Feeling the speed
A past discussion I had with a very close and musically oriented friend outlined the key differences between speed and feel. During our conversation, it was clearly distinguished that two approaches may be taken when playing any musical instrument — that of speed, and that which involves what may be called “feel.”
Playing influenced by speed is something many musicians aspire to do. It is an impressive thing when executed correctly. Not only does it showcase technical prowess, but it also shows how much the player knows his instrument. One can’t masterfully go fast and make sense of the music without knowing where to start and where to finish. And to be able to do that, one would need to be quite dedicated — studying, practicing, the works. Playing with speed boils down to the science of it all; and in many instances, it is an admirable style in terms of discovering new techniques for playing.
Feel, on the other hand, deals with less tangible elements that make a certain player good in his or her own right. Feel is not taught. No publication deals specifically with feel; there is no thick yellow book entitled Feel and Musical Instruments for Dummies. If that book really existed, it would have a single page with a sentence that goes: “Get a (insert musical instrument of choice here) and start playing.” In so many words, feel is playing from the soul. It is the raw honesty of a musician being channeled through a preferred musical instrument.
There are, of course, the duds. By this I mean certain musicians who have chosen sides; devoted completely and singularly to one playing style, with no exception for the other. This is unfortunate because these players limit themselves, or are content, only to what they know and what they are comfortable with. What happens is overzealous speed players play too fast and completely forget to say something with the music. Over-enthusiastic feel players, on the other hand, don a constipated look while playing as if to say, “Yeah, I’m really feeling it” — when actually, they aren’t. Then the generalizations begin: speed players are showoffs while feel players are just “feeling.”
Although speed and feel are at extremes, this does not mean that the two cannot be combined. Going back to the conversation my friend Chase and I were having, it was concluded that the amalgamation of the two disciplines (if you could call them that) is what makes a musician unique. Combining the two allows for a one-of-a-kind sound, a broader take on music, and even potential greatness.
What followed was an enumeration of some players who we thought fit the description of one who dabbles in both speed and feel. Somewhere in that list, Ian Umali’s name popped up.
Ian Umali: one-fourth of the now defunct Pinoy super group P.O.T., the designated axe-man responsible for the funky riffs and clutch solos throughout the groups powerhouse of an album, is definitely adept at both speed and feel. Last Saturday,
The last time I saw Ian, he was playing for a band called Wunjo. They used to have a regular gig at Chakik’s along Julia Vargas every Friday night, which my brother and our friends attended quite religiously. Back then Ian had long hair, usually tied in a ponytail. I was surprised to see him sporting a cleaner, closely cropped ‘do. But that’s just hair. In fact, everything else still seemed pretty much the same — rubber shoes, standard jeans, standard black T-shirt, Spartan guitar effects (just two pedals — a wah-wah and an overdrive,) and of course, that black guitar with the f-holes (that, once upon a time, used to have a sunburst finish.)
Ian no longer plays with a band and is instead concentrated on his job as a sound engineer at a recording studio. He says that he quit playing music, is really into his current job, and I guess that’s a personal choice. But when he picks up his guitar and demonstrates some licks from the P.O.T album, it sounds like he hasn’t put the thing down a single day. His rhythm is still crisp and in time; his solos are as textured and colorful as I remember them to be; everything about his playing is spot-on. He hasn’t lost it at all.
Noting that Ian is a bit obsessive-compulsive (he admits to being so) might explain why he is still so skillful with a guitar. With regards to his playing style, everything has to be “in order” or else the inner O.C.-ness won’t allow him to function properly. But there seems to be more to it than just a condition. Before anything, he said: “I am not going to teach you anything technical tonight.”
He didn’t. There was no talk about scales, nor was there a discussion on right and left-hand rudiments. Related notes and playing arpeggios were not tackled. Yet, as he played and showed his chops, the audience was attentive, listening — picking up immaterial bits of guitar gold that no other clinic could ever teach. It was a smörgåsbord of music info — pick up what you want and maybe come back for more. Ian’s proficiency with speed counterbalances his feel aspect when playing, making him a very well-rounded guitarist and musician. His ability to captivate and inspire audiences years after his success with P.O.T., without a syllabus of technical guitar methods, is proof of that.
Last Saturday’s guitar clinic was a lot of things. For one, it showcased a collection of some of
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Ian Umali is part of “Mga Gitarista,” a CD released this year under 12 Stone Records, available in record bars now.
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E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@yahoo.com.
