What’s better: Musical Or Technical?

In music there is always the debate and discussion about musical vs. technical guitarists. What is the correct balance? Can you have the best of both worlds? And which is more important?

There is a general agreement that most people would much rather listen to a guitarist who is musical rather than technically proficient. After all it is this musicality that creates the various emotions and energies in music which in turn are the vehicles that takes us on a musical journey.

Why are Hendrix, Santana and Clapton are some of the best known and most listened to guitarists? It is not because they have the highest level of skill on the guitar. In fact I know many guitarists who have more technical skill with the instrument. This includes a number of my own students. But the musicality and creativity in their playing is what draws in the listeners. They give you something in their music that can be experienced and not just appreciated.

This is not to say that technicality and skill on the guitar is not important. Without technique there is of course no ability to play the notes we want. As a result no space to be able to express our musicality. So without question both of these sides of music need to go hand in hand.

That being said these so far are not new thoughts so I want to dig a little deeper into how musicality and technicality relate. Plus a few ideas on how to bring a balance into your own guitar playing.

I’d like to throw out some idea of the issues you may encounter (or already have) while trying to develop musicality in your playing. By understanding this we can then also look at how you can avoid these issues and become a better guitarist.

Through my experience over many years with many different students and professional guitarists certain patterns in learning have emerged. Here are some common patterns you may be able to relate to. While reading this list have a think about your own guitar playing and ask yourself how many of these you are guilty of:

1. Slowing down at the difficult sections?
2. Letting position changes have an affect on the timing and rhythm?
3. Tending to have fewer dynamics in faster sections?
4. Having notes stop sounding prematurely, before the next note in the same voice is played? (more relevant for classical guitar music)

What do all of these on this list have in common? They are all the physical aspects of playing the guitar that obstruct our musical goals.

We slow down at the more difficult sections. Add gaps that are not in the music to get our fingers on the harder notes. And focus most of our time on trying not to play a ‘wrong‘ note. This is all the time at the expense of the song’s rhythm and dynamics! This destroys any musical ideas you were aiming for. As a result of this we focus on correct notes and accuracy that takes us away from musicality. This of course takes us away from our audience. Remember the audience is not there to hear correct notes. They are there to have an experience!

So what can we do to take our playing in the right direction? How can we put the focus back on the musical and creative rather than the correct? There are actually many things that can be brought into your approach to learning. This includes a number of ideas you can easily add into your day-to-day playing that develop the balance you are after.

A song that is in your skill range means nothing needs to be compromised in order to facilitate the technique. Ideally you will be able to play the song at least 30% faster than you need to and still feel comfortable. This creates what I call a Skill Buffer which is essentially a safety net. It allows you to play around with different volumes, tones and other elements you have control over in your sound. As these elements are what create the expressive side of music this takes you a step closer to your musical goal.

Without the space given to you by this Skill Buffer all your focus is needed purely to play the notes with nothing remaining for expression. However, with this extra control you are now in the position to think of the audience, the sound you are making and create the energy you want.

Have you got more thoughts to get the golden balance in your guitar playing? These ideas here have had the most affect on both my playing and my students playing. Keeping in mind both sides of musical and technical playing makes the best musicians.

The key to understand is that technique opens up potential for creativity. It does not make you more creative. Too much focus on creativity over technique leaves you without the tools you need. So take some time to see where you sit between these two. Then carve your path towards being a balanced guitarist.