Un-guitar Blog

Before you all shout blasphemy and stone me for it let me tell you where I’m coming from with this blog title:

Through the many different styles of music there are always going to be bands with no guitar. Strange though it seems to us guitar freaks there will always be non-guitar music, but this doesn’t have to be the travesty it first seems.  Many of our favourite players draw influences from different instruments and non-guitar music.

I get off to synthesizers, soul-funk-electric Rhodes piano, saxophones, flute and techno drums but I feel no guilt for my sinful pleasure.

Jazz Like Marmite, you either love it or hate it.  Most Jazz and Fusion players draw a huge amount of vibes from Horns, Piano and Saxophones.  Miles Davies and John Coltrane are hero’s in the jazz-fusion world and to us guitarists trying to play outside the lines, these guys are a wealth of inspiration.

Metal Also like Marmite.  We all know that solo Violin pieces are the mainstay for the shredding guitarist. The patterns and fragments for this instrument written by the great composers inspire many, if not all the fretboard wizards since the '80’s.

Blues Take the humble Harmonica.  Blues Guitar players started to emulate the Harmonica using a piece of bottle neck and from this slide guitar became what it is today.

Vocal Chords Guitarists who play solo lines are always trying to mimic the Human voice; this is one of the most difficult things to achieve.

Konokol These spoken counting rhythms are also played on Tabla drums.  This spoken syllabic form of rhythm, has long been part of Indian classical culture and has inspired many musicians including John McLaughlin.

Synths and Techno I love Synthesizers, pads and a bit of drum ’n’ bass but it doesn’t seem to affect the guitar music I play, also pop music, usually female singers, always get my ear.

The great Jeff Beck often emulated the Synthesizers’ modulation wheel with his phrasing style.

Pipes, Flutes, Sitar and Harp If you ever listen to the Celtic rock bands like Iona you will most certainly hear the pipes and flutes being emulated by the lead guitarist.  Dave Bainbridge, Iona’s lead guitarist is amazing at doing just that.  Phil Keaggy is another awesome player than emulates other instruments and often uses the E-Bow, an electronic gadget that emulates a bowed sound and can also produce Flute-like sounds.

Sitars are difficult to emulate without effects but the phrasing the Indian Sitar players use has definitely been leaked into out Western music via guitar players.

Guitar Addiction was asked what non-guitar music inspires you.

Primo Roy Cantu Jazz tuned button Accordion from an accomplished player, synchronized brass section, non opera classical music.

Robert Sullivan Horns, drums and keys

Paul Shepard Piano & drums. But, always feels like something's missing

Wales Martinez Saxo always inspire me also music from the 80's very romantic. Lots South American singers as well; ricardo montaner, franco de vita just to name a few

Fred Harding Kraftwerk

Chemo Corral Piano violín and alto sax.See Translation

Al Tarvis Non guitar music should be illegal. ..

Matthew Dover Electronica. Not all of it. Just like guitar music, some of it is shit and some of it is amazing.

Bas Becu The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Astor Piazzolla, Tom Waits

Matthew Dover Check out Leftfield Bas.

Hans Timmermans Classical piano pieces

Jerry Papousek Anything Hammond B3

Ian Merill Bach organ cantata, Madrigals, 'Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima' by Penderecki, 'Firebird by Stravinsky, Frank Zappa's orchestral works.....

Ryan Leggott Ukuleles I love em

James Halldorsson honestly classical music is the muse of my creativity

Christopher Stewart John Coltrane!

Stowe Harbin I love piano work. I also appreciate great vocal work like Adelle. To hear someone who can truly sing...blessed with that gift is just amazing to watch. Someone can learn to be a great musician but most people who are great singers are just born that way.

Tony Ivan O'Hara Louis Armstrong tops the list for me, followed closely by Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and legions of other amazing jazz singers. I'm also a huge fan of Allison Krauss and every project she undertakes.

Jake Godfrey What the eff? Anyone truly addicted to guitar would not like any non guitar music. If you like non guitar music, get off this page posers

Matthew Dover Hey, I'm addicted to smack but that doesn't mean I can't take meth for a little change from time to time.

Robert Sullivan So the color of all your clothes and your car and your house and towels and sheets and carpet are only one color SMF

Doug Johnson Anything by Louis Armstrong. Also big and small musicals of the late 50's to early 60's. Classical.

Ian Merill I have a degree in general music, with an emphasis in vocal performance, and have been playing guitar for 36 years. I live and breathe guitar. I recommended that you listen to non guitar music, and what's more learn to play it.

James Halldorsson Yikes I guess having musical diverity is a Crime, what if you play other intruments like myself? Am I a poser because I play other instruments and enjoy renditions of instruments done on other instruments?

Andy Hinds I love 80s funk. Very synth driven, but still has some great guitar riffs in some of the songs.

Uragoner Too Synthesizers, keys. Bell choir, jazz sax and horns

Kristian Gårdhus Wichmann Imogen Heap's Sparks was my favorite album from last year. I don't think there's a single note of guitar on it.

Dony Yates I love saxophone jazz.

Paul Lavender Miles Davis

Joshua Holmes Lindsey Stirling, and a lot of orchestral music.

Des Ross Like a bit of Dre when I want to get away from geetar for a bit. Bit of funky house sometimes hits the spot as well.

Sebastian Georgescu Tigran Hamasyan

Edan Z. Hollombe Beethoven, Miles Davis, Coltrane and rap

..

Japz Agustin im into rap music as well from pac , em ,snoop & 50 cent

Cody Kairaiuak farts

Sing Jali Sandesh It would be folk music

Leonard Urrea The classics, from Bach to Wagner, with a special place for Gershwin.

Gage Roark Some instrumental piano

Bishal Bataju Kurup instrumental especially piano voilin n sitar

Saif Al-Manaseer Almost everything else is enjoyable except for Pop and Rap.

Jan Sinapius Old school hip-hop, for real. I love these funky bass lines and back then in the 80ies and 90ies they used real bass guitars for that.

Jack Beale Yep I was going to say this type of hip hop too, thought I'd get shot down in flames by the elitists

Steven Peters there is non guitar music ???

Steven Peters umm guitar isn't a genre genius it is an instrument. Guitars have been around for 1000's of years (there are even clay plaques from ancient babylonia showing people with a version of the guitar) in one form or another from oud's to lutes to vihuelas

Roy Cantu Technically you are correct, but most of us understood the gist of the question as valid inquiry. Kinda like the difference between big band and a 3 piece combo.

Robert Miller Love A Capella singing- specifically some guys out MInnesota- "Home Free" is their name. They all are very talented and gifted, but their bassist is a stand out- he has a 5 Octave range, and he sounds like a bass guitar, when he vocalizes his parts! Talented entertainers, won the 2012 NBC sing off, check them out on you tube!

Vinay P Mulukutla The song American Heartbeat by Survivor which has no guitars whatsoever. Otherwise that band are very much a guitar based band.

Dave Brons Hello by Adele

Neil Morgan Is that the song you accidentally plagiarised recently? wink emoticon

he Crown And The Ring by Manowar. They recorded it in England with an all male choir from Birmingham who also recorded with them on three other songs.

Neil Morgan I've been listening to an awful lot of Keith Jarrett lately, particularly the trio with Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette.

Pete Lewis Anything and everything. A good piece of music is a good piece of music. I've been doing a lot of small ensemble brass band arrangements recently and I'll just do what works well and what people will enjoy. Music isn't defined by an instrument, it's defined by what it is, music. You can play a tune on any instrument, it's still the same tune.