Does anyone else find the electric guitar beautiful?

In the right hands (obviously), I find it very beautiful. A lot of people seem to think of it as an "angry" instrument just for rocking out, but even heavy solos like ones from Page, Hendrix or Vaughan I find very beautiful, and others such as Albert King, Eric Clapton or Jeff Beck can really make their guitars cry in such a moving way. Anyone else agree?

Sure, but so can a lot of other instruments, like the piano.

In terms of craftsmanship kind of.

Of course yes!!!

nothing, NOTHING can beat the sound of a guitar correctly played

Yea

Yes, same with synthesizer.

I totally agree...electric guitars can really sound beautiful, moreso than accoustic imo.

Same goes for violins, pianos, and synthesizers too!

I like the electric guitar but I prefer classical anyday. :P

no >_>turbotoby95

Yes. :P

No, it isn't a beautiful instrument in my ears. It's not a horrible instrument by any means, but if I want lyricism, I turn to the voice, the cello, the violin, the viola, or the clarinet. The French horn is also extremely beautiful in its upper register, maybe even moreso than the violin/viola. Acoustic guitar can be beautiful, though.

Same goes for violins, pianos, and synthesizers too!

DarkCulex_basic

Ugh. Electric anything < acoustic. ESPECIALLY pianos and violins.

Sure, but so can a lot of other instruments, like the piano.

FFCYAN

The piano is one of the least naturally lyrical melodic instruments in existence. People don't realize just how much time you have to dedicate to practice before you can make the instrument "sing," and even then, it's fake, because every single note still has its own attack. It's impossible to accomplish a true legato the way wind instruments, voice, or bowed strings can. This doesn't mean it can't be beautiful - but with respect to what it can do lyrically, it's much more limited than most other major instruments, including electric guitars.

Now what it can do dynamically, contrapuntally, and what it can do with tone colour... that's a different story. In those respects, it's a truly brilliant instrument.

[QUOTE="DarkCulex_basic"]

Same goes for violins, pianos, and synthesizers too!

pianist

Ugh. Electric anything < acoustic. ESPECIALLY pianos and violins.

Oh I wasn't refering to electronic pianos and violins for that part. Violin is the most beutiful IMO, though the piano is more versatile. The accoustic guitar bores me compared to the electric one. More resonance I guess...

Yes, of course. I'm a firm believer that electric guitar can be just as beautiful as piano, or violin (not cello, though, NOTHING beats the cello :P).

I believe the solos in both of these songs are good examples of how the electric guitar can be beautiful:

Clavicula Nox

Eye of Shiva

Oh I wasn't refering to electronic pianos and violins for that part. Violin is the most beutiful IMO, though the piano is more versatile. The accoustic guitar bores me compared to the electric one. More resonance I guess...

DarkCulex_basic

In that case, I agree. And violin is certainly more lyrical than piano; they actually make a very good pair. But I definitely like acoustic guitar more than electric guitar. In most cases, the tone of the electric guitar really irritates me. It certainly works well in specific contexts, though. I think of it like the saxophone in that respect.

[QUOTE="DarkCulex_basic"]

Oh I wasn't refering to electronic pianos and violins for that part. Violin is the most beutiful IMO, though the piano is more versatile. The accoustic guitar bores me compared to the electric one. More resonance I guess...

pianist

In that case, I agree. And violin is certainly more lyrical than piano; they actually make a very good pair. But I definitely like acoustic guitar more than electric guitar. In most cases, the tone of the electric guitar really irritates me. It certainly works well in specific contexts, though. I think of it like the saxophone in that respect.

Definitely agree on the saxophone part. My dad plays the sax once in a while. Just curious though, is there any type of electronic music you like Pianist or do you dislike all of it?

Oh yeah electric guitar can be damn beautiful. Some good examples:

The Human Abstract-Mea Culpa (Solo starts at about 1:56 and it is one of my all-time favs. Seriously brilliant)

Bullet For My Valentine-Hearts Burst Into Fire (The intro is very pretty)

No, it isn't a beautiful instrument in my ears. It's not a horrible instrument by any means, but if I want lyricism, I turn to the voice, the cello, the violin, the viola, or the clarinet. Acoustic guitar can be beautiful, though.

pianist

Tsk, and we agree on so much, but I suppose we wouldn't be human if we didn't have at least one utterly irreconcilable difference between us. :P

In a way I do think that there is definitely an ugliness to the sound of the electric guitar, but I personally find incredible beauty in that imperfection when the performer is right- I am personally repulsed by music that I think is "too perfect", so to speak.

I personally like the cello and the piano the best, however I do agree that the electric guitar does sound great in the right hands, but not necessarily 'beautiful'.

Definitely agree on the saxophone part. My dad plays the sax once in a while. Just curious though, is there any type of electronic music you like Pianist or do you dislike all of it?

DarkCulex_basic

I have a very strong preference for acoustic instruments because of the flexibility of nuance it affords the performer, and because of the richness of tone. Electronic instruments have a unique sound, but by and large, I feel the music stands poorly on its own. In a complimentary role, it can work fine, and I have no issue with the use of electronics to allow for instrumental combinations that would normally be impossible because of balance problems.

But no, I have not encountered any electronic music which has compelled me to search for more of it. But a lot of this has to do with the fact that most electronic music is written by composers whose music I find tedious to begin with, and so it really wouldn't matter if they were writing for acoustic or electronic instruments. I still wouldn't like it. I do, however, believe that electronic music will become better as time goes on. We can already create eerily realistic electronic string ensembles. But imitating solo instruments (or creating a different, electronic-based sound which is as effective as, say, a cello solo) is a much more difficult task, and one that I don't see being achieved for many years.

Electric guitar produce amazing sound. I love "Still Got The Blues" solo.

Tsk, and we agree on so much, but I suppose we wouldn't be human if we didn't have at least one utterly irreconcilable difference between us. :P

In a way I do think that there is definitely an ugliness to the sound of the electric guitar, but I personally find incredible beauty in that imperfection when the performer is right- I am personally repulsed by music that I think is "too perfect", so to speak.

GabuEx

Heh... I remember that conversation about perfection. Again, I don't think electric guitar is a useless or ugly instrument in any way. I just think beautiful is the wrong adjective to apply to an instrument that has a very notable edge to its tone. For me, a "beautiful sound" must have a purity and gentleness of tone that I have never heard from an electric guitar. I think a lot of this comes from my bias as a pianist, who plays an instrument which is incapable of vibrato, sliding, tonal inflection, and so forth. So I have come to associate beauty with the pure sound of the piano, even though I find the other instruments I listed to be more beautiful than the piano with respect to what they can do melodically.

For me, a truly beautiful sound is what you hear in the vocal line of this track at about 6:14 when she goes to the soft, high note. That's a perfect example of the specific sort of sound I would label as beautiful. I'm rarely affected by a specific sound in a composition, as I tend to focus on the beauty of the music itself regardless of the beauty of the performance, but that sound truly sends shivers down my spine.

It's no where near as beautiful as a classical guitar. The classical guitar has a softer more romantic sound to it. The range of tone on the classical is rather subtle but deep as well depending on where you position your right hand and how you pluck. It may be soft in sound but in the hands of a professional it can grab your attention as well.

I don't know why, but the only thing I find truly beautiful and riveting about the electric guitar in the sense you mean was when it was used in the way it was during David Gilmour's Comfortably Numb solos. I just can't find anything that can compare to that in rock, however limited some people find the genre in that regard ;).

Heh... I remember that conversation about perfection. Again, I don't think electric guitar is a useless or ugly instrument in any way. I just think beautiful is the wrong adjective to apply to an instrument that has a very notable edge to its tone. For me, a "beautiful sound" must have a purity and gentleness of tone that I have never heard from an electric guitar. I think a lot of this comes from my bias as a pianist, who plays an instrument which is incapable of vibrato, sliding, tonal inflection, and so forth. So I have come to associate beauty with the pure sound of the piano, even though I find the other instruments I listed to be more beautiful than the piano with respect to what they can do melodically.

For me, a truly beautiful sound is what you hear in the vocal line of this track at about 6:14 when she goes to the soft, high note. That's a perfect example of the specific sort of sound I would label as beautiful. I'm rarely affected by a specific sound in a composition, as I tend to focus on the beauty of the music itself regardless of the beauty of the performance, but that sound truly sends shivers down my spine.

pianist

Yes, I know - I think the biggest problem perhaps is that we have two completely different conceptions of what makes something beautiful. Perhaps I'm just a dirty guy, but some of my most favorite musical tracks are ones that delicately straddle the border between music and noise without ever quite falling over into the latter side. That for me is like twilight - the point at which the joyous sunlight meets with the dark and brooding moonlight to create something that is both and yet neither at the same time, a union that is far more beautiful than the sum of its parts. A good example would be the guitar solo from this song that begins at around 1:32 - if you just take any given three-second interval from that portion of the song, it will quite frankly sound just like abject noise, but taken as a complete continuous whole I could sit and bask in it all day long.

Yes the electric guitar can sound beautiful, especially in the hands of a Master, likethis, skip to 4:50 for the guitar solo.

Yes, I know - I think the biggest problem perhaps is that we have two completely different conceptions of what makes something beautiful. Perhaps I'm just a dirty guy, but some of my most favorite musical tracks are ones that delicately straddle the border between music and noise without ever quite falling over into the latter side. That for me is like twilight - the point at which the joyous sunlight meets with the dark and brooding moonlight to create something that is both and yet neither at the same time, a union that is far more beautiful than the sum of its parts. A good example would be the guitar solo from this song that begins at around 1:32 - if you just take any given three-second interval from that portion of the song, it will quite frankly sound just like abject noise, but taken as a complete continuous whole I could sit and bask in it all day long.

GabuEx

I gonna have to thnk you for this Gabu, beause that has got to be one of the funkiest jams i've heard in the longest. I have literally played the song 10 times in a row now!

So I have to agree on the dirtyness of certain sounds. To take something that would otherwise be nothing into something amazing is very impressive.

Right after the triangle.

Yes, and I love how this song sounds.

Sure, but drums are even more prettyful!!!

oh yes, I just love how exquisite this particular piece of music sounds. The electric guitar is *so* beautiful:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IOHmGMenS0

:D

Yes depending on who's playing and the style.

Yes, very. I love electric guitar solos. It's more beautiful than piano. At least for me.