[blarneypilgrim]

Hi all
as first and foremost a guitar player of limited ability i want to pose this question to the forumites.about one year ago i bought a mandolin (bluegrass is my first love).after learning to play along with most of the songs i already knew i started to listen to the overall sound of bands and not focus entirely on the guitar player.in other words i think i have become an overall better musician by looking at the music not as a guitar player but as a member of a group that made an overall sound.my focus has shifted to include and listen to the other players and add value to the overall sound by complementing what others around me are doing.now when i play guitar im LISTENING much more intently to whats going on.as a result i think my musicianship has improved.has this happened to anyone else.
pilgrim

[SlickCat]

Yes... I play much better in a band context....you learn to listen to the rest of the band and play riffs and ideas off the vocalist...bass player....drummer..whatever. The trick is to blend in and enhance the overall sound of the band.
The quickest way to get fired is come out like the
"shred-master guitarist" who tries to outplay everyone in the band. There's a time and place in a band context to show your chops.....

[Mattguitar64]

Playing in a band is way more fun too.
it makes me feel warm inside

[Dewy]

I started out long ago with a Clarinet... moved on to Upright Bass Viol... then wanted to be a drummer, but dad bought me guitars. Years later I gave up on being a guitarist... as they were a dime a dozen, and what the music scene here lacked was good Bass players. So... I bought a bass and gigged for a while with it.

That made me a MUCH better guitarist... being able to work the scales and listen to songs from a different perspective gave me insight as to how to better write a song, how the crowd feeds off the bass spectrum, and how the overall music interacts with the percussion side of it.

So I am in complete sync with you on your newfound perspective.

/salute