Does McCready have bad technique?

mcgruff10 · August 2017

I guy I know keeps telling me like Hendrix, McCreday has bad technique when playing guitar. True or not

(I've been playing guitar over 20 years but I don't know shit about theory)

dudeman · August 2017

Depends on who you ask. He's obviously making a living playing guitar. He must be doing something right.

Is the guy you know as an accomplished guitar player as Mike?

mcgruff10 · August 2017

Lol, hell no.

nittanysurfer · August 2017

I heard Mike say in an interview that he wasn't a very technical guitar player but some of the stuff he does is difficult.

dudeman · August 2017

Adam Jones from Tool said something in an interview that stuck with me. He pretty much said that taking guitar lessons and learning the "proper" way to play isn't really necessary as long as you're playing music you like.

rgambs · August 2017

I would say that he sounds sloppy to me occasionally, though I don't claim to have a particularly educated ear. I feel like his notes and tones tend to blur when he plays very fast, though I couldn't quantify why.
Technical skill definitely isn't everything, the list of technically great guitarists who lack soul or haven't been able to lodge themselves in people's psyches is a very long list.

Bottom line, ANY band should/would be glad to have him as their lead guitarist, particularly back when he was so damn good as a teenager and young adult.
It's one thing for him to rock so hard now, but who his age could play like that in the early 90's?? Almost nobody.
Frusciante maybe, but even he didn't have that same hot fire.

F Me In The Brain · August 2017

My buddy who has played in bands his whole adult life, and also loves Pearl Jam, fondly refers to Mike as 'The Noodler' because he plays all over.
Mike is a bad ass guitar player. Being compared to Hendrix like your friend did....that is awesome company.

brianlux · August 2017

I've never heard anyone ever say Hendrix had "bad technique". But what does that mean? Should he have sat in a chair with the guitar cradled between his thighs like Segovia and finger picked intricate mixolydian phrases and runs while sight reading Villa-Lobos? Strange criticism.

mcgruff10 · August 2017

rgambs said:

I would say that he sounds sloppy to me occasionally, though I don't claim to have a particularly educated ear. I feel like his notes and tones tend to blur when he plays very fast, though I couldn't quantify why.
Technical skill definitely isn't everything, the list of technically great guitarists who lack soul or haven't been able to lodge themselves in people's psyches is a very long list.

Bottom line, ANY band should/would be glad to have him as their lead guitarist, particularly back when he was so damn good as a teenager and young adult.
It's one thing for him to rock so hard now, but who his age could play like that in the early 90's?? Almost nobody.
Frusciante maybe, but even he didn't have that same hot fire.

what songs would you say he is sloppy on?

mcgruff10 · August 2017

brianlux said:

I've never heard anyone ever say Hendrix had "bad technique". But what does that mean? Should he have sat in a chair with the guitar cradled between his thighs like Segovia and finger picked intricate mixolydian phrases and runs while sight reading Villa-y Lobos? Strange criticism.

exactly Brian! the guy obviously has a very strong dislike for pearl jam. It really is a stupid conversation. lol

mcgruff10 · August 2017

here's the guys argument: You can start with his inability to control the noise emanating from his lack of right or left hand muting. This is essential when it comes to being able to play notes that can actually be heard instead of having a garbled mess of noise. He can't actually control his instrument. Secondly, his intonation for bends is only slightly better than a beginner's. I think I had better bends after my first six months. His ears are either toast or he never had them to begin with. Third, his creativity with licks isn't actually present. They're generic rock licks that everyone learns in beginner to intermediate lessons, only they're sped up to sound cooler than they really are. This makes sense since most of his licks are right out of the Hendrix/Page book anyway. Fourth, he needs to lay off the wah-wah before he becomes Kirk Hammet. I can continue.

And he qualifies as a guitar player which is different than a musician. A musician is someone that has genuine ability but happens to just play one or more instruments. A musician can make any instrument (or non-instrument) that they choose sound good.

rgambs · August 2017

mcgruff10 said:

rgambs said:

I would say that he sounds sloppy to me occasionally, though I don't claim to have a particularly educated ear. I feel like his notes and tones tend to blur when he plays very fast, though I couldn't quantify why.
Technical skill definitely isn't everything, the list of technically great guitarists who lack soul or haven't been able to lodge themselves in people's psyches is a very long list.

Bottom line, ANY band should/would be glad to have him as their lead guitarist, particularly back when he was so damn good as a teenager and young adult.
It's one thing for him to rock so longhard now, but who his age could play like that in the early 90's?? Almost nobody.
Frusciante maybe, but even he didn't have that same hot fire.

what songs would you say he is sloppy on?

Even Flow is sometimes a masterpiece balet and sometimes a frantic jitter, and sometimes it is a little of both.
His sound isn't particularly precise compared to someone known for precision, I'm thinking of Eric Johnson, but it has passion out the ass in ways people like him can't muster.

mcgruff10 · August 2017

rgambs said:

mcgruff10 said:

rgambs said:

I would say that he sounds sloppy to me occasionally, though I don't claim to have a particularly educated ear. I feel like his notes and tones tend to blur when he plays very fast, though I couldn't quantify why.
Technical skill definitely isn't everything, the list of technically great guitarists who lack soul or haven't been able to lodge themselves in people's psyches is a very long list.

Bottom line, ANY band should/would be glad to have him as their lead guitarist, particularly back when he was so damn good as a teenager and young adult.
It's one thing for him to rock so longhard now, but who his age could play like that in the early 90's?? Almost nobody.
Frusciante maybe, but even he didn't have that same hot fire.

what songs would you say he is sloppy on?

Even Flow is sometimes a masterpiece balet and sometimes a frantic jitter, and sometimes it is a little of both.
His sound isn't particularly precise compared to someone known for precision, I'm thinking of Eric Johnson, but it has passion out the ass in ways people like him can't muster.

yeah I can definitely see that when talking about even flow.

dudeman · August 2017

The thing that your friend seems to be overlooking is that Mike plays in the right context of the band. His playing serves the songs and the other instruments.

More importantly, he engages the listener. His playing resonates with a hell of a lot of people that feel emotional connections to the music he makes with his guitar.

If that isn't the whole point of playing guitar in the first place, I don't know what is.

...

Oh. Chicks. I forgot about playing to get chicks.

mcgruff10 · August 2017

dudeman said:

The thing that your friend seems to be overlooking is that Mike plays in the right context of the band. His playing serves the songs and the other instruments.

More importantly, he engages the listener. His playing resonates with a hell of a lot of people that feel emotional connections to the music he makes with his guitar.

If that isn't the whole point of playing guitar in the first place, I don't know what is.

...

Oh. Chicks. I forgot about playing to get chicks.

I totally stole that! great insight!

bootlegger10 · August 2017

Mike is great. Not groundbreaking or anything, but great. His energy at concerts is huge for Pearl Jam's touring success.

brianlux · August 2017

bootlegger10 said:

Mike is great. Not groundbreaking or anything, but great. His energy at concerts is huge for Pearl Jam's touring success.

Exactly. Sure, Mike is not a virtuoso in the most strict technical sense but so what? His presence within the band, his energy, his connection to the audience his interplay with the band- you remove that and a big chunk of what makes Pearl Jam a great band is lost.

PJfanwillneverleave1 · August 2017

True
It's horrific.

2-feign-reluctance · August 2017

No, his playing is so organic and feel based. This ain't no lame ass G3 Live shit.

jeffbr · August 2017

2-feign-reluctance said:

No, his playing is so organic and feel based. This ain't no lame ass G3 Live shit.

Exactly right. This is what I try to tell people. When Satriani or Vai are playing I will watch in awe at their technique and mastery, but I don't feel the music. I'm just impressed with their amazing skills. When Mike is playing I can feel it - I'm moved. That is more important to me. Mike may not have the technical skills of a Satriani, but Mike can bring tears.

2-feign-reluctance · August 2017

jeffbr said:

2-feign-reluctance said:

No, his playing is so organic and feel based. This ain't no lame ass G3 Live shit.

Exactly right. This is what I try to tell people. When Satriani or Vai are playing I will watch in awe at their technique and mastery, but I don't feel the music. I'm just impressed with their amazing skills. When Mike is playing I can feel it - I'm moved. That is more important to me. Mike may not have the technical skills of a Satriani, but Mike can bring tears.

And though he stays 'at home' in fairly standard scales, when you consider the fucking context (*see Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament & Matt Cameron) he's playing those scales in? Yeah, welcome to our favorite band.

Does McCready have bad technique?

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