Why Guitar Players Need to Be Fit

Many years ago I bought a guitar exercise book written by Al Di Meola. The first two things he pointed out in the book was the importance of creating good habits and taking care of your health. I never forgot those two golden rules, although taking care of my health was something I had to learn the hard way. It took me a while to learn the major benefits of living a healthy life.
Body work outs, healthy foods, stress release, finger warm up exercises, taking care of your hearing, stretching, relaxation, etcetera are all part of the journey in becoming and staying a good guitar player. I know we don’t always have the time to work out and we all get into a slump once in a while. That’s okay. It’s part of life and it’s good to have a break now and then, but that’s no excuse to ignore that little voice in the back of your mind who knows what is best for you when you haven’t taken care of yourself the last couple of months or worse. So let’s pick it up where you left of. You know you’ll be a lot happier once you start working out. We are talking about your health here. It’s the most important thing!

Being fit will make you feel good about yourself. It gives you a more overall positive attitude. You will be more motivated to practice and more focused to achieve your musical goals. A good physical condition will also improve your performance on stage and in the studio when you’re recording.
So here are some tips to get you in good shape and stay motivated at all times:

Work out

Working out gives you more energy and a clear mindset. Something most of us need every now and then. Whether you experience a writers block, you can’t figure out why that solo isn’t working or when your practice session leads to nowhere, working out is a great moment to refresh your mind and get new inspiration. So let’s start today. Take a run outside, ride your bike, take a walk in the fresh air, do some push ups or stretching exercises. Working out outside is the best way to get you back in the saddle. If possible, run or ride to places where it’s quiet, where your mind can blow off some steam. Run to areas in your town where you don’t come everyday. It’s good for inspiration. Run where nature is. You’ll feel reborn.

Eat healthy, drink healthy

We all know why you should eat healthy. At least I hope so. Okay for those who have forgotten…
Healthy food is essential for gaining energy, preventing your body from getting sick and keeping you focused and inspired. Unhealthy food leads to laziness, unhappiness, obesity, etc. So this is a settled matter. We need to be in good shape to stay productive and positive.
As far as healthy drinks goes, drink water not soda. Drinking too much soda leads to blood pressure, concentration problems, anxiousness, sadness, tension, etc. Water on the other hand is essential for transporting the oxygen to your cells, flushing out toxins and protecting your joints ( a lot them in your fingers ) and organs. Like food water also gives you more energy and keeps you really focused.

Warming up exercises

To prevent your arms and hands from injuries you need to go through some warm up exercises before you really start playing. Releasing the tension in your finger muscles will make guitar playing run more smoothly and less stressful. You need a good blood flow and circulation to get your hands warmed up. It also wouldn’t be wise to run a few miles without stretching first. The same goes for guitar playing.
Warm up exercises are also great for speed development. So for you race cats out there this is the way to go. If you don’t have a lot of time, just take five minutes to go through some exercises. You’ll definitely feel the benefits. Check out some really good warmup exercises below. Have fun!

Protect your hearing

Besides your fingers, your ears are the most important tools you need in order to play guitar. Your hearing can go a long way but don’t underestimate the vulnerability of your ears. Long exposure to loud music can cause serious damage to your ears. Once you damaged your ears there is no way you can fix it, so don’t mess ‘m up. Whether you’re performing on stage or go to gigs, wear earplugs when you’re exposed to loud music. There are all kinds of earplugs that are designed for listening to music. If you perform on a regularly basis consider using an in-ear monitor system. In-ear monitoring is the replacement for traditional monitoring. All professional musicians use In-ear systems nowadays. It’s a great way to protect your hearing and having a consistent monitor performance.

Meditation

More and more research is discovering the benefits of meditation. While it’s not necessarily a must in becoming a great player, I do really recommend it. If you want to reduce stress, be more focused, motivated, productive and balanced, meditation will get you there. All these things will help you on the way towards your guitar goals. It also fuels inspiration, creativity and gives you a better insight on where you’re heading. It’s something you really need to experience over a period of time. It will change your life!
Health is not valued till sickness comes.- Dr. Thomas Fuller
If you like the post subscribe via email or RSS and I will notify you whenever I’ve written a new post. Thanx in advance!

Read more

10 Essential Concepts And Tips Every Guitar Player Should Know

What is it about music that brings so much joy to so many people? 
I have been playing guitar for nearly 15 years, and it has brought me more joy than any words can describe. Throughout my years as a musician, I have been asked more times than I can count for advice or tips. Recently I was asked by one of my students asked me for my best advice, and I found it difficult to come up with just one piece of advice. Because of this, I have decided to create this list of what I consider to be some of the most important concepts and ideas that every guitar player should know and utilize.

 1) Use a metronome.

A great musician is of no value if he or she cannot keep time. Either live or in the studio, a musician that cannot keep time will quickly find themselves on the short end of a very angry stick. 

2) Slow is fast. 

Many times I have seen guitarists frustrated because they are struggling with a passage at high speeds. This is a lesson learned the hard way. In my early years as a guitar payer, I would learn a part and try to play it as fast as I can. However, this is just not the right way to go about learning difficult material. You must dissect each passage and learn it inside and out. Play it slowly, focusing on technique and playing it correctly. Once you have mastered it at a slow speed is when you should increase your speed. Use a metronome to help you do this. You will discover that not only will you begin to play better, but you will be able to learn much faster.

 3) Use your ears. 

One of the most important concepts I like to teach my friends and students is the value of your ears. You need to develop a god ear. A well trained ear is essential when trying to play out a melody without any sheet music or tablature to help you out. To start training your ear, try learning simple songs by ear. Doing so will help you recognize chords and melodies when you hear them, and it will also help you improvise when need be. 




4) Learn music theory, even if only a little bit.

 A basic understanding of what makes music work will go a very long way. You should be knowledgeable of your craft. Once I started learning basic music theory, I discovered a thirst to know more and more. Knowing music theory will also help you if you suddenly find yourself being asked to play a I IV V in the key of G. You will know what that means and will know what to play without a problem.

 5) Play with other musicians.

 There is nothing more rewarding, both as a learning experience and a pass-time activity. Playing with other musicians is fun and helps you coordinate what you're playing. It also helps in the creative process.

 6) Never stop learning.

 This is one of my favorite bits of advice. The value you gain as a musician grows exponentially with the more you know about your instrument. Always continue to challenge yourself and learn new things. Learn a new chord every week, or a new scale or lick. Learn how to play blues, then learn to play jazz. Learn some new songs. Just learn something new all the time. It will make you a much better musician in the long run. 

 7) When you learn a song, learn the whole thing.

 Every bit and piece. Learn the solo, the rhythms, and the melodies. Learn the names of the chords you are using and the scales the song uses. Learn the key. Learn as much as you possibly can about the song. Knowing it inside and out will help you memorize the song and also help you recognize elements of it in other songs. 

8) Practice, practice, practice, practice.

 There is no substitute for proper practice. Without practice, you will not get very far. Practice in small bite sized chunks. Spend a few minutes focusing on a particular technique. Then spend a few minutes on something else. Don't let yourself get too distracted during practice. Once you finish practicing, then you can noodle around for a while. Your brain will continue to wrap itself around the things your practice while you are doing other things. You will find that you will get better with practicing things in sections.




 9) Learn the notes on your fret board.

 Knowing this will open up a whole new door of possibilities. You will begin seeing the fret board in a completely different light. Patterns and scales will jump out at you. Chords will glare at you. You will be able to look at the fret board and just play what is in your head. This is one of the most rewarding things you can do for yourself.

 10) Put yourself into your music.

 It will sound more personal and more emotional if you can manage to put yourself into your music. This is a difficult concept to visualize, but when done correctly it really enhances your music on a different level. Don't just play the music. Put some oomph into it. Bob your head, sway with the rhythm. Make funny faces. All of this stuff sounds cheesy, but you will be surprised when you start to feel the music inside of you and the effect that has on the feel of your music. My list here could go on forever, but I feel these are some of the more important concepts and tips that I have learned over the years. Give these a try, and you will be amazed at the difference they can make after a few days of dedication. Enjoy, and keep playing those guitars!

Read more

Guitar Strength: Seven Habits That Will Make You a Better Guitarist

Like the headline says, here are seven habits — habits you'll need to get into — that will, simply put, make you a better guitarist.
01. Visualize: You don’t just have to practice when there’s a guitar in your hands. There’s plenty of time in the day being wasted that you can use to improve your playing. Whenever you have a spare few seconds to daydream or are zoning out in class or at a meeting or waiting in line at the DMV, etc., use the time to go inside your mind’s eye and ears and visualize yourself perfectly executing the lick, riff or song you’ve been working on.
See and hear yourself playing the part with an expert ease, gliding as one with the strings, “virtually” feeling your fingers and your pick in precise synchronization. Repeat this whenever you can and you’ll find you’re better than you were before the last time you picked up the guitar and that the experience of the real guitar in your hands is enriched for the process.
An added bonus of this is that when you get better at connecting the disparate experiences of the imagined and the real, you’ll find that the accuracy of translating what you hear in your head through your fingers to the fretboard will significantly improve, as will your ability to transcribe things you hear while away from your guitar (if nothing else, you’ll be floored at how realistic your air guitar playing will be!).
02. Learn Something New Every Day: This is one of the easiest things you can do to enrich your guitar playing, musicianship and, most importantly, your discipline and motivation. Simply put, find one guitar-related thing a day that you didn’t know already and learn it. And play it. It can be a riff, a lick, a chord, a scale, an exercise, a song, a melody, an altered tuning, a strum pattern, the part of a song you know all of the cool riffs of but never bothered to learn the “boring” connecting transition sections of, whatever.
The discipline of seeking out, playing and internalizing a new piece of guitar knowledge on a daily basis will feed your subconscious musical instincts, add new concepts to your muscle memory and ultimately aid in your ability to express yourself and perform effortlessly on the guitar.
Make this a part of your day and you’ll find that as you continue on your journey, one thing will become two, then three, and on and on until you are devouring as much as you can absorb on the guitar, every day!




03. Jam! While it’s awesome to have perfected that ripping 128th note shredfest in your bedroom or basement, perhaps the most important thing for a guitarist to do is to play along with or to some sort of accompaniment.
Obviously, playing with another live musician or group of musicians in the same room is the perfect situation (And you should put yourself in those situations as often as possible), but there are many alternatives that can be just as beneficial. Today we have innumerable options, such as virtual backing bands and tracks through the Internet, computer programs such as EZ Drummer (highly recommended for its ease of use and versatility) or Garageband loops, plus apps on our phones that can act as stable backdrops against which we can hone our performance skills.
Playing with accompaniment such as this will greatly improve your consistency, your endurance, your improvisational ability and your feel for locking into a groove.
As another fun and educational option, jam along with your favorite songs. You can play along with the song note-for-note as written and improve your chops by executing the nuances and fitting in seamlessly with the rhythm, or you can use the track as a launch pad for exercising your improvisational muscles and integrating the licks you have been practicing. Play along with songs outside of your comfort zone of style or technicality to gain further benefits from this. Jamming along with TV, commercials or movie soundtracks while you’re relaxing with a guitar in your hands can be fun and rewarding.
04. Record Yourself: There is no better way to see your guitar playing objectively and to motivate yourself to work to become a better player than to record yourself. There are countless affordable media for recording yourself on your own, and when you record, you can listen to yourself with fresh ears and hear the things you like and dislike about your playing. You’ll find it’s infinitely easier to pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses and focus your practice accordingly.
Record yourself playing rhythm and then record other complimentary parts such as leads, melodies, counterpoints and complimentary alternate rhythms and you’ll learn about composition, production and ensemble performance. When you begin to focus on these complimentary parts, you’ll find that your vision and scope expands, as do your goals, and as you work to create complete songs, your abilities grow exponentially while you work to write and perform to the best of your ability.
The other benefit of recording yourself is that you will consistently maintain a record of your growth as a player. The journey of a guitarist is always (or should be) one of constant growth, and recording yourself is an awesome way to measure how far you have come .

05. Take Lessons: As a guitar instructor by trade, I am clearly biased, but the most obvious and productive thing any guitarist can do to improve their playing is to take lessons. While there is an ever-expanding universe of Internet resources, books, instructional videos, etc., available, nothing can compare to the one-on-one interaction with the expertise of a skilled guitar teacher. A teacher will identify your strengths and weaknesses, sharpening your skills and eliminating your flaws. A good teacher also will help you save time in your development by helping you sift through all of the information out there and lead you on the right path toward quickly realizing your goals as a guitarist.
Guitar teachers get paid to make you better, and spending the money will make you take your study seriously. Every story of a “self taught” guitarist still involves some part where they learned a lot from someone they knew who was more proficient and knowledgeable than them who helped shape their development, and even the extremely educated and virtuosic Randy Rhoads (who was a guitar teacher himself) was known to seek out guitar teachers whenever he had available time while making history touring and recording with Ozzy Osbourne, so break out of your rut, accelerate the evolution of your playing to the next level and get some lessons!
06. Focus your practice time: We’ve all heard stories of guitarists with marathon 12-hour or daily three-hour practice sessions, but for most guitarists, a tight, focused 10 to 30 minutes of consistent daily practice will prove more efficient. There is a difference in “practice” and “playing” time, and oftentimes the two get confused.
Practice should involve (after warming up) maintenance exercises to keep up your chops and emphasize your strengths, and focused work on specific goals that deal with integrating new knowledge and technique. Keeping the time spent on practice to an intelligent minimum, breaking up the topics to be addressed into small chunks, will help avoid wasted effort and will leave time to play.
In an ideal world, we’d all have three to six or more solid hours each day to spend with a guitar in hand, but for most of you reading this, the time you have available is substantially less. Oftentimes, setting out to practice for an extended period of time becomes a chore for some, and then the practice gets put off if something else comes up. Planning for at least 10 minutes of consistent daily practice time isn’t much of a chore for anyone, and if you get into the habit, you’ll find that you find ways to make more time to practice more.
Break up your practice regimen into skill sets and techniques, practice them daily, and then use them more efficiently when you’re playing. Let a guitar teacher mentor you through the process of designing a suitable practice routine for your schedule, or do your best assessing yourself and create your own. They key is consistency and brief, yet physically and mentally intense sessions.
Twenty minutes every day of truly focused practice is tremendously more conducive to development than a two-hour session every once in a while. And if you keep up with a reasonable, steady schedule, you’ll find that those occasions when you have time for an all-day practice session are all the more fruitful for it.
More importantly, keeping a consistent, intense practice regimen will leave all of your other free “guitar time” available for jamming, improvising, recording and experimenting, all of the while being able to do so with your skills at the highest possible level.




07. Track Your Progress The growth of any guitarist can be greatly improved by the simple awareness of the development of that growth. As you develop the discipline to be learning and practicing on a daily basis, it is extremely important to keep a log or diary of the process of your improvement in order to further maximize growth. The easiest way to do this is to keep a consistent log of your daily routine.
While this may seem a bit obsessive, you’ll find that keeping track of your daily practice will help you focus future practice sessions, maintain and continue awareness of steady progress, and also locate particularly fruitful practice phases in your past that can be replicated and upgraded when you feel your growth has stalled.
Create your own daily “workout log” or click, save and use the example below:

Scott Marano has dedicated his life to the study of the guitar, honing his chops at the Berklee College of Music under the tutelage of Jon Finn and Joe Stump and working as an accomplished guitarist, performer, songwriter and in-demand instructor. In 2007, Scott developed the Guitar Strength program to inspire and provide accelerated education to guitarists of all ages and in all styles through state-of-the-art private guitar lessons in his home state of Rhode Island and globally via Skype

Read more

12 things every guitarist should keep in their case

This last Friday I played my 6th show with my band 13th Agenda. It had been more than a year since I had been on stage in a rock context, and I almost forgot how many things can (and do) go wrong before every show. For starters, we couldn't get our hands on a PA system to save our lives. We tried renting (it was spoken for), buying (the guy sold it before we even got to his house), and borrowing (turns out high schools aren't super enthusiastic about loaning out $3,200 worth of sound equipment). Then our keyboardist's instrument started to go haywire. Not only days but even minutes before the show. And to top it all off, this happened. So yeah, typical world of rock.
But there were a few things that pretty much saved my skin last week. Less than 48 hours before the show, we had a 13 hour rehearsal to compose and clean music. And guess what happened right in the middle of our rehearsal? A string broke. Now, most of you reading this are thinking "big deal, that's an easy fix!" Well, here was the problem. We were on a tight schedule with literally ZERO room for delay. And what's more... It was on my Ibanez with a floating-trem setup. Anyone who knows anything about guitars just cringed. You also may be well aware that your typical floating trem (be it a Floyd Rose or the wonderful Ibanez Edge series), quickly go from a shredder's dream to an intonation nightmare when even one string breaks. You see, the idea of a floating system is based on the tension in the strings equalizing each other and (eventually and after extensive tweaking) evening out to be perfectly in tune at a set "neutral point." When you restring a whole setup like that, it's full blown torture trying to get that neutral point to reach intonational nirvana. Eventually I got it all set up right, and the rehearsal went on without any further problems. Through this experience, I have learned that it is best to be prepared. And that is where this list comes into play. Here are 12 things no guitarist should leave the house without.




1. A Spare Set of Strings (or 2)

This should be an obvious one, and yet this was one that was suspiciously absent from my case. I actually don't know many local guitarists who carry an extra pack on their person. Sure they have a spare set at home, or they can run to the store and grab one. But that's not being prepared. If your car won't start, those jumper cables you left in the garage aren't gonna help you at all. I ran home as soon as that string broke and grabbed my spare. But then problem number two happened... My Ibanez has a reverse headstock, and I've never restrung it before. I wasn't used to giving the lower strings more slack, and as a result, my G and D strings bit the dust before I had finished restringing the poor axe. So, off I went to buy another set. And come my next paycheck, I'm buying two packs of strings for each of my guitars, just so that will never happen again. I advise you all do the same.

2. A String Winder

One day, this will save your life. I'm not kidding. I actually picked up this little number when I bought that second pack of strings. Why? Because anyone who's ever restrung their instrument using only their hands can tell you how time-consuming it is. In my 4 short years of playing, I have easily wasted away a full week or more just changing strings. And I'm not joking. By hand, it's easily an hour ordeal if not more. This little tool shaved that time down to 20 minutes. Yep, less than a quarter of the time. You'll fall in love with it if you use it.

3. Wire Cutters

The string winder I linked you to up there actually has these built in. But if you can't afford 7 bucks for that, you might as well shell out 4 for a nice pair of legit wire cutters. These will help you with more than just strings, too. If you're inclined to mess with the circuitry in your axe/pedals/amp, these are a must. Just make sure you unplug that amp first...

4. An Instrument Workbench Stand

It's a mouthful, but this little guy was the best ten bucks I've ever spent. I just call it a head rest. It's great, though. It props the instrument up just enough to allow easy access to every part of it without having to worry about your guitar slipping out of your lap. I've used this to restring, to adjust setup, and even to work on electronics. It takes a lot of the hassle out of working on your axe.

5. Metronome/Tuner

If you're ever going to go anywhere as a musician, you literally NEED one of these. I personally use a Korg TM-40, as does my bassist. But I've recently borrowed my little sister's Planet Waves PW-CT-08, and I've fallen in love with the thing. Korg will never let you down, but it doesn't have as many subdivision and odd-time signature options as the PW does. And being the prog-metal nut that I am, I think I might have to purchase one soon. For anyone with a floating trem setup, these things are a life saver. Just plug in and adjust your intonation points.

6. A (small) Patch Cable

I just use the stock cable that came with my guitar, but something as small as this would work fine. You just want something small enough to fit in your case, honestly. It's great for testing stuff out in your signal chain, too.




7. A Set of Allen Wrenches

If you've been playing guitar for more than a year, you'll know exactly how handy these are, no matter what kind of guitar you play. Just make sure you know if you need Metric or Imperial, or just grab both. These are handy for all sorts of minute adjustments. The truss rod and bridge saddles are where these will happen most, especially on a floating setup.

8. A Multi-Bit Screw Driver

It sounds weird now, but you'll be glad you have it. Removing panels, adjusting pickups, and going back to the floating setup, adjusting intonation via the screws in the back cavity. And yes, I'm linking you to all these things for a reason.

9. A 9-Volt Battery (or 2. ... or 5)

This isn't necessarily a need depending on your setup, but if you've got active pickups, an acoustic/electric, or a pedal or two that are powered by batteries, you'll want a few spares in your case. It's embarrassing to have one run dead mid-show.

10. Pliers

Yep. Again, something you wouldn't think you'd need until you suddenly do. These are handy for restringing, working on electronics in hard to reach spaces, and for tuning your guitar when the peg breaks off. Just ask the band that opened for us.

11. A variety of Picks.

Okay, this is one we shouldn't have to worry about, but you'd be surprised how many guitarists have asked me if I could lend them a pick, and then subsequently lose it. I myself keep a wide variety in my case for two reasons: 1)tonal/technical purposes (I've got Dunlop Tortex, nylon and Fender shell picks in various thicknesses for tone variety, and I exclusively use Dunlop Jazz III's for my electrics), and 2) to loan to other people.

12. A Spare Guitar

Okay, so maybe you'll want a separate case for this one. But I never come with just one guitar to a gig. And I never will. I always have a backup, because who knows when a string is going to break, or when your electronics are going to short out. Sure, it may not sound or look as good as your main axe because, like me, you're so poor that you know all the best local bridges to sleep under, but look at it this way: I'd rather see a performer crash mid-song cause he broke a string, and then get right back on the horse with a guitar that doesn't play/sound as well, than watch someone crash and proceed to say "heebidy heebidy heebidy- That's all, folks!"

Source article : http://www.examiner.com

Read more

10 Tips That Will Make You a Better Guitarist

1- Learn scales, chords(arpeggios) on one string.Learn the distances between the notes(numbered Intervals) as well as the notes themselves. No matter what style of music you play, you must understand the basic’s of Chording, Melody and Harmony. Being able to visualize an octave and the relationship of notes, laid out in a straight line (like on a piano) will help you make sense of the different positions.

2- Learn scales and chords in as many positions as possible,(there’s 5 basic shapes)). Learn how to build them.What are the similarities, differences? How does the G-B hump effect them? Chords are built from scales so try to think of them as being the same.

3- Don’t try to play new material at full speed. Break riffs into smaller pieces and cycle them. When counting slowly, subdivide; 1 (+ 2 and), 2 (+ 2 and), 3 (+ 2 and), 4 (+2 and). Always tap your foot, do it without thinking. This internalizes the beat. 




4- Practice in your head without your Guitar. Being able to visualize a chord or riff, is the first step to executing it consistently or altering it. Humming scales and melodies is a great way to internalize the intervals.

5- If you are having trouble learning new material or techniques, sleep on it. The 1/2 hour before you fall asleep at night, is the best time to practice visualizing the fingerboard, chords, scales and patterns. Don’t count sheep, count frets!

6- Pay attention to how different chords, phrasings, intervals and tonal colors make you feel, (Maj-rising, min-falling).Even non-musicians understand Tonal Gravity.

7- Learn the cycle of Fourths and Fifths. They are called “Perfect” for a reason. You should always know where the IV and V are, in relation to the Root note. J Hendrix’s mastery of the circle of Fifths is obvious (“Hey Joe” chord progression is a good eg.) Interactive circle of IVths and Vths. Don’t worry about memorizing the circle, try to hear the difference between a fourth and Fifth. They are Inverse Opposites.




8- Teach yourself, even if you are studying with a teacher. Try to solve problems with math, logic and just plain screwing around(Abstract Reasoning). Learning what you shouldn’t do, is part of learning what you should. Don’t be afraid to “Noodle” because you might hit an off note. Everybody learns differently. You have to develop your own sense of what works and what doesn’t.
9- Practice pressing down on the string with just enough pressure to get a clear note, no buzz or trail offs. Avoid squeezing the neck, it slows you down and makes it hard to move to the next position.

10- most new players practice until they get it “right”. If you want to excel at playing an instrument(or any discipline), you have to practice, until you can’t get it wrong.

Read more

Frontal Assault: The Top 10 Guitar-Playing Frontmen in Rock

Even though Metallica's James Hetfield makes it look all too easy, there are countless guitarists who find it challenging to sing while doing anything on the guitar — besides strumming.
Some players (myself included) even get bent out of shape when they're asked to provide the simplest of vocal harmonies while playing solos or semi-challenging riffs.
Which is why Guitar World has decided to honor the 10 worthy guitarists/singers named below. We feel they are — or were, since we're honoring some artists who have passed away — 10 of the best (if not undoubtedly the best) guitar-playing frontmen in rock history.
The criteria is simple: They must have outstanding voices — either technically impressive or pleasingly "warm," unique or offbeat — and a heapin' helpin' of distinctive six-string badassery. Of course, since we're talking about frontmen, they also need a touch of charisma, maybe a spot of quirkiness and/or what is commonly called "stage presence."
Note that, while we don't like to exclude such players as Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, this is a list of guitarists who don't/didn't share the frontman spotlight with anyone in the band. This is also why you won't find the Beatles' John Lennon or Paul "guitarist before he was a bassist" McCartney on this list.
With that in mind, here are our 10 choices. If you disagree with our picks or would like to suggest other players, let us know in the comments below. Note that these names are presented in no particular order. Once again, the names are presented in no particular order!


Frontman: Stevie Ray Vaughan

Band: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
With his electrifying prowess, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan refocused attention back to the essentials — guitar, bass and drums in a basic 12-bar format.
He had no light show to speak of, no dry ice, no fog, no lasers. He didn't go in for leather-and-studs macho posturing. A longtime local hero in juke joints throughout Austin, Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth, Stevie Ray waved the Texas flag all over the country in one sold-out concert venue after another.
His secret? A soft-spoken, laconic man, Vaughan summed it up in three little words: "I just play."
Of course, there's more to it than that. Along with his unquestionable prowess on the guitar, Vaughan, who died in August 1990, had one hell of a voice, a voice that still makes every "SRV bandwagon" blues-er sound, well, incomplete. Although you wouldn't have wanted to sit through a concert titled "SRV Sings Verdi" (or "SRV Sings Freddie Mercury"), there's no denying SRV had his own thing, a voice that oozed authenticity and confidence. 




Frontman: James Hetfield

Band: Metallica
Well, we mentioned Hetfield in the intro to this story, so his inclusion can't be much of a surprise, can it?
Besides supplying the instantly recognizable voice of one of the most accomplished heavy metal bands in history, the Metallica frontman has always been lauded for his hard, fast and precise rhythm playing, a style that has had a massive impact on several generations of guitar players.
Hetfield, who often is said to have the best right hand in metal, once told Guitar World, “I’d much rather talk about guitar playing. I hate it when people ask me about my lyrics. I always feel like telling them to just go and read them.”


Frontman: Jimi Hendrix

Bands: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Band of Gypsys
When Jimi Hendrix first exploded onto the scene, attention was riveted on his radical reinvention of guitar-soloing vocabulary, technique and sound, which was inspired by a now-familiar roster of great blues soloists.
But Hendrix had another musical asset that set him apart from similarly influenced British blues-rock contemporaries: undeniable charisma and a voice that clearly stood out from the pack. In that sense, he was the complete package.
Although he wasn't the most powerful singer in the world, his voice had a pleasingly warm tone and plenty of soul, as can be heard on "Bold as Love" and "Castles Made of Sand" (and so many other songs). He also added plenty of what could best be described as fun ad-libs ("Dig this, baby...") that would be exploited by future generations of singers in every genre of popular music.  




Frontman: Jack White

Bands: The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, Jack White
It's pure magic when Jack White ascends to the vocal register of vintage Robert Plant — while adding AC/DC-style riffs with his depth-charge guitar playing.
“I always look at playing guitar as an attack," White told Guitar Player. "It has to be a fight. Every song, every guitar solo, every note that’s played or written has to be a struggle. It can’t be this wimpy thing where you’re pushed around by the idea, the characters, or the song itself. It’s every player’s job to fight against all of that.”
White, who now tours and records under his own name, was (of course) once the more vocal half of the White Stripes. In the July 2002 issue of Guitar World, he explained how stage presentation plays a major part in a band’s success:
“Anything involved in presenting yourself onstage is all a big trick. You’re doing your best to trick those people into experiencing something good, something they haven’t thought about before or haven’t thought about in a long time. I’m doing my best to be that vaudeville trickster, to help that happen.”

Frontman: Dave Mustaine

Band: Megadeth
Dave Mustaine's story is something a good portion of our readers can relate to: He became his band's singer by default after a series of unsuccessful auditions for vocalists.
At that moment, the former Metallica and Fallen Angels lead guitarist became the frontman for Megadeth, one of the world's most important thrash metal bands.
The rest, shall we say, is history.
"I actually enjoy [singing] a lot of times, but it's not my strong point," Mustaine told Colorado classic rock station 103.5 the Fox in 2013.
"I've been working really hard at it the last few years. I wish I would have given it as much attention in the beginning as I do now ... It's definitely a unique voice sound. You know, you hear people like Axl [Rose] or myself or [James] Hetfield or some of the other people that are really easily identifiable, it's scarce. Like Chris Cornell, you hear Chris, you know it's him."

Frontman: Steve Marriott 

Bands: Small Faces, Humble Pie
We've read your pro-Steve Marriott comments on GuitarWorld.com "list" stories for quite a while now: "How could you possibly leave out the great Steve Marriott? He was one of the most talented singers of all time!"
First of all, we agree. We love Marriott, and there was pretty much no chance in hell he'd be left off this list.
We'll get to his legendary voice in a minute. First we'll briefly mention his stripped-down but aggressive guitar playing, the steam engine that propelled a slew of Small Faces and Humble Pie tracks, including "All or Nothing," "Tin Soldier," "E Too D," "Get Yourself Together," "What'cha Gonna Do About It" and so many more.
Marriott was the Small Faces' Roger Daltrey, but he also was the band's Pete Townshend, using a host of guitars, including an arguably too-big-for-his-body Gretsch White Falcon, to powerfully make his point in so many Sixties masterpieces.
And then there's his voice, a voice that is still considered one of the greatest in classic rock. Can words do it justice? Why not just listen to "Afterglow" below? And below that, you'll find Marriott in action on "What'cha Gonna Do About It" with the Small Faces.
Marriott, who would later front Humble Pie — where he joined guitar forces with Peter Frampton — died in a fire in 1991.

Frontman: Kurt Cobain

Band: Nirvana
“We’re just musically and rhythmically retarded,” Nirvana's guitarist, vocalist and chief songwriter, Kurt Cobain, told Guitar World in 1991. "We play so hard that we can’t tune our guitars fast enough. People can relate to that.
“We sound like the Bay City Rollers after an assault by Black Sabbath,” continued Cobain. “And we vomit onstage better than anyone!”
So imagine how comical he'd find it to see the mark he's made on popular music. As Vernon Reid of Living Colour put it, "Cobain changed the course of where the music went … . There are certain people where you can see the axis of musical history twisting on them: Hendrix was pivotal, Prince was pivotal, Cobain was pivotal.”
Cobain, with his raw emotion and mélange of untuned metal, drunk punk and Seventies pop, slayed the beast called stadium rock. And no, he wasn't a guitar virtuoso by any stretch, but his creativity, his crunch, his off-beat chugging and droning charm made him unique. It's yet another reminder to create your own thing, your own sound, people!

Frontman: Eric Clapton

Bands: Derek and the Dominos, Eric Clapton
What else can be said about the amazing six-string gifts of Eric Clapton, one of the most lauded guitarists in the universe, 1966's blues-breaking virtuoso who went on to blow minds in Cream, Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos?
Still, If you need to read more, be sure to pick up the March 2014 issue of Guitar World magazine, which counts down his 50 greatest guitar moments — but doesn't mention a word about his voice.
It's a voice first heard on the Bluesbreakers' 1966 version of Robert Johnson's "Ramblin' on My Mind," a song Clapton was actually reluctant to sing because he didn't think he was good enough.
He eventually shared the vocal duties in Cream with bassist Jack Bruce and went on to sing an endless stream of hits and classic-rock staples, starting with 1970's "After Midnight," "Let It Rain" and "Layla," coasting through the Seventies with "Cocaine" and "Lay Down Sally," kicking it up a notch in the Eighties with "Forever Man" and toning things back down again in recent years.
As he told Rolling Stonein 2010, these days Clapton is pretty fond of his voice. "It's taken me to be an older guy, an old man, to have an old man's voice. Because I only liked old men's voices. As a kid, I didn't like pip-squeaked singers. It was always someone with authority. And for a singer to have authority, they have to have some kind of social standing. Otherwise, it's fake."

Frontman: Trey Anastasio 

Bands: Phish, Trey Anastasio Band
It just stands to reason that a band with an undying cult following has one hell of a frontman. Such is the case for Phish, whose guitar-slinging (and singing) Trey Anastasio — like the rest of the band — has built a magnetic rapport with the band's fans.
Anastasio's fluid lines are often wonderfully mind boggling — and can lead a 38-minute version of "Tweezer" to all kinds of new and exciting places.
"Musical inspiration can come from just about anywhere," Anastasio told Guitar World in 2000.
"For me, so much inspiration comes from the rhythms of the natural sounds in the air. Walking out in the country, you’ll hear certain sounds — a train, a boat, or maybe a horse walking on the road — and each of these sounds has a rhythm. If your mind is open, the simple rhythms of those sounds can inspire you and spark new musical ideas."


Frontman: Matthew Bellamy

Band: Muse
As Guitar Player put it in 2010, Muse frontman Matthew Bellamy is on a quest for futuristic guitar sounds—to the point of designing his own guitars with built-in effects, wireless MIDI and synth capabilities.
Not surprisingly, he’s a huge fan of Tom Morello and Jimi Hendrix, and he tries to channel the spirit of their sonic explorations into technology-fueled approaches that work for him and his compositions.

Read more