Guitar Nuances

[TerrapinStat10n]

I'm looking for a website or a book that covers how to use subtle variation. There are many techniques that people don't discuss or only give introductory information on. I hear many performers do something when they isolate an individual note that sounds like they rake the strings before it. I can't really explain what it is or how to do it since I haven't really figured it out, but it's these kind of things that I cannot find anywhere. Does anyone know any websites or books that cover subtle guitar nuances? One my main problems is that since these nuances aren't ever covered in technique guides, I don't know their names or even what to ask for. Could anyone list/describe any techniques that aren't commonly discussed? Thank you. I'm sure that was confusing.

[hairballxavier]

Could you give some examples from familiar songs?

Any player that has developed his own style will have certain subtleties in their playing that makes them instantly recognizable. For instance, BB King's vibrato, Nugents howling, Hetfields crunch, Santana's Santana type stuff, Gibbon's pinch harmonics etc etc...

Your question is really too vague. Could you give some specific examples of what you are looking for?

[TerrapinStat10n]

I'm looking for any website that has any type of guide that contains anything that you just listed or anything similar. I asked a vague question, because I want to learn the differences in the nuances of guitarists of as many different styles. I play jamband music like the Grateful Dead, Phish, and Allman Brothers, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to be able to make a guitar squeal like Zakk Wylde. Anything relating to jamband music would be great, but since it's a mix of many different styles, I want "BB King's vibrato, Nugents howling, Hetfields crunch, Santana's Santana type stuff, Gibbon's pinch harmonics" and as much of anything like that as I can read about.

[forgottenking2]

I think the best way to go about this is learn songs by ear and work on getting to sound "just like the record" then you'll pick up a lot of these "nuances" and add your own personal twist to them and they will become part of your vocabulary. More than reading about them on a website, what you need is someone to show them to you in person (a good teacher will do). If you can't afford lessons then the first option will work best use your ears and be patient.

Good Luck

-Jorge

[Rob G.]

this stuff fascinates me...i would like to try to nail the way marty freidman plays, not so much what he plays but the way he plays it its soo different sounding.

[Nolly]

I think perhaps the reason why there isn't much out there to help you with this is that it's very hard to describe, especially in writing, to someone else. I think we have to distinguish between technique and phrasing. Technical things like pinch harmonics and vibrato are described in great length in most rock lead guitar books and all over the internet. The phrasing that make great players so recognisable are not only based on their technique and influences, but on the way they approach music in their head. These players no doubt weren't told how or when to apply these "nuances", instead they probably came across them through a combination of experimentation and artistic vision. If you want to emulate these things, then I would suggest learning sections of songs until you can play the notes with minimal thought, then you can really concentrate on the phrasing and how you attack each note. Play along to the recordings and even try to come up with phrases "in the style of" the guitarist you're trying to sound like. The likelihood however is that you will never sound *exactly* like a particular player, and this is not a bad thing! Bugger, I've started rambling again so I'll stop. But anyway, don't get too wound up trying to emulate other guitarists. Listen to as much music as you can and in time, you'll notice these influences creeping into your own playing.