My Muses

The guitar players I aspire to.

If you've been following this blog - or even dipping in now and again - you'll know I love drums and piano but I'm potty about guitar.  I've wanted to play ever since I was a little tot, I had an electric guitar my parents got me and my hubby bought my first accoustic guitar for me when I was 18 but I had to wait another 20 years before I could play a note on it.

Now I'm like a pig in muck (I decided to be polite there haha but I'm from SE London so I swear a LOT!) now I'm learning and the three guys I really look up to in terms of the style I most want to play are Jimmie Vaughan, David Gilmour & Virgil McMahon.

So why?

Well Jimmie is my all time number one inspiration.  He may not be flashy but he CAN, he may not play a million notes a minute but he CAN and he may not pop up every five seconds as one of the greats but he IS!  If he was good enough to be his little brothers idol then he's good enough to be mine.  But seriously what I truely love about Jimmie is that he's such an intelligent player as well as a talanted one.  The way he tells his stories and executes them to precision while not being at all precise is breathtaking and the way he teases so much expression out of every note while making it look like he's doing nothing.  He's the most understated genius and while he's not everyones cup of tea (my gardener doesn't like him one bit!) I think he's just awesome!

David Gilmour again seems to command a lot of dislike from people who think he's overrated.  It suprises me but each to their own opinion, I don't expect anyone to share mine just respect it.  This man can get more out of a single note than anyone, his melodies are gorgeous and his self control, timing and technique are to die for.  I mean that vibrato - wow!

Virgil is my wild card, I fell in love with his playing the second I heard it.  Not the fastest, not the most impressive, not the most original.  In fact there are many reasons not to be my favourite but there is something really honest about his playing that I love. He respects the blues which is a big tick for me and....... the song Silver Giver - he makes the damn guitar purr at the end - purr.  How could I not fall in love with that!

There are many guitarists I love and respect but these three are the ones I most aspire to play like which is why they are my muses.