I'm not the biggest Maiden fan, but as far as I know they never have, and I know that Adrian Smith is against the concept of sweep picking.
more onto topic, though.
The problem is all stereotype.
It's like saying that all lawyers are bad people.
Saying all guitar players are musically illiterate.
and then you have to define Illiterate.
Because if not being able to read sheet music makes you illiterate then some of the greatest guitar players of all time (not to mention countless jazz artists, including the likes of Luis Armstrong) were all "illiterate".
However, here is what separates them from the shredder kids in your local Guitar Center.
They could not read music, but they still knew where they were.
For example let's use guitar player Stevie Ray Vaughen.
When playing over a certain chord progression he knew where he was in the progression, and what frets and patterns he could use. The rest was all based on feel and ear. He knew what sound was going to come out before he hit a note.
If you were to have stopped him and said "what note is that?" there is no guarentee he would know.
He would have been able to tell you, however, that it fit into the chord under him.
If that is not being a musician, then I don't know what is.
Really, if you ask me, this thread can be renamed.
Musical Bigotry
Everyone (I use this term loosely. I mean as a general rule, or at least the people who stand out so strongly. even if it is not a majority of each group, these are the people who are loud and you always hear talking)
Everyone from every genre of music thinks that their music is the best, most difficult, most technical, most appealing, and overall most MUSICAL.
Jazz players have the stereotype of "Improvisation is what music is really all about. If you can not improv then you are not a musician"
The cliche Rock musician will rant about how knowing music theory will limit you, and that Hendrix and Cobain did not know any music theory and look what happened to them?!
(they died of drug overdoses?)
Enough of my rambling.
My point is this:
Everyone has their idea of what is musical, what is illiterate.
You can create great things and not even know what note your playing.
Take your strengths and make them count.
and most importantly.
Learn to appreciate music for what it is worth.
Even if you do not understand it try to remember that someone else does, and it means alot to the person who made it.
Case and point.
(considering I'm very new here, literally only a few hours, I'm wondering if this is going to ruin me or not, haha)
