its actually not that difficult to learn the picking style if you already play with your fingers, double thumping can be learned in a few days but it gets a bit more complicated when you started adding more fingers and trying to change strings, but to combine that with scales and hammer ons would take a lot longer to get fast at
There's a great deal of ambience to almost everything that Tosin plays. It's interesting to watch his left hand. He allows notes to ring out, or almost crossfade. Great chord choices too. Exotic but still familiar.
The video really inspires me because, like you said, Tosin's choice of chords is just so ambient and emotional imo. What he's conveying in those passages (esp the one at 1:34) is exactly what I'd want to convey to a listener through my playing
@@jinxie1080 Yeah that sort of rolling, almost rasgueto technique, when combined with unison notes, is very information dense without being busy sounding. Beyond his technical playing, the thing I really like about his compositions are how natural they sound. But that I mean that he clearly has the patience to sit with a piece and examine the changes and the motifs so the end product sounds like it was there all along (ie, a part of nature).
His bandmates have said before that he’s really difficult to work with actually. They get it done and have a working relationship but Javier has said Tosin and Matt are very egotistical.
@@kalmath_ Try to find the full interview with Herman Li. It’s not like Javier trashed his bandmates, sounded like it could’ve been a lot worse. Herman asked Javier what it’s really like being on tour with them. Javier was like hmmm did you really ask me that? He said they both can take things hard at times and they can be very “special” was the word he used. Didn’t go into much detail.
Agreed! Especially given how unbelievably good Kiko is. There's a video -- I think on Kiko's channel -- where Tosin and Kiko are having a conversation while playing, and Kiko starts unleashing bits of his true abilities and the vast extent of his musical knowledge. You can tell Tosin is blown away and completely captivated. It's been really nice seeing these two share their knowledge and abilities with each other!
You know I have the same bending thumb, and a lot of people told me its not normal, and just now i realize....i should exploit it by practicing this technic
@@gonzar86 the thumb is just a better pic, double thumping is still my fav. The one thing am working on right now. Probably hard to believe I play acoustic guitar.
@@gvnotes well it might be a better pick but you have to treat the nail just right. plus since I'm not tosin or knoplfer I can do a lot of things with a pick that I cant with my thumb, but its all just practice i think
@@gonzar86 Yeah. We all have difference in our body parts, some thumbs can take the digging more than the other. And if one is short on a side then will probably be compensated for on the other, so you never miss a thing if you're hard working. Hope I'll upload a cover or something where I do mostly thumping this week I think.
Hendrix changed all of them after him, he invented a stance and attitude towards music. Tosin Abasi didn't invent shit and he is not pursued by anybody but his fans. Maybe you should focus your attention in something else than music.
Tosin's thumb is so accurately perpendicular in that bend, set-squares are designed by taking him to the factory and referencing him… Dude can even define tan90°… finally mathematicians can take some rest.
I really love his style. It’s so explorative and inventive, and he really does his best to leave no stone unturned in terms of challenging the listener’s expectations: odd time signatures, interesting chord voicings, unconventional right and left hand techniques… he clearly does his best to keep progressing. Amazing player. Also, his thumb looks almost unnatural with how severely it is angled. I’m becoming convinced that this is a secret weapon with regard to his thumping prowess.
That's one thing I noticed with some of my favourite players, that all do something weird that looks unnatural. Like Shawn Lane had this freakish speed and in his case, his eyes looked weird as a result when he was playing, you'd see him concentrating as his blink rate would appear extremely odd. With Dimebag Darrell his insane fingering looked like a weightless spider floating across the fret board. James Hetfield and Zakk Wylde have these insane picking techniques, James for rhythm and Zakk for solo work, and Zakk has this really wide vibrato. Even a lot of classical guitarists, musicians in general really, have this unnatural look when they reach a certain level, the harp and the stringed instruments especially. It's fun.
@@ShinyShinyIsAlwaysBeingSerious Super fun! Yeah it seems that some players-particularly the successful ones-develop some idiosyncrasies that are very characteristic of their style and interpretation of the instrument.
@@MrKittles1123 another one that springs to mind is Marty Friedman's bizarre pick hand angle. And yet he's a master. Ola Englund has an odd pick hand angle too, but the man is a beast at rhythm playing.
@@dylanadams1455 Facts! Idk how Marty does what he does with his hand like that, but the results are pretty hard to argue with. As far as Ola, I was just watching some of his stuff the last couple days and didn’t even really pay much attention to his actual technique, but it definitely crossed my mind that he is a pretty tight rhythm player for sure. I’ll have to look closer next time.
@Franco I can’t remember which interview it’s from. Tosin was gonna scrap all the stuff he had because he didn’t think he had anything to offer musically and was considering quitting entirely. Misha basically said “don’t do that” and helped tosin turn all his ideas into the self titled album.
They’re music is amazing but watching Tosin just chilling and watching his fingers/hands do their thing…wow! Effortless and smooth. Thanks for sharing.
I loved that album and saw them play through 1&2 live in NYC. Wasn't a fan of the 3rd as I felt it lacked a cohesive feel, but there were gems there for sure. 4th was what I expected the 3rd album to be and now I'm really looking forward to their 5th after the release of their single 'Monomyth"
@@forextroll YoOoOo! I see you fam! I got to see them for the 3rd in Las Vegas. I knew about the 1st album, but the 2nd is what really got me into them. It’s cool hearing your perspective though because I I fuckin’ loved the 3rd album, but The 4th, I wasn’t feeling as much. I’m forever a fan of whatever they do for Metal and Guitar Culture though. I’m really looking forward to 5.
Weightless was my first AAL album, and I also think that at this point in AAL's career has become somehow overlooked, anyway it's such a masterpiece I love the production and the heaviness of it. 💣🎸
It’s their worst album by a mile, that’s why. Only animals album I dislike. I remember being pumped for weightless after hearing their first record in 2010 and I was super disappointed
The thing I love is how he manages to turn technique into song. He has some technique, and suddenly, thousands of ideas just emerge, ideas that make full use of and rely on absolutely every miniscule movement his hands are capable of. Also seeing Tosin at least slightly struggle with "that one part" from "that one song" (the woven web) was... Delightful
I remember watching the full video a while back that went on for a few hours and realizing then that as talented and unique Tosin is, Kiko was straight up schooling him and ended leaving me feeling way more impressed
Tosin teaching is just a few words about a concept and then several minutes of him blowing your mind with no explanation. I don't think he can stop playing. How does he ever handle the business end of things?? Best "god-level" guitarist of the 21st century hands down.
Wow. Ya know, I’ve certainly heard of Tobin but never really listened to him. Now I see why he’s shared the stage with the likes of Petrucci, Vai, and others. New fan here. Love the slightly unorthodox style.
Without doubt the most unique player and creative force to exist in the last 15 years. It’s so advanced it almost seems like unplanned and unorganized noise
imagine being so good at the guitar, you can casualy pick any instrument in the world and get something like this on your first try. The level of skill and knowledge is incredible and hard to obtain, but so is the freedom to fully express yourself with those skills
This guy is so good that its beyond bewildering, its beyond impressive, its beyond infuriating, hes at such a high level that at this point its just hilarious. Like how is this dude just able to walk around and effortlessly do stuff like this? 🤣 Its like that guy that comes into the game server and just shamelessly starts using cheats, throwing entire buildings around and spamming super abilities. Except Tosin is the real deal. Oh yeah, and on top of all that, he might just be one of the most humble, kind, and down to earth human beings on the planet.
Same 😂 it's like i see him playing effortlessly and like i start laughing like... Im just... Not only fascinated but also amused.. like how on earth look at him goooo
He doesn't even care sharing. He knows all these need so much practice for anyone to steal. He's like, you want, then try it if you manage to do you deserve it
