Modern guitarists have playing techniques, but no artistry
In the age of social media, there seem to be more virtuosic guitarists than ever before. Algorithms surface top players for you, making it feel like masterful guitarists are everywhere.
Yet has social media fueled an overemphasis on speed and technical flair at the cost of musical soul? Renowned guitarist Richie Kotzen shared his perspective on this trend during a recent interview on the Mighty VH Podcast.
Richie Kotzen describes the current state of the guitar scene as “a really weird situation,” explaining: “I don’t want to sound like I’m knocking anyone, or give off that ‘Richie’s just an old guy’ vibe. When I was starting out, around the same era as Van Halen, Eddie stayed true to his own playing style, full of innovation, and he was an incredible songwriter too.”
Richie Kotzen named Eddie Van Halen alongside other guitarists, including Zakk Wylde, former guitarist of Ozzy Osbourne’s band, and Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme, as examples of "complete musicians" whose creative output holds intrinsic artistic merit.
Therefore, Richie Kotzen states that we are now in a "weird position": guitarists possess far more polished technical skills than ever before, yet creativity has been sacrificed in the process.
"There are tons of incredibly talented musicians out there right now, and their playing is undeniably far more intricate than anything I heard when I was younger. But they’ve completely lost what we used to define as artistic merit—the songs themselves, the craft of songwriting," he said.
Richie Kotzen described this shift as "really strange and unfortunate": "I find it discouraging. I don’t know how else to put it, but I just don’t like it."
What do you think about this?