Many of us long for the ability to sprint through those complex, intertwined pentatonic scales and arpeggio runs like we’re musical Olympian  finger acrobats. As awing as it sounds when you hear a pro execute such hypnotic maneuvers, it may surprise you to know that baring these skills does not necessarily mean you will be more musically attractive to an audience than someone who plays simple, emotional blues melodies. Unfortunately, this reality is sometimes ignored among certain groups of guitar players.

If you wish to be noticed as a genuinely exceptional musician, every beginning and advancing guitar player would be wise to learn that speed isn’t everything.

Without Speed

An accomplished guitarist will not require the likes of speed to accomplish a dedicated crowd. They will have mastered the core essence of playing music to a point where they are able to construct memorable melodies out of even as little as one single note played at any particular tempo, upon any particular rhythm.

I’ve heard and seen guitarists deliver freestyle solos around people with a look on there face. “Hey, check this out. Whatcha think of that huh? Am I the shiz or what!!”

The reality is, this is not always convincing to many audiences. With a surprising number of these guitarists, it may come off as an attempt to get attention without real, genuine means. This particular type of musician may not have their intentions in an honest place.  This could be because they lack personal confidence, or because they are simply misguided by how they were taught. To be fair though, there are many reasons for this depending on the person and where their heart is.

What the hell are you talking about?

Now you are probably assuming that I am down talking legends across rock history. On the contrary, this article is elaborating what makes these legends much different than various other guitarists who sport much different reasons for their playing.

Obvious historical musicians have clearly expressed every aspect of accomplished playing. Would you say those such as Santana all the way to Dimebag Darrell ever took and drove only one characteristic of guitar playing all the way through their musical careers? How could they have caught a dedicated audience base if they had never mastered the realm of capturing listeners with simple, yet emotional, musical pieces? It is through their ability of showing variety that they actually gained the listeners trust and connect with.

Therefore, to truly understand what makes a musician good, one must understand the importance of variety and flexibility in their playing style. It is this presence of variety that gives birth to the full essence of beautiful music and how it affects its listener. In this way, you, as a musician, can focus on this to accomplish speaking to your audience to the full extent.

How Humans Perceive and Respond to Music

You see, the human system of emotion is actually intriguingly responsive to a wide array of rhythms and harmony. The next time you choose to select a song to listen to, pick something as deeply sad as you can find. While you listen, let the music itself guide your thoughts and feelings and notice how it controls and leads you along its path. Where does it take you? What is it saying to you? What is it doing to you?! These kinds of things are exactly what lives in the heart of all music creation.

If you honestly dream to be someone who can pick an instrument up around friends, family, and strangers and leave them speechless through your music, you will want to master a very characterized balance between where slow careful acoustic patterns drift them into a teary daze and where keen uplifting major melodies drive them into an expansive emotional inspiration. These two polar ends of the spectrum will give you complete control over your listener’s response.

Expression Through Technique

The truth is, it is actually what you, the musician, wants to get off your chest through music that truly captures those who witness you. The most important thing is that you are playing to tell the listener you relate