Column: Music. The Heartbeat of our World – Magnificent seven of the guitar world

Zechariah Mitchell
January 7, 2020

Thank you for joining me again. In this column, I will be talking about my seven favorite guitarists and why. This is based on the influence they had on me.

  1. Randy Rhoads

This was originally the guitarist from the band Quiet Riot, but his work is most known from working with the “Prince Of Darkness,” Ozzy Osbourne himself. His work on the hit songs “Crazy Train”and “Mr. Crowley” was that of legend. Very few are able to play the rhythm guitar Crazy Train considering that it’s not exactly chords but really just three notes put together that sound good.

  1. Jason Becker

This neoclassical guitarist is an inspiration to most. At age 16, he and guitarist Marty Friedman formed the speed-metal group Cacophony. He was one of the few that knew how to play all of Paganini’s Caprice No. 5. Now he has the disease ALS, which has deprived him of his voice and movement. Yet, he still continues to make music through computer. Truly an inspiration.

  1. Jimmy Page

I am not the only one who was influenced by this guitarist. He was the true riff master. Many have fallen in love with a very overrated but good song “Stairway to Heaven.”…Especially one band that I won’t mention *Cough*Greta Van Fleet*Cough*.

  1. Eddie Van Halen

This dutch guitarist has influenced the most. He paved the way for early metal. Before him, no one used Jacksons or Deans. He invented dive bombs. He was influenced generations of Youtubers and guitarists.

  1. Stevie Ray Vaughan

I heard a joke once. How many guitarists does it change to change a lightbulb? It takes SRV to do it once, and 1 million on youtube to cover it. He was one of the earlier guitarists to influence me. I love to use the tone he used and play the same rough way he used to.

  1. Angus Young

He is in this spot for a reason. Without him, I probably would’ve never started playing guitar. I try to use a lot of his soloing strategies, including the very fast vibrato and sustaining bends for a good amount of time. Also like him, I’m very found of using E as my key.

  1. Jimi Hendrix

I fell in love with his playing. The way he harnesses the sounds of his guitar. He smoothed out the bumps of psychedelic rock. Using divebombs, feedback, and multiple quirky guitar techniques you can see how he’s influenced my through my playing.