Predictability

[Spudman]

I was listening to a Gary Moore song "Wasn't Born In Chicago" and during an instrumental part he put in a rest and I just knew exactly which note he was going to hit after the rest and I was correct. He was predictable.

Do you notice this with some players? Do you think it is a good thing (familiar, comfortable, easy to listen to)? Or, do you prefer things to be less predictable?

[Katastrophe]

We guitarists are as a group creatures of habit, especially when playing in a certain style.

Is that bad? I don't know, but there are players out there that are too avant garde for my tastes, that emphasize dissonant intervals in their soloing.

I'm kind of mixed. There are times when I like to listen to a well executed, familiar blues lick, then there are times when I get really psyched listening to different, more progressive stuff.

After all, there are only 12 notes, and they've all been played before.

[ShootTheGlass]

Yeah you can normally guess whats coming with a lot of guitarists I find. The only way to be really unpredictable would be to flail around wildly with your fingers and picking odd rhythms. Would be worth it to see all the guitar hero players suffer :D

[dws]

After all, there are only 12 notes, and they've all been played before.

Love that line.

Predictability is good and bad. It's just a matter of opinion, IMHO :D

[R_of_G]

It's an excellent question Spud. Personally, I prefer the unpredictable. This is what draws me to guitar players like Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell and Jonny Greenwood. There are so many times when the next note is not at all the one I would have guessed, but once I hear it, it makes perfect sense. They each have very unique approaches to melody which I find refreshing. This is not to say predictability is a bad thing. It all depends on what's appropriate for the musical situation at hand.

[Spudman]

There are so many times when the next note is not at all the one I would have guessed, but once I hear it, it makes perfect sense. They each have very unique approaches to melody which I find refreshing. This is not to say predictability is a bad thing. It all depends on what's appropriate for the musical situation at hand.

That pretty much says how I think about it.
I often do the predictable when playing in a club that is primarily a watering hole first and foremost. It keeps the equilibrium amongst the patrons. But like you, when that note fits well and it wasn't what I was expecting it's like a fresh breath and renews not only my musical spirit but my interest in the music as well.

[warren0728]

my playing is unpredictable...even i can't predict what the heck i'm gonna play next (or what i just played for that matter) :greenguitar: :thwap:

ww

[just strum]

Being unpredictable is good as long as it isn't a forced fit. Being unpredictable for the sake of being unpredictable is so predictable.

[warren0728]

Being unpredictable is good as long as it isn't a forced fit. Being unpredictable for the sake of being unpredictable is so predictable.
believe it or not i predicted you would say that! :poke: :AOK:

ww

[Spudman]

believe it or not i predicted you would say that! :poke: :AOK:

ww

I knew someone was going to say that too.:poke: :)

[R_of_G]

Being unpredictable is good as long as it isn't a forced fit. Being unpredictable for the sake of being unpredictable is so predictable.

Of course that begs the question of whether or not a "forced fit" is really being unpredictable... can you be intentionally random or are you just not consciously aware that there is a pattern at work in your decisions? Does that make any sense at all?

[pes_laul]

all this predicting is making me confuzzled :confused:

[peachhead]

my playing is unpredictable...even i can't predict what the heck i'm gonna play next (or what i just played for that matter) :greenguitar: :thwap:

ww

yeah what he said :D

[ShortBuSX]

I was listening to a Gary Moore song "Wasn't Born In Chicago" and during an instrumental part he put in a rest and I just knew exactly which note he was going to hit after the rest and I was correct. He was predictable.

Do you notice this with some players? Do you think it is a good thing (familiar, comfortable, easy to listen to)? Or, do you prefer things to be less predictable?

Maybe its becoming predictable because you are advancing?

I listen to alot of blues, but I remember as a kid a could kinda predict how a song was gonna go...havent thought much about it lately, but most blues, rock and other musics are based on "I, IV, V" anyways *shrug* and blues is only 12 bars, "...oh, here comes the turnaround".

But like Id said, maybe youre just gettin good with theory?

[thearabianmage]

I'm kind of mixed. There are times when I like to listen to a well executed, familiar blues lick, then there are times when I get really psyched listening to different, more progressive stuff.


+1

Petrucci is 'by the book' as Zappa is avant garde - they both hit their own set of buttons. When you think of music as though it were food, do you always feel like eating a steak, or a cheeseburger?

And you'd have to know what's predictable to know what's unpredictable. But as long as it sounds good - predictable or not - I'm happy :dude: