Yngwie Malmsteen: “Competition is for sports and athletes, not for guitar playing”
Let’s be real – Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen could riff rings around most of us. Often ranked amongst the greatest electric guitar players of all time, the 61-year-old is a total virtuoso. But he says even if you’re not a highly skilled player, you shouldn’t be discouraged from picking up the instrument.
It goes without saying that comparison is the thief of joy – and the same goes for guitar playing. In a recent Instagram post, Malmsteen shares a statement of encouragement for anyone who may feel they’ll never reach his level of skill.
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“I see a lot of these comments where people are saying I can’t be as good as you or I gave up playing the guitar after I saw you,” he writes. “Music and playing the guitar is not a competition even though, since the beginning of my career, that is what they wanted to portray. That’s why they have all these best guitarist that guitars blah blah blah…”
Malmsteen goes on to emphasise what’s truly important: the music. “Music and guitar playing comes from within and it’s to be enjoyed at any level, no matter where you are in your life,” he insists.
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He also asserts that anyone treating guitar as a competition will never be content. True satisfaction only comes when you’re playing for your own sake, so express your creativity and shred from the heart.
“Even if you are making a career out of it, if you play with the thought that I’m going to compete with another guitar player or another musician, you will be miserable,” he explains. “Competition is for sports and athletes, not for guitar playing, period. It’s not a competition. The instrument of the guitar is to be played and enjoyed at any level. Now go pick up that guitar”.
It also goes without saying that comparing your skills to other players will limit your creativity. Malmsteen is known for his intricate fusion and classical twanging and raw heavy metal vitriol. If he’d had stuck in the lane of his peers, there’s no way Malmsteen would have pursued the full range of his globally acclaimed neoclassical style.
Malmsteen is set to embark on his 40th anniversary tour this fall, kicking off in Florida on 26 September. You can grab tickets on Malmsteen’s official website.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
