From time to time i like to pick Prince's guitar solos by ear and play them.

When i listen to his 80's solos i notice how simple

the solos were,very basic,pretty but basic and simple.

Solos on I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man,She's always in my Hair,Purple Rain and many others.

I wonder was he lazy to compose more complex solos because he had the ability to do it,or the simplicity was the key?

Simplicity was probably the key.

Timmy84 said:

Simplicity was probably the key.

yeah i like to think that way.

Prince played much more on albums by the Time.

thebanishedone said:

Timmy84 said:

Simplicity was probably the key.

yeah i like to think that way.

Prince played much more on albums by the Time.

That's real true.

Timmy84 said:

Simplicity was probably the key.

This. And I'm sure that most songs were live-recordings done in only a couple of takes, so he did what felt the most natural in the moment of the full band recording. I doubt he ever sat down before and thought about a note-by-note solo; he just isn't that type of guitarist.

bobbyperu said:

wally1970 said:

bobbyperu said:

You don't become a good guitarist overnight. Any art form takes practice. As a guitarist, Prince has gotten better and better thru the years. From experience.

Thats true , I forgot what show I was watching but earlier this year I heard him say he is embarassed about how bad his guitar skills were back in the day . He is a master now in my opinion.

I don't understand why you would be embarassed...

Some of his most 'unrehearsed' and RAW performances solos even pHotos are the best.

I listened to the 1st Avenue premiere of Purple Rain and of course I know there was a touch of nerve behind some playing but it was so raw and emotional.

Sometimes when you add to much 'perfection' to a thing you loose the gut level emotion and realness.

that version of PR is one I ALWAYs tear up on still

thebanishedone said:

From time to time i like to pick Prince's guitar solos by ear and play them.

When i listen to his 80's solos i notice how simple

the solos were,very basic,pretty but basic and simple.

Solos on I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man,She's always in my Hair,Purple Rain and many others.

I wonder was he lazy to compose more complex solos because he had the ability to do it,or the simplicity was the key?

I don't think I know what you mean by 'lazy to compose' or the solos not being complex

and yes I agree that simplicity was the key ... but more so on the drum work

because on songs like the Beautiful ONes it's waves and waves of sound coming from all directions but riding on the simple drum/linn beats

What I did hear/see Prince do was cut when a song/solo seems like it was about to go wild

example: She's Always In My Hair (ext) point 3:00 min is when the long version kicks in and it's building and rising @ 3:51 it's up there, and just when you think he's going to the mountain top he cuts it and breaks it down to a mellow flow

As a musician, when you compose a piece of music, you are not concerned with how "complex" or how simple a part is to play. You ask the question "does it fit the song?" What is happening in the rest of the song, what is the purpose of the solo? To continue the story sonically, to build emotion? Release tension? One of the songs you mentioned, "I could never take the place of yo man", Is a song built around a descending scale in 4/4 time. Over complicate the solo in that song and you get a sonic mess. Part of being a GREAT guitar player is knowing what notes not to play. Less is often more when it comes to soloing on guitar. Listen to the truly great ones. Santana, King, Hendrix, Clapton etc. Note the simplicity and clarity of purpose in their playing. Prince is a songwriter, not a riff writer.

leonche64 said:

As a musician, when you compose a piece of music, you are not concerned with how "complex" or how simple a part is to play. You ask the question "does it fit the song?" What is happening in the rest of the song, what is the purpose of the solo? To continue the story sonically, to build emotion? Release tension? One of the songs you mentioned, "I could never take the place of yo man", Is a song built around a descending scale in 4/4 time. Over complicate the solo in that song and you get a sonic mess. Part of being a GREAT guitar player is knowing what notes not to play. Less is often more when it comes to soloing on guitar. Listen to the truly great ones. Santana, King, Hendrix, Clapton etc. Note the simplicity and clarity of purpose in their playing. Prince is a songwriter, not a riff writer.

Totally totally agree.

bobbyperu said:

That is true. The best guitarist is not the one with the most technical skills. But like I said, it's a learning process. I don't find his old gittar solos embarrassing, but I understand him saying that I've been drawing since I was old enough to hold a pencil but only now, at 40, do I get the feeling that I'm getting good at it. I wouldn't want to show somebody the drawings I made 20 years ago without being able to say: hey, but look at what I'm doinggnow! So I understand why Prince was saying this, even tho some of his fans may beg to differ.

Oh yeah I understand, but when your superstardom came at that time that u don't see urself as being as good... time to look at it differently

It's about the 'magic'

Like you said someone who is technically skilled can bore you to death but listen to a amateur with passion stirs something in u

and 20 30 years later u can still feel it