Music Tip

Speed Versus Musicality- A Philosophical Rant

by Dave Nagy

When I was just starting to play the guitar, one piece of wisdom that was shared with me by more experienced players is that a solid and versatile playing ability, along with the ability to consistently choose ‘good’ notes, is more important than having blazing-fast, virtuosic technique.  In effect, they were telling me that it is more important to play well than to play fast.  This is advice that most advancing musicians come across fairly early in their musical studies, and almost invariably it is a lesson that is shared with them from someone who learned it the hard way.  Why is this so?
Personally, I feel that learning to play scales/chords quickly (and sloppily) is something of a rite of passage for the less experienced musician who is trying push their technical boundaries.  Technical playing proficiency is far easier to achieve than an integrated knowledge of one’s instrument.  As a teenager, I remember practicing the same scales for endless hours, playing them as fast as I could (and often faster).  I already consciously ‘knew’ that speed was overrated, but it was one of the few factors over which I felt I had some control.
I actually learned the ‘speed versus musicality’ lesson years later, when I was jamming with an experienced jazz bass player.  When he started to play, I quickly realized that no amount of speed would help me seem competent.  A crucial factor was missing, and this was a broad musical versatility in my playing.  He took pity on me and we ended up playing some straightforward blues, but that experience was a real eye-opener.
A teacher of mine once said that all things in music can be learned, but some of them can’t be taught.  That substituting speed/technique for musical fluency is not the way to go is one of those lessons that every musician has to learn for themselves…the hard way.

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