless pissing contest that accompanies a fair chunk of it.
On the unhappiness thing- I think that's just AH and his super self-criticalness.
Samsgarden 7 months ago
@Samsgarden I understand what your saying but your impressions about the guitar 'ethos' as you say kind of throw me off because as a guitarist I can't really say I'm all too familiar with these "pissing contests" you're referring to. All my guitar playing friends and I have always been in friendly competition in terms of jamming and learning. Perhaps I'm just one of the lucky ones in my experiences with the instrument HAHA! In the end though, my frame of mind is similar to AH's - it helps!!
BernietheShredder 7 months ago
@BernietheShredder Dude i was thinking the same exact fucking thing. hes an asshole dude. good technician... terrible writer. boring as all hell.
ZachCanPlay 7 months ago
@ZachCanPlay Well, I wouldn't say he's an asshole per se, but for someone who loves the guitar passionately, I guess hearing such an influential guitarist say something like that CAN understandably evoke that sort of thought about them haha!! :P
BernietheShredder 7 months ago
@BernietheShredder I am actually the same way with guitar. I much rather the sound of piano and really wish I spent a lot of time on that instead. In this stage of my career as a guitarist it would be insane to quit and start all over almost on a new instrument.
musichopper 5 months ago
@musichopper I know what you mean, though you know what they say: you're never too old :P
As much of a dick thing it is to say that I suppose it still rings true to me (which is why I said it). Of course, after learning the guitar so well, I understand how difficult (or nearly impossible even) that it would be to pick up a new instrument altogether)! :)
BernietheShredder 5 months ago
@BernietheShredder If he really did want to piss off guitarists, he would've said that guitars sound like shit.
ShredST 5 months ago
@ShredST I don't wanna start a big argument over this (especially since my original post was like three months ago). I just wanna say that it's somewhat implied that he thinks the guitar doesn't have the greatest sound - after all, why would he spend so many years trying to make it sound more like a brass instrument, or applying his knowledge as a player on peripherals like the Synth Axe?
-Just saying is all!
BernietheShredder 5 months ago
"I don't really like the guitar... for me" lol that just cracks me up. well i guess that is the key to his amazing legato tone! genius! from now on fuck guitar tone... i want mine to sound like a bullfrog!!!
papachops413 8 months ago
And this guitar god, who inspired Lynch and EVH to tap, doesn't even like the guitar D:
ZelgadissGreywords 9 months ago
The interesting thing is that the technique section in "Guitar for the practicing musician" from 1984 clarifies that he hammers on and LIFTS off to sound notes.
So he's not using pull offs, he's using lift offs as the counterpoint to hammerons.
aliensporebomb 9 months ago
@aliensporebomb
yeah that's exactly how i do them to achieve hammer offs.
shadowknight132 9 months ago
@aliensporebomb
Oh I found out how to do it. Check out my other video about the carvin interview. Study how he angles his fingers when he does an hammer off. He straightens his finger when he hammer off. Like how would to do tap 2 notes per string.
shadowknight132 6 months ago
Çok içten, samimi sözler. Muhteşem bir kişilik, süper insan.
tuncvidinli 9 months ago
great lesson
georgesorosisgay1 9 months ago
....or ""it's like a chick -with-a-dick"" as John Scofield once described his own playing in an interview as compared to that of other rock/fusion players..
JazzLoverKhurram 9 months ago in playlist things to learn
Sounds like he's a trans-saxual..born playing the wrong instrument ;-)
JazzLoverKhurram 9 months ago in playlist things to learn
He's the reason I started playing the saxophone after trying to play like him on the guitar LOL
JazzLoverKhurram 9 months ago in playlist things to learn
such an intelligent man. Not crazy about his musical pallete, but I love hearing him talk about music
12inchvertical 9 months ago
what an alien
basehead617 10 months ago
AH -THE GREATEST -PERIOD
666patrickbateman666 10 months ago
the best always come from England well in
dobsonone 11 months ago
he looks like Eric Johnson..... or not?
chechoguitar112 1 year ago
/watch?v=m2ZOL1FMt1I&feature=related Am I wrong about djent naw?
AvengeXKing 1 year ago
Who cares, I hear a lot of influence taken from Holdsworth in my particular genre of music.
AvengeXKing 1 year ago
Djent....LOL.
largemoose 1 year ago
Too bad in his entire instructional video he doesn't show any lagato phrasings to practice. If the producer of the video actually knew how to play guitar, he would have had him show a few examples, no doubt.
BullToTheShit 1 year ago 24
Good job he didnt play the horn. Not many chord possibilities there. I reckon he's done ok though. Imagine if he was a pianist?
fieldfullofthistles 1 year ago
he really looks like edward norton!!
ritaldolagos 1 year ago
@juiceweaselism
No, he likes the guitar just he doesn't believe it is for him. but think about it, if we had the same approach to an instrument, maybe we'll improve it. There's still hundreds of possibilities for the guitar that is not explored. Thank goodness that it is an fairly new instrument compared to others.
shadowknight132 1 year ago
@shadowknight132 I totally get that. I play guitar, and I'm pretty good, and do enjoy it. But I've always loved the piano, I love to see people play it and wish I had started playing the piano years ago instead of guitar. It's more me
dtjesus101 1 year ago
@dtjesus101 Have you ever considered using a midi pickup? I am placing one on my 6 string bass, really looking forward to it. It will drive a Roland GR-20 synth. 4-5 really good sounds.
Listendudeok 1 year ago
Sure gets the job done for me... Djent would be nothing without this legend...
AvengeXKing 1 year ago 29
@AvengeXKing Djent? how the fuck did you come to Djen? :D
freakguitar1 1 year ago
@AvengeXKing ...djent has no direct relation to holdsworth...
metalmike04 1 year ago
@metalmike04 /watch?v=wDDWVpNiovE Oh really??? I've only been playing the guitar since 5 and my dad teaches jazz fusion. I like djent with insane legato playing in it. Like meshuggah. Fredrik Thordendal OBVIOUSLY takes huge references in his soloing from Allan. But thats ok. Don't listen to me. You fucking faggots!
AvengeXKing 1 year ago
@AvengeXKing that video is just someone who normally plays djent covering a holdsworth song.that has nothing to do with influence. the genre djent refers to the percussive low tuned attack on a distorted guitar,not the jazz fusion esque leads.Thortendal does indeed have a large influence from Holdsworths lead playing, but, because of that was not the reason djent was created. thats like saying all tapping played on a guitar is rock because van halen popularized it. grow up and enjoy the music.
metalmike04 1 year ago
@metalmike04 Not really but when it comes to soloing over poly-rhythms in obscure time signatures then you can consider djent a metal version of jazz fusion. OPEN YOUR MIND YOU CLOSED MINDED EMO TRANNY!
AvengeXKing 1 year ago
@AvengeXKing do you know what the definition of djent even mean? it is most certainly not a "metal version of jazz fusion" though a few djent players use his techniques doesn't mean it defines the whole genre, holdsworth isnt the only jazz fusion player you know? and grow the fuck up, everybody here can obviously tell you are the kind who looks for a big argument.
metalmike04 1 year ago
@AvengeXKing omg great commet =)
XDrifteRX 1 year ago
@AvengeXKing Djent is a bunch of hipster prog fags that think they can create good music like Holdsworth or Meshuggah but gay it up with screamo vocals. Bunch of wankers
NecroButcher91 1 year ago 4
@NecroButcher91 Don't get too mad buddy.
JEESherazi 11 months ago
@AvengeXKing
What's funny is that it's truth. You can hear a crap-load of Holdsworth in all the Meshuggah solos and Misha Mansoor of Periphery is also highly influenced by Holdsworth.
Fluffypopcicle 5 months ago
legend
QuistTV 1 year ago
I'm a guitarist for the exact same reason, damn you dad ha, cool...
Niallphillips 1 year ago
I started to crying up from 20.second... Live long Mr.Holdsworth...
itsasoulthing 1 year ago
Awesome explanation :) genius
jdknighted 1 year ago