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Post new topic Ballads, Medium, or Upbeat--which do you prefer to play?
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Author Topic:  Ballads, Medium, or Upbeat--which do you prefer to play?
Mike Neer


From:
NJ
Post  Posted 15 Aug 2012 3:15 pm    
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I have a strong tendency to go for the uptempo stuff. I do love a good ballad and a medium tempo is probably where I can focus the most and concentrate on my lines, but there is something about the exhilaration of playing an uptempo tune and getting so lost in it that you just feel like a conduit for musical ideas. That is a great feeling.

Medium tempos are probably what I do best, though, and ballads might just be my weakness.

How about you?
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Thomas Temple

 

From:
Florida, USA
Post  Posted 15 Aug 2012 6:26 pm     Learn to walk
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Mike,

While i might prefer an upbeat melody, as a new and learning player it seems that ballads are my main stay as I can more easily follow chord and melody changes. Hope to speed up as I progress, but for now, slow and steady.

Tom
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Erv Niehaus


From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
Post  Posted 16 Aug 2012 6:33 am    
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You can put some "soul" in the slower songs.
To me, some up-tempo songs are just so much noise.
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Doug Beaumier


From:
Northampton, MA
Post  Posted 16 Aug 2012 10:25 am    
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I used to prefer fast tunes when I was younger, but nowadays I like to play medium tempo tunes, swing, etc. Maybe it's part of the aging process! I find that audiences respond more to medium tempos, good melodies. That style really features the singing voice of the steel guitar, the vibrato, the sustain... more so than a flurry of blistering fast runs. I think every player should be able to play some hot licks when necessary, but a little goes a long way. Just my opinion.
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Papa Joe Pollick


From:
Swanton, Ohio
Post  Posted 16 Aug 2012 2:15 pm    
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What Doug said..
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Mike Neer


From:
NJ
Post  Posted 16 Aug 2012 5:16 pm    
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It's possible to play uptempo with taste, though. I like to hear some speed picking, etc., but just as with anything else, the artistry is most important. It is a real challenge to play uptempo tunes and improvise and still manage to be musical, no doubt about it. Four Wheel Drive is a perfect example.
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