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Does a musician's lack of technical ability ever get in the way of your enjoyment?

Blake Klondike

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I would imagine that the mindset when it comes to music here a ASR tends toward "if you like it, it's good; if you don't like it it's good for somebody else". Given that, some bands that have technically great players produce music that is boring to me, and other bands have a lack of technical competence that keeps me from enjoying their stuff. Has anyone else thought about this over the years? Been ruminating on this for thirty years-- really interested to hear any thoughts!
 

Soniclife

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Some people with limited ability I don't like, but some others I do, exactly the same as with people with high levels of ability. No way of knowing if it's the lack of ability that turns me off, or something else.
I like both of these...

 

pozz

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I like choral works and some classical. I've never listened to a recording and thought that the players or singers were bad, but many times I've thought that the interpretation was off (the sense of dynamics, timing).
 

Alexanderc

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I literally cannot go to a classical concert and not analyze every little detail of the performance. It’s what I do for a living and I can’t let it go. Recordings actually make it a lot easier for me to just listen and enjoy. Sometimes I don’t notice details, sometimes little issues just doesn’t bother me as much.

This is the part I think you were asking about: I would almost always prefer a performance with some deficiencies that also has a lot of energy and life. It’s a fine line because a technical problem or two can mess up an otherwise good performance. On the other hand, “perfection” for its own sake can be boring.
 

MattHooper

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I would imagine that the mindset when it comes to music here a ASR tends toward "if you like it, it's good; if you don't like it it's good for somebody else". Given that, some bands that have technically great players produce music that is boring to me, and other bands have a lack of technical competence that keeps me from enjoying their stuff. Has anyone else thought about this over the years? Been ruminating on this for thirty years-- really interested to hear any thoughts!

Occasionally, yes.

First I should say that a lack of technical proficiency per se doesn't bother me at all. It all depends on what type of music it produces and whether I like it or not.

But I have noticed that, though I love prog rock, my interest really tends to start, I dunno, roughly around '75 and beyond I guess. Before that it was like prog musicians and rock musicians were still getting a handle on their instruments, exploring what they could do, but not reaching technical proficiency, and being sort of limited by that as well. So for instance I can't bear to listen to endless jam sessions of rock or prog bands in the later 60's/early 70's because it just seems so limited...just tons of noodling that may have been mind-blowing for the time, but which I find tedious.
For prog, early Genesis, King Crimson etc - pass, later stuff, bring it on. And in 60's pop lots of the guitar playing and solos seem to me almost hilariously constrained in technique, like the guitarists can just barely get through the solo.

Oh, and passing diss: Carlos Santana is the single most over-rated "guitar God." Yeah, he has a "feel" or a "sound," but his technique seems so restricted that releative to other great guitarists, it's like watching someone eking out solos in the late stages of arthritis. So he just chooses a spot on the guitar, a few notes to bend around "with feel." Not enough, for me.
 

waynel

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There is a limit for me

 

GD Fan

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It's a great question. There are bands that play regularly on my stereo where there's no denying the shortcoming of certain talents: Ramones, Sex Pistols, even Tragically Hip with apologies to my Canadian friends (they play here infrequently).

Those can be thoroughly enjoyed whereas some technically proficient players have never found a place in my heart: Malmsteen, Dweezil, and I've never admitted this to anyone but, despite my love of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Mike Campbell has never grabbed me.

And then again people trashtalk Lars as a player but I find the drumming in Metallica a really interesting component (his personality and persona are another matter).

Edit: So for me, sometimes!...
 

RayDunzl

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The problem of mediocre and copycat composition trumps less than stellar playing.

For me.
 
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Blumlein 88

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The Sex Pistols almost had to be technically marginal to fit the whole gestalt their music was about.

I've seen interviews of John Fogerty of Creedance Clearwater Revival talk about how limited he was on guitar, but wanted to get the feelings out with his music. How hard he had to work to get good music being a not even mediocre musician. He seemed dumb founded when he heard other guitarists praise his sparse impeccable style of guitar playing. Sometimes necessity creates artistry via the limitations.

OTOH, lack of technical ability can get me very angst ridden when it is someone I'm trying to record. I prefer doing one organic take. Not patching 15 mistakes per minute of music. Often I feel the mistake here and there doesn't harm the music while I understand the musician can never un-hear it and cringes to his soul to think it will be recorded for posterity evermore with the mistakes in it.
 

Guermantes

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My own lack of technical ability irritates me constantly . . .

But to echo other comments, I don't believe there is some magic equation of greater ability equals better music. There are some artists where the music is greater than the sum of its parts, so to speak, and I have a double take and think, "How do they get away with that?". Perhaps knowing how to produce something worthwhile within your limitations is a type of genius, too.

Two classical guitarists I admire are Julian Bream and John Williams. When they collaborated in the 1970s, Bream commented that he had a hard time keeping up with Williams who is a technical monster. But then I've heard someone say that listening to Williams is like listening to an accountant play the guitar.
 

Eetu

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At live shows, yes sometimes. On record not so much. The bigger issue for me by far is the 'lack of technical ability' in mixing & mastering.
 

A800

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At live shows, yes sometimes. On record not so much. The bigger issue for me by far is the 'lack of technical ability' in mixing & mastering.

This.
 

dasdoing

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I literally cannot go to a classical concert and not analyze every little detail of the performance. It’s what I do for a living and I can’t let it go. Recordings actually make it a lot easier for me to just listen and enjoy. Sometimes I don’t notice details, sometimes little issues just doesn’t bother me as much.

This is the part I think you were asking about: I would almost always prefer a performance with some deficiencies that also has a lot of energy and life. It’s a fine line because a technical problem or two can mess up an otherwise good performance. On the other hand, “perfection” for its own sake can be boring.

I found out I need to learn the accoustics of the place first to know where I want to sit. I have been to places where sitting in the first rows is terrible cause you are sitting to low to hear instruments that are placed after the strings.
In another place I was very annoyed by bass coming very strong from the right (I was sitting about 15-20th row afair) because they were very close to the wall, So next time I try to sitt nearer to the stage.
 

dasdoing

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-It's very annoying to hear a good artist performing on a bad day.

-It's very enlightening hearing an artist perform better then expected. If alowed I post a personal example from this weekend. Iza is as a fairly new brazilian singer. I never payed too much atention to her, since her songs are very popish RnB. This weekend brazilian legend Gilberto Gil called her to sing in a youtube live performance. Before I heard it I thought "why the f_ck is Gil calling this Iza?". When I heard the performance I understood. Hearing her performing quality songs reveled that she is an incradible singer (she's a little nervous at the beginning)
(Gil is 77, that's why his singing sucks now lol)
 
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Robin L

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As a recording engineer working with classical musicians, I've had too many sessions where the musician being recorded was simply not prepared to make a recording. Some would never be ready, some worked with instruments that would never be appropriate for recording, some were simply under-rehearsed. One of those situations where one had to grit one's teeth and press on, as there was always more money to be made with those musicians who needed extra time to make a recording because of those issues. Sad, really, and one of the reasons I'll never do that type of work again.
 

RayDunzl

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I needed more...

And found it.

 
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