musicaddict99 wrote:Yeah guitars have huge capabilities, but are those abilities being used in ITM?
Yes, indeed! Just look to the likes of Andy Irvine, Micheál Ó Domhnaill, Ged Foley, and many more who are famous, and many not nearly so famous as well. You should check out the aforementioned guys on YouTube. It's killer stuff. These - and others like them - are the people worth emulating.
musicaddict99 wrote:I don't see too many guitar solos in ITM
We call it "playing the melody".
musicaddict99 wrote:Just was an idea, since the autoharp takes most of the hard work of finger shapes out of the equation, and lets you just strum.
I hope for more out of an accompanist than just strumming. Sure, some people do only that, but it's a rut. It gets blah, and quite frankly it brings me down. Lift should be what it's all about, however you provide it. If all you've seen in Trad are backers who just blandly strum, it's a pity because you haven't seen enough.
As for finger shapes being hard work, that's a beginner's complaint. If you REALLY want to do backup, you'll gladly put in the time and effort, and count it a joy of discovery until it gets easier, for it will get easier. If that's too much work, then maybe it's better to stick to whistle. That's plenty hard enough to do well as it is.
Peter Duggan wrote:musicaddict99 wrote:just a matter of changing the chord bar to match the chord needed
But can they produce chords beyond just their standard 'auto' shapes? I don't know but, if not, back to flexibility/versatility...
The autoharp is still more limited. You can get various voicings by selecting only certain courses, yes, but your choices will be confined to what the chord bar has to offer you. You get a much wider terrain with that fretboard.
The route of easy solutions, simply because they're easy, is an unfortunate direction. There's no exploration, no magic to it. And not much contribution, either.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician