Thank you for this! It was very enlightening. I do think about these things from time to time. I think those reason that you mention are definetley possible reasons. I would add perhaps lack of personal or individual vision? I also think that listening to other types of music can make a person sounding less similar. I am primarily a blues guitarist but I listen to classical, jazz, country, metal, pop, progressive etc and I think all of that contributes to individuality. If you let it. I just had another thought and that would be expectations from a musical genre. Expectations of hearing certain things makes for similarities between players within a genre? What do you think?
Nice. I find myself too thinking that a “jazz” guitarist has to sound a particular way. Now its no pedals, that “jazz tone” etc.. Which is all BS of course. Sometimes someone new comes along eg: Julian Lage but even then coming from Bill Frisell “tradition”. I think of players like Brandon Ross (Harriet Tubman) who rejects the labels thing totally.
The blues is missing#1 You missed that. All those killer cats we love were blues players. Education 2nd 3rd is equipment and effects. Oral tradition was key. But we are also in different time. What is happening now is just as important. Social media is reality. Technology is the new thing for guys 34 and younger. So thats my truth.
