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Hey man! This is something my students ask frequently.

I'd say Technically yes and technically no.

You can 100% work and work to get to the point where you can play anything Syn/PG can play live, or transcribe everything he's ever played in public etc - But it will always be an imitation of another Guitarists journey, always one step behind the things they are working on away from the public eye.

You will never replicate their true understanding of their instrument, because that's something that's unique to them and leads to their decision making when playing, writing etc - it's their own style.

However, trying to imitate all the players you love is one of the best ways to find your playing style, and it'll always be unique to you 😊...

Chris Johnston

Music Theory Bragger
  • Nov 11, 2019
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    Hey man! This is something my students ask frequently.

    I'd say Technically yes and technically no.

    You can 100% work and work to get to the point where you can play anything Syn/PG can play live, or transcribe everything he's ever played in public etc - But it will always be an imitation of another Guitarists journey, always one step behind the things they are working on away from the public eye.

    You will never replicate their true understanding of their instrument, because that's something that's unique to them and leads to their decision making when playing, writing etc - it's their own style.

    However, trying to imitate all the players you love is one of the best ways to find your playing style, and it'll always be unique to you 😊

    *Side note: In my opinion, Syn & PG's level doesn't lie in their chops - it lies in the experience and knowledge that informs their playing styles.
    For example, you could say that Syn Is technically not on John Frusciante's "level" because he will never be able to get the 'Can't Stop' riff to sound exactly like John plays it etc - but really they are just different players, contributing different things to the instrument 😊

    In terms of natural ability - it's true that some people take to skills quicker than others, but to me natural ability goes nowhere without work ethic. Syn & PG's success will no doubt have been a result of hours of hard work, persistence & failures - building ontop of the natural ability they have to being the players we now see.

    My advice, before I end up writing a novel 😂 would be to learn the things/techniques that excite you and your own style will naturally emerge. Directly omparing yourself to your idols can give you a false idea of where you should be. At some point we've got to forge our own path in our playing 🤟

    Hope that ramble helped!
     
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