How do you define virtuoso?

[Robotechnology]

In tune bends.
Vibrato in time with music.
Play perfectly in the pocket (including playing ahead and behind the beat ON PURPOSE).
Picking hand and fretting hands synchronized with each other.

By the way... we ALL can achieve these things with practice and focus

 

[PDC]

In tune bends.
Vibrato in time with music.
Play perfectly in the pocket (including playing ahead and behind the beat ON PURPOSE).
Picking hand and fretting hands synchronized with each other.

By the way... we ALL can achieve these things with practice and focus

This.

I was blessed to have the opportunity to spend a year at GIT in the late 80s when Bruce Bouillet, Marty Friedman, and Gary Hoey were all regular instructors. Paul Gilbert made himself available several days each quarter. I was pretty young and did not take full advantage of the overwhelming talent who taught more jazz / blues / and country styles. I spent the next 6 years on a deep dive of 3-5 hrs a day practice and playing in cover bands (some 4 night a week / 50 week a year stints).

I always wondered why certain players sounded so ‘professional’ and so ‘seasoned’ compared to me. And it came down to playing interesting melodies rather than interesting scale sequences and bending in tune. SRV - John Sykes. Very different styles, very interesting melodies insane pitch-perfect bending and vibrato. Same can be said of the greats mentioned earlier in this thread. Chops are fun. Horsepower is a blast. But melody, pitch and clean synchronization is the difference between people saying after the show: ‘that guitarist was pretty good’ as opposed to ‘that guitarist blew me away.’

The comment about playing ahead or behind the beat on purpose is bullseye. How many video clips have you heard of Runnin with the Devil that sound ‘amateurish’ for lack of a better term? The notes are right - the chord voicing is right - but the player is hitting everything just ahead of the beat rather than dropping everything just behind the beat. That’s what makes it sound rushed and silly rather than sound angry and huge - even at the exact same tempo on the metronome.

 

[Goat]

In tune bends.
Vibrato in time with music.
Play perfectly in the pocket (including playing ahead and behind the beat ON PURPOSE).
Picking hand and fretting hands synchronized with each other.

By the way... we ALL can achieve these things with practice and focus

These are fundamental principles of competent musicianship. Choosing to play the front/back of the beat is a valid example of virtuosity. The Allman Brothers Live At Fillmore East is an excellent example of virtuosity in a band context.

 

[panhead]

Chet Atkins Jerry Reed Glen Campbell etc. none of the rock guys even compare really

 

[Goat]

Chet Atkins Jerry Reed Glen Campbell etc. none of the rock guys even compare really

Three of my all-time favorite musicans.

 

[bubucci]

In tune bends.
Vibrato in time with music.
Play perfectly in the pocket (including playing ahead and behind the beat ON PURPOSE).
Picking hand and fretting hands synchronized with each other.

By the way... we ALL can achieve these things with practice and focus

These are things which must have every intermediate guitarist

Virtuozo is somebody who has mastered technical and theoretical aspect of music/instrument and is able to play almost every written or composed music (Govan, Gilbert, Petrucci).
It has nothing to do with their impact on guitar culture so no BB King or other one-style guitarists. Allman Brothers vituozos ? Maybe on TGP, not in real world

 

[Goat]

In tune bends.
Vibrato in time with music.
Play perfectly in the pocket (including playing ahead and behind the beat ON PURPOSE).
Picking hand and fretting hands synchronized with each other.

By the way... we ALL can achieve these things with practice and focus

Virtuozo is somebody who has mastered technical and theoretical aspect of music/instrument and is able to play almost every written or composed music (Govan, Gilbert, Petrucci).
It has nothing to do with their impact on guitar culture so no BB King or other one-style guitarists. Allman Brothers vituozos ? Maybe on TGP, not in real world