{"id":1232,"date":"2023-04-04T11:48:39","date_gmt":"2023-04-04T09:48:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heartelier.de\/?p=1232"},"modified":"2023-04-04T11:48:41","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T09:48:41","slug":"the-modern-guitar-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heartelier.de\/en\/the-modern-guitar-hero\/","title":{"rendered":"The Modern Guitar Hero"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The legend of the guitar hero is one that was filled with wonder and mystery. Long have we heard tales of fabled rock minstrels, indulging in wine, women (or men) and song as they laid down a path of musical savagery. The guitar heroes of old were the masters. Such masters offered inspiration by way of a million-notes-a-second shredding, adorned with top hats, Piccadilly hippy fashion, kimonos, 1970\u2019s chic, dangling cigarettes, low-slung Les Paul guitars, and battered Stratocasters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were mysterious as well. An album here, a concert there, and we continue to wait. We replay our favourites while we search and scour the magazines, the newspapers and MTV news, hoping for word of the next song and the next show…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, how times have changed.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward to today\u2019s reality, which isn\u2019t the old one. The album culture like that of the 1960s through to the 2000s has long left us for singles and EPs, the top songs rarely pass the 2:30 mark, and guitars have (almost) disappeared from the modern hit parade (some exceptions apply, of course). There are still the masters, who continue to play for niche audiences who can still appreciate one who can play their instrument. But where can the modern guitar hero be found today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can tell you where. They\u2019re now on YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is where musicians\/content creators such as Mary Spender<\/a> and Paul Davids<\/a> can be found, among an entire treasure trove of peers (Rick Beato, Rhett Shull, Rob Baker, Tash Sultana, Ella Rae Feingold, RJ Ronquilio, and I could go on…). The freedom to create content that is reflective of them is unmatched, not to mention the connection between the artist and the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a9 Tristan Cardew<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Evolution of the Modern Guitar Hero<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

If we look at the case of Paul Davids and Mary Spender, the paths that led to YouTube were quite different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul was a working musician, playing and recording as a sideman for artists in the Netherlands (where he\u2019s from), as well as working as a guitar teacher at his local conservatory. Some of the first videos that he posted to his YouTube channel were backing tracks that he created (the first one dating to April 2013, and has since gotten 1.4M views). It wasn\u2019t until November 2015 that he began producing tutorials for popular songs, eventually moving on to lessons, comparison videos, vlogs and other content. It was a bad experience playing with another artist as a sideman that made him decide to go forward with his channel and make something for himself. Thanks to that decision, he was eventually able to leave his teaching position and focus on content creation full-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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