Matteo Mancuso: “Guitar players are better off now than in the previous generation – because it’s easier for us to reach a certain level faster”
Matteo Mancuso feels modern guitarists are better off compared to previous generations of rising stars, thanks to the power of social media.
28-year-old Mancuso – who was raised in Palermo, Italy – grew his career via YouTube, though he first started performing live at age 12. Through his expressive finger-style technique, he’s garnered the praise of players such as Dweezil Zappa, Joe Bonamassa, and Steve Vai.
READ MORE: “Don’t spend a lot of time finding the right fretboard wood or the right pickup combination – they are all secondary things”: Matteo Mancuso says expensive equipment is less important than “knowing your gear well”
Speaking to Guitar World for its new January print edition, he explains, “Social media impacts the community a lot. The information you can find sometimes influences us in a good way and sometimes in a bad way. If you gain a lot of followers on Instagram or grab somebody’s attention and make people say, ‘Wow,’ that sometimes means shredding it, but it’s probably the best choice.
“That’s why people on Instagram tend to focus on that. They tend to focus more on Instagram reels rather than actual music. I always say, ‘Never judge a guitar player by a short reel.’ But to make it work, you have to do really short videos with a lot of ‘Wow.’ People tend to concentrate too much on the ‘Wow.’”
Asked if social media is a good or bad thing for our community, Mancuso answers, “It’s not, ‘Okay, this is my music. Check it out.’ It’s just a video on Instagram. It’s not my music. If you want to check out my music, check out Spotify or YouTube. I sometimes do videos and just upload them on Instagram, but they’re not to be associated with my musical offerings.”
He adds, “They’re separate things. But we have an advantage as a generation because everything is available on the Internet. We’re probably better off than the previous generation – not because we’re better, but because it’s easier for us to reach a certain level faster.”
Matteo Mancuso’s debut album, The Journey, landed in 2023. Find out where you can catch him live.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
