“Guitar is not an excuse to go in and show off”: Brian May thinks guitar players need to focus on the song, not themselves
Queen’s Brian May feels guitar is “secondary to the song”, and should not be used as an excuse to show off.
Speaking during a Q&A at the Red Special Meet Up – shared to YouTube by The Red Special Guitar Podcast – May spoke about the role of guitar, and how it should be used to enhance a song.
READ MORE: Why Brian May revamped all the guitar parts on Queen’s debut album for new edition: “I remember my dad saying, ‘There’s no ambience, Brian’”
Asked about his Red Special guitar and whether any changes to it and his sound over the years were initially his ideas or whether they came about by circumstance, he answers, (via Ultimate Guitar):
“The fundamental sound of my guitar doesn’t change that much, I would say. I suppose I use it in slightly different ways. Now, the whole spectrum of the guitar was there pretty much to begin with.”
He adds, “I’m not very aware of that, to be honest. I think the guitar, to me, is always secondary to the song. It’s not an excuse to go in and show off. It’s a way of enhancing whatever material you’re using. So I’m always trying to coax different textures out of it – different sounds, different moves.”
May later continues, “I suppose, if there’s an evolution, [it’s] that I went more into fingers and less into picks – that’s probably the major change that took place over the years. I’ve got a lot more fingers on the right hand than I used to, just because it seems to get more expression.”
You can check out the full Q&A below:
Queen have newly released a remastered and expanded box set version of their debut album, known as Queen I. It is available to both stream or purchase physically now.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
