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Posted by: Mertay Jan 28 2016, 11:36 PM

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Jan 30 2016, 10:36 AM

Marty always has an interesting perspective!

I must say though he doesn't look too comfortable. Given his approach to technique in general, I suppose having someone like Troy dissect it on a molecular level can feel a little intimidating..!

Posted by: Mertay Jan 31 2016, 09:54 PM

I've never ever seen him comfortable in these sort of stuff

Posted by: Ben Higgins Feb 1 2016, 03:24 PM

Marty's great. He truly gets it.. technique is there to allow us to make music. Beyond technique, you gotta start actually saying something with it.

A lot of people call attention to his unusual picking position, assuming it be uncomfortable or inefficient. I'd say it works well for his style which relies heavily on the power of the down stroke, using the downstroke in an economy picking motion. Mini sweeps. He says he's not a sweeper. By that he means he's not gonna play these massive up / down sweeps. But he does sweep the pick through 2 or 3 strings to articulate his shapes etc. He's a great example of not ticking the box of conventional use of technique yet being an awesome player.

Posted by: klasaine Feb 1 2016, 06:19 PM

Good interview.
I don't think he's uncomfortable or intimidated. He's just frustrated that the interviewer doesn't actually get that there's a difference between technique and music. Marty is being polite and sort of struggling to understand what T. Grady's asking.
You can see it in his eyes when he asks about a 'C' major shape arpeggio with the pinky. WTF? says his body language. He's also being very deliberate and measured with his explanations to the viewing public.
Players at Friedman's level are far beyond worrying or even thinking about chord and hand shapes - especially when it comes to linear playing ... and particularly - improvisation.
Even I can tell just by listening that MF doesn't 'sweep' pick, at least not in the traditional way at all.

But it just reiterates something that needs to be beaten into every guitar player. Technique should only be used in service of the music.

*Also, there is no code to crack. You can watch (and copy) those dude's right hands all friggin' day long. You ain't gonna sound or play like them.

Posted by: Kristofer Dahl Feb 3 2016, 11:05 AM

Agreed!

Also I have to say that although I wouldn't want to change anything with Marty's style - I do believe his right hand technique does limit him in some ways. I do not believe it was a conscious decision to play like that (he did not understand the implication when starting out - but who does?) - and it is possible that at some early stage in his playing he might have benefitted from re-learning.

However as with most creative people - he has found workarounds that has contributed to his amazing and unique style.

I think there are lots of interesting conclusions to draw from Marty! And this is probably also why he is one of my biggest influences.



I pretty much agree with all of this.

However most interviewers don't "get it", at some level. I admire the artists that still let their great persona shine through regardless of who's interviewing.

And yes - Troy's stuff is extremely technique oriented. However that also seems to be what a large portion of [Internet?] guitar audience requests.

I do find his analysis to be interesting on a technical level - but when comparing the efficiency of different techniques etc I get the impression he misses aspects concerning tone and flexibility (can you use it for improvs?). So to me - his analysis covers only a smaller portion of the important stuff.

And as with anything, that grain of salt is important