As I was watching I was thinking we all go on about great guitar players like Clapton/Page etc but I doubt any of them could play a guitar like Edson Lopes. Such timing, precision, clarity (not 1 unclear note) such skill.
I was thinking last night, nimrod, about how you and all the other musicians here can assess (evaluate? I'm drawing a blank on the best word) music in this manner, rather like I do with authors and writing. (Music, however, is so much more fun!)
I, on the other hand, can only offer observations that don't get much more sophisticated than "It sounds pretty" or "I really like that."
Those are thoroughly fine observations, Kathy. I formulate my feelings on artists starting with those very same observations. Secondarily, I'll go on to assess (yes, that's a good word) their skills in songwriting and proficiency in the instruments they play. I'm not a musician by profession but I have taught myself to play guitar, piano, organ, harmonica, and more recently bass guitar and 5-string banjo. I studied Delta Blues Guitar under Ian Buchanan for two years in the early 1970s. Who's Ian Buchanan? I'll let Jorma Kaukonen tell you about him...
Ian Buchanan studied Delta Blues under two greats in that genre; The Reverend Gary Davis and Brownie McGhee. It's a two-finger guitar picking technique similar to the way Paul McCartney plays Blackbird. Jorma Kaukonen added a third finger to his technique of playing Delta Blues.
You might say that Ian Buchanan was a "purist" in that he never deviated from the way those first generation artists taught him to play. He was a perfectionist and never missed a note. He could have easily done well in the musical field but elected to be a teacher and pass on what he learned to the next generation of Delta Blues students.
I was just one of his average-ability students. He knew my calling was in another field. I related this story before on this Forum but now is a good time to repeat it. One of Ian's friends was Al Kooper known for his organ backing for Bob Dylan and later on a member of The Blues Project. One evening he paid Ian a visit just as I started a lesson. He quietly sat down in the corner of the room until my lesson was over. Then Ian introduced me to him saying "This is Barry. He's going to be a doctor." Al Kooper replied "That's
good!"Perfection in playing one's instrument is not what's important to me. But rather it's the overall ability of the artist that matters. Here's an example using a video I recently posted...
Joni Mitchell giggles at 2:02 because she just strummed the wrong chord. But we have to look beyond that and understand just how difficult playing guitar was for her. Polio left her left hand weakened and she developed over 50 alternate guitar tunings to make it easier for her to play. That BBC performance was spectacular. Her missed chord and giggle made it better still!