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Joe Satriani says young Instagram guitarists are “really, really exciting,” wishes they made the charts

He warns against only playing “in front of the mirror,” however.

Joe Satriani

Image: Eduardo Peña Dolhun

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Joe Satriani has said that he’s impressed by the skills of younger guitarists who showcase their playing on Instagram, however has warned them against completely eschewing the live experience.

Speaking on The Mitch Lafon And Jeremy White Show, Satriani was asked what warm-ups he would recommend for guitar practice, to which he replied: “I think after watching a lot of young players on Instagram today that I am completely unqualified to answer that question. First of all, because they play so much better than I could ever play in terms of speed, dexterity, complexity… It’s really, really exciting.”

He continued to praise their playing: “For the first time in the history of the world, there are guitar players that can do that on six strings, seven strings, eight strings, ten strings… It’s really great! I wish their albums were in the top 10 instead of them having to do that every day on Instagram. But there you go. But you know, bravo to them.”

Still, he was sure to hammer home the value of playing with other musicians, and an audience, in the flesh. “Young people have to understand they should spend more time playing music for people and with people because that’s our job as musicians. [The point is] not to get better in our bedroom looking at the mirror. That’s not actually a viable way to live!”

He did acknowledge that: “It’s a different world – if you went back in time, and you took a really great rock and roll or blues or jazz player, and you tried to get them to provide the right kind of music for Fortnite or something like that, it would be a total failure. It’s an unfair comparison. It’s 2022… Those young players are just doing amazing things. They really are.”

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