While My Guitar Gently Beats Up Your Piano
Guitar players and piano players are two different animals, let me tell ya. I play guitar and dabble at piano. I am not a piano player by any definition of the word. The thought process is different, the approach to the music is different, the method of learning is different.
Piano is a very structured instrument. Piano players learn notes, by and large, and combine them into chords. Piano does not really lend to improvisation as much as guitar. Piano players (real piano players, not keyboardists ) love sheet music. It tells them everything they need to know: chords, notes, tempo, rhythm... Piano players love being told what to do.
Guitar players hate sheet music. We do not like being told what to do, and we can't read the silly things anyway. Give us chord charts and we'll fill in the rest. Guitar players love to improvise. (we say improvise; the rest of the world calls it make mistakes.) Guitar players have opinions about everything.
Piano players can do it all. It comes from the training. A piano score is complete. A piano player playing off of a score does melody, rhythm and bass. He controls tempo, groove and style.
Guitar players, we like to do "our thing." Some of us are rhythm, some are lead, some are blues. We know how to work well as a team. We know our parts. We know the space in the song to play in. Just try to get a piano player to play "up here." He'll be right down where the guitar player is before the verse is over. A guitar player will stay where he's comfortable, where he belongs. He doesn't want to play the whole song. In fact, you can't get some guitar players to move off open chords, because to do that would mean they have to play barre chords. Those are the ones where they have to hold their index finger down across the fretboard to make another chord. Bad news. They'll be playing a nice easy song in G, all open chords, then some joker of a composer will throw in a B minor in the bridge! Oh, well, the piano player can get that one...
Guitar players play by ear. We listen and adjust. If we're out of tune, we tune. We bend, we vibrato, we hammer and pull. We learn by ear. A guitar player is playing a song on day one. Sure, it's a twelve-bar blues in G, and he doesn't even know what that is yet, but man, he's playing it! Piano players play by routine. Scales, scales, scales. Do, re, mi. Chopsticks. Mary Had a Little Lamb. Besides, you can't bring a piano to the beach.
People are like piano players and guitar players. Some of us try to do it all, be all things to all people. As a result, they develop great skills and knowledge, and can be very proactive. They prepare well. Others fly by the seat of their pants. They know what they are supposed to do, and don't try to much or too hard. But they can react, make changes on the fly, adapt to a situation. To them, the destination is more important than the journey.
They can frustrate one another, that's fore sure. "Piano" people will get frustrated that the plans change, that things are not going according to schedule. "Guitar" people will get frustrated when no one can adapt to a changing situation, or they cannot express themselves.
But when a guitar player and a piano player click, it's like magic. They compliment one another in ways that neither could ever plan. One can hold down the bottom while the other goes free. Then they can switch off roles as easy as can be. That ability comes from mutual understanding and respect. They know what each other are capable of, what their strenghts are, and where they can fit in. They serve the song and not themselves.
Wouldn't it be great if life were like that? If we all served instead of stood out? I'm just sayin'.
Piano is a very structured instrument. Piano players learn notes, by and large, and combine them into chords. Piano does not really lend to improvisation as much as guitar. Piano players (real piano players, not keyboardists ) love sheet music. It tells them everything they need to know: chords, notes, tempo, rhythm... Piano players love being told what to do.
Guitar players hate sheet music. We do not like being told what to do, and we can't read the silly things anyway. Give us chord charts and we'll fill in the rest. Guitar players love to improvise. (we say improvise; the rest of the world calls it make mistakes.) Guitar players have opinions about everything.
How many guitar players does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Twelve. One to do it, and eleven to stand around and say they can
do it better.
Piano players can do it all. It comes from the training. A piano score is complete. A piano player playing off of a score does melody, rhythm and bass. He controls tempo, groove and style.
How many bass players does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
None. The piano player can do it with his left hand.
Guitar players, we like to do "our thing." Some of us are rhythm, some are lead, some are blues. We know how to work well as a team. We know our parts. We know the space in the song to play in. Just try to get a piano player to play "up here." He'll be right down where the guitar player is before the verse is over. A guitar player will stay where he's comfortable, where he belongs. He doesn't want to play the whole song. In fact, you can't get some guitar players to move off open chords, because to do that would mean they have to play barre chords. Those are the ones where they have to hold their index finger down across the fretboard to make another chord. Bad news. They'll be playing a nice easy song in G, all open chords, then some joker of a composer will throw in a B minor in the bridge! Oh, well, the piano player can get that one...
Guitar players play by ear. We listen and adjust. If we're out of tune, we tune. We bend, we vibrato, we hammer and pull. We learn by ear. A guitar player is playing a song on day one. Sure, it's a twelve-bar blues in G, and he doesn't even know what that is yet, but man, he's playing it! Piano players play by routine. Scales, scales, scales. Do, re, mi. Chopsticks. Mary Had a Little Lamb. Besides, you can't bring a piano to the beach.
People are like piano players and guitar players. Some of us try to do it all, be all things to all people. As a result, they develop great skills and knowledge, and can be very proactive. They prepare well. Others fly by the seat of their pants. They know what they are supposed to do, and don't try to much or too hard. But they can react, make changes on the fly, adapt to a situation. To them, the destination is more important than the journey.
They can frustrate one another, that's fore sure. "Piano" people will get frustrated that the plans change, that things are not going according to schedule. "Guitar" people will get frustrated when no one can adapt to a changing situation, or they cannot express themselves.
But when a guitar player and a piano player click, it's like magic. They compliment one another in ways that neither could ever plan. One can hold down the bottom while the other goes free. Then they can switch off roles as easy as can be. That ability comes from mutual understanding and respect. They know what each other are capable of, what their strenghts are, and where they can fit in. They serve the song and not themselves.
Wouldn't it be great if life were like that? If we all served instead of stood out? I'm just sayin'.
"But when a guitar player and a piano player click, it's like magic. They compliment one another in ways that neither could ever plan."
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely.
Wednesday night we had a large dose of this, with a piano player who's been a major source of 'interesting times'. Wish it could be like that with her more often, although I guess a fair dose was me playing to accompany her.
You are showing your youth and lack of expierence. Most real musicians who play any instrument will bow to the prowess and accomplishment of piano players. Even the most accomplished guitar players in the world do most of their composing on the piano. A good examples of this is Paul McCartney. And one of the greatest trumpet players of all times: Miles Davis also used the piano for composing.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to be making the assumption that Paul McCartney is "one of the most accomplished guitar players in the world." That's quite a stretch!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis article is not written to suggest that guitar players are better than piano players, or vice-versa. It's simply written to illustrate the differences between the way that a guitar player and a piano player will approach a live performance, especially when it comes to learning a new song. And you've illustrated my point for me. You seem like one of those piano players who will play a full left hand part, even when there's a bass player in the band. Or is the bass player supposed to "bow" to you as well?
And I compose on a piano as well, most of the time.