sangforabsolution Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I was just wondering how good Matt, Dom, and Chris are at their respective instruments. Also, who is the best at their instrument, ie. is Matt the best at guitar, Chris the best at bass, or Dom the best at drumming? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 It's very hard to compare. Especially since I'm pretty sure Dom is a lot "better" than he shows in the songs. Actually I'd say that's the case with all of them. Skill just isn't as important as quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sangforabsolution Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 I realize that. I love Muse and all their songs. I was just wondering how technically proficient they are in their instruments, just for curiosity's sake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaking Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Matt's piano skills. (I could be saying this because I don't play piano) Although as Sippe said I think Dom is better than he shows (same for Matt and his guitar skillz). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picko Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I think from watching Behind the Scenes footage of the band making some of their albums, you gain a greater insight into their musical knowledge. Matt especially has a wide knowledge of musical scales and terminology, which he has learnt over the years. We already know from watching Muse play live and listening to their songs that they are incredibly gifted musicians. Matt has been playing guitar and piano since he was a child, and has been awarded many accolades based on his ability as a guitarist. Chris has drifted from guitar to drums to bass, and still possesses a high skill on all of those instruments (plus the harmonica!). As for Dom, he is a very gifted drummer, and Butch Vig cited him as "the next Neil Peart", which is quite a compliment. I think maybe watch Behind the Scenes of Absolution, The Resistance and The 2nd Law on YouTube and maybe you will have a wider view of their abilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I realize that. I love Muse and all their songs. I was just wondering how technically proficient they are in their instruments, just for curiosity's sake.But what I'm saying is that we don't KNOW how technically proficient they are, since they won't be playing as technical or as fast as possible for the sake of it. I'm sure they're all much better than they've shown in any song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaking Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 But what I'm saying is that we don't KNOW how technically proficient they are, since they won't be playing as technical or as fast as possible for the sake of it. I'm sure they're all much better than they've shown in any song. Better? I would say that how good a song is, is what really reflects your musical ability. Although that probably has nothing to do with this thread. /I Hannah'ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Better? I would say that how good a song is, is what really reflects your musical ability. Although that probably has nothing to do with this thread. /I Hannah'ed I used quotation marks the first time I said better for a reason. And then I mentioned technically proficient, so I assumed I didn't have to define "better" every time I wrote it. CLEARLY I WAS WRONG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaking Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 clearly i was wrong. CLEARLY YOU WERE! /no capital I's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HannahG123 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Better? I would say that how good a song is, is what really reflects your musical ability. Although that probably has nothing to do with this thread. /I Hannah'ed why am i brought into everything From what I've seen Matts piano skills are very impressive, perticularly his improvisation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altbecky Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I think Matt's best instrument is the piano, technically. But he sure is a hell of a lot of fun on the guitar. I think Dom's a percussion genius, though. Seriously, if I had to choose one of them and call them the best at their instrument, it'd be Dom on the kit. Period. EDIT: Or maybe perhaps Matt's Sing for Absolution vocals.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdeboer01 Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I was just wondering how good Matt, Dom, and Chris are at their respective instruments. Also, who is the best at their instrument, ie. is Matt the best at guitar, Chris the best at bass, or Dom the best at drumming? "Best" is a very subjective term when it comes to musicianship. All three of them certainly have above average technical ability on their instruments. I don't think I've ever heard Chris clam (accidently play a wrong note) on any live performances. And keep in mind he was quite often drunk by the end of the sets before 2009. Most people couldn't play Hysteria on bass sober -- never mind drunk. Matt occasionally messes up, but that's usually because he's doing something nutso while playing guitar at the same time. I do believe that Matt is capable of more technically difficult guitar parts, but I also think he tends to keep his parts simpler because he's singing at the same time. ETA -- Matt has made it quite apparent that he has a firm grasp on music theory. He knows exactly what he's doing. His piano playing is certainly above average. And the fact that Chris can play drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards (don't know how GOOD he is at keyboards though) speaks volumes about his technical talents. If he has any amount of proficiency on piano, I'd give Chris the vote for the more talented musician (technically) in the group. I don't think Matt can play drums. And we know Dom can't play anything BUT drums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anxyous Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 It's not about technical proficiency, it's about what makes sense. Kashmir has a regular 4/4 bass-snare-bass-snare pattern, which is the simplest thing in the world to do - but it feckin' works! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobynAllegra80 Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Matt occasionally messes up, but that's usually because he's doing something nutso while playing guitar at the same time. I LOLed at that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobby Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 And we know Dom can't play anything BUT drums. Apart from the fact that he taught Matt to play guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anxyous Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Apart from the fact that he taught Matt to play guitar. Those who can't do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdeboer01 Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Apart from the fact that he taught Matt to play guitar. I find that claim to be highly dubious. Matt had a decent grasp on music theory by the time he was, what -- 10 years old? AND his father was/is a guitar player. Theory transfers over all instruments. I suppose it's possible that Dom showed Matt a few chord fingerings, but the idea that someone who is suspected to be somewhat 'tone-perception challenged' could actually teach someone who is NOT 'tone-perception challenged' how to play an instrument based on tone is silly. And if Dom actually CAN play guitar with any kind of proficiency, why is there no evidence showing it to be so? Or is there? If you can post something that definitively shows that Dom can play guitar, I'll eat my words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksky Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I don't think that it says anything about musicianship how much instruments one can play (I play guitar, drums, cello and some bass, and I'm a good singer). I think Matt is the best musician, because he knows exactly what he's doing with every song. He's the theory-mastermind behind Muse and also really good with his instruments (espacially his vocals are outstanding). But Chris and Dom are both good too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarrieB Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I find that claim to be highly dubious. Matt had a decent grasp on music theory by the time he was, what -- 10 years old? AND his father was/is a guitar player. Theory transfers over all instruments. I suppose it's possible that Dom showed Matt a few chord fingerings, but the idea that someone who is suspected to be somewhat 'tone-perception challenged' could actually teach someone who is NOT 'tone-perception challenged' how to play an instrument based on tone is silly. And if Dom actually CAN play guitar with any kind of proficiency, why is there no evidence showing it to be so? Or is there? If you can post something that definitively shows that Dom can play guitar, I'll eat my words. Maybe Dom taught Matt how to pretend to play the guitar. I remember them saying that they didn't know how to play the instruments when they started, so they just made a lot of noise and smashed things. Though saying that Matt has spoken about Jimi Hendrix being an inspiration for him. Maybe that was later. Matt initially favoured the piano, it seems. He even composed his own pieces on the piano at an early age. However I think there are always a few dubious narratives floating around, some of which the band may have started themselves. Even the narrative that they couldn't play instruments when they competed on Battle of the Bands wearing lots of makeup and smashing things under the name Rocket Baby Dolls, is suspect, I think, as, on the videos, the ones I have seen at least, they are not wearing makeup and are referred to as Muse. It's not necessarily Muse's fault if they create narratives or at least are economical with the truth. I think it is expected of them. It's how the promotional media system works, I think. You have to have an interesting story. Just being good at creating music and playing instruments is not seen to be enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Matt was a guitarist long before he got into a band with Dom, but Dom taught him powerchords. That's about it. And I don't doubt that Dom can play some decent guitar. Not to mention that the inability to sing in tune doesn't mean that someone is tone deaf. There are plenty of great musicians who have trouble singing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Even the narrative that they couldn't play instruments when they competed on Battle of the Bands wearing lots of makeup and smashing things under the name Rocket Baby Dolls, is suspect as, on the videos, I have seen at least, they are not wearing makeup and are referred to as Muse. That's because it's two different competitions. The battle of the bands that they talk about so often isn't recorded, and then when another battle of the bands video appears, people just assume that it's the one. EDIT: The gig that they talk about a lot was played in February 1994, while the one that has been recorded and put on youtube is from November. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdeboer01 Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Not to mention that the inability to sing in tune doesn't mean that someone is tone deaf. OT, but this completely reminded me of a show a few years back called "WB Superstar USA", which was a show modeled after American Idol -- but the twist was they were looking for the WORST singers, not the best (unbeknownst to the contestants.) The show was hilarious and I have no idea how the judges were able to keep a straight face. Check out the audition of the eventual winner: [YT] [/YT] ^^^Now she' not only tone deaf, she's rhythmically deaf too! I'd love to see Dom playing guitar. It was fun seeing Chris play drums, even if the band was, ummmmm...... okay. He doesn't start playing until 1:30: [YT] [/YT] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nendo Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I don't think I've ever heard Chris clam (accidently play a wrong note) on any live performances. And keep in mind he was quite often drunk by the end of the sets before 2009. Most people couldn't play Hysteria on bass sober -- never mind drunk. 2 things i would like to address with this post. Chris does in fact mess up. He messes up a lot more than you may realise because you are not actively listening for his mistakes. but i can assure you there are quite a few. One of the most obvious is Helsinki jam from Leads. 1.02 misses a harmonic bend 1.40 hits the wrong note 1.49 makes another mistake. He even smirks at Dom. 1.13 hits the wrong notes I'm sure he also makes a few mistakes during hysteria 2004 Glastonbury. I seem to only notice it though through listening to an audio track of it rather than watching in on the dvd. During the breakdown but i can't remember if it was the first or second breakdown. Which brings me to my next point. I would like to know why you think most people can't play hysteria? If your "bass"-ing your opinion on the videos uploaded on youtube then please don't. Hysteria is actually not that difficult to play. Any bass player would be able to play it without a problem. The people uploading on youtube are beginners who are looking for the attention. People doing covers represent a small portion of bass players Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hat Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I know people who aren't even bass players who can play Hysteria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdeboer01 Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I know people who aren't even bass players who can play Hysteria Probably because in all likelihood, the riff was written on guitar. That has been my point about Chris's "bonus" ability of being able to play guitar. I think some Muse songs work well with more "spartan" guitar parts because the basslines are more interesting than the average bassline. Of course that doesn't apply to ALL muse songs. And Sippe, are you claiming that Hysteria has a simple, rambling bassline that any beginning bass player can pull off in the correct tempo for the duration of the song? I do think it's likely far easier for a guitar player to learn bass than in is for a bass player to learn guitar. Hence your guitar player friends being able to play the riff. Now that Hysteria is so easy to play, perhaps you can show us all your chops? Hysteria is actually not that difficult to play. Any bass player would be able to play it without a problem. The people uploading on youtube are beginners who are looking for the attention. People doing covers represent a small portion of bass players Any bass player? I think YOU'RE looking for attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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