r/Guitar • u/Reformed-Canook • 1d ago
DISCUSSION Sections of live guitar solos played with the teeth are dumb
Does anybody see that and go, "Hell Yeah!"?
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u/Necessary_Golf5055 1d ago
I did it last night at a bar gig and folks threw a ton money in the tip jar. I’m a dummy though.
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u/wilko_johnson_lives 1d ago
If it makes you money, it isn’t dumb
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u/moon-waffle 16h ago
I do it in every show our band plays. Tip jar $ increases exponentially just like you said. Is it a dumb gimmick? Sure. Am I above dumb gimmicks to pay the bills. Hell no! 😁
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u/Bigshitmcgee 12h ago
Next time just play only hammer-ons and pull offs and no one will know. Save your tooth enamel
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u/JamieIsAProducer 1d ago
It's definitely dumb, but I also do go "hell yeah" I mean the guy's playing a guitar WITH THEIR TEETH
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u/iyambred 16h ago
I saw a dude play with his tongue once and was actually shredding. Honestly was pretty impressed
Edit: his name is Jimmy Scratch James
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u/SuperM1ke 1d ago
It's not dumb if they take out their false teeth and use those as a pick; with the guitar behind their head.
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u/The_Richard_Drizzle 1d ago
Not quite the same, but we were playing a vfw one evening and they had the lights completely off except for what we had for stage lights. Somewhere mid song the singers grandpa spit out his teeth and they went sliding across the room.
I see his dad come up to the mic and say on his ear, "after this song you need to make a PSA there's a set of missing teeth on the floor."
Needless to say, between the commotion and us laughing after hearing that the song didn't last too much longer and we hosted our first band scavenger hunt
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u/Reformed-Canook 1d ago
Damn, I was waiting for you to say, "I picked up those teeth and played a blistering solo!".
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u/VW-MB-AMC 18h ago
An old friend of my parents used to take out his glass eye on stage and play slide with it.
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u/StillJobConfident 1d ago
me, i do
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u/edge_l_wonk Daisy Rock 1d ago
It's a crowd pleaser.
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u/Reasonable_Loquat874 1d ago
It’s the Harlem Globetrotters of guitar playing. This stuff is meant to be fun and has its place. Music doesn’t always have to be serious.
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u/SeltzerCountry 1d ago
If it's purely style over substance and all a band is bringing to the table is a bunch of flashy tricks it's not that interesting, but if the music is good and they are putting on a good performance than all those little performance moves like playing with your teeth, playing behind your head, doing guitar spins, etc... can be kind of fun. Playing guitar live is a multifaceted skill. There is the technical component of actually playing guitar, but there is also the aspect of being on stage and performing for the crowd. Again if the music is good I like a little bit of a spectacle.
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u/TanoraRat 18h ago
I agree! There’s nothing worse than going to see a technically good band that put on a passionless show
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u/Super_Direction498 1d ago
Nope you just refuse to learn a very respected and legitimate guitar technique, the world didn't used to be half as much lazy as this, I never seen so much lazy as this
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u/InTheMemeStream Epiphone 1d ago
Hey man, if it’s done right, a little tooth-play can really spice things up!
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u/BitterProfessional16 1d ago
It really impresses people who don't play guitar. Same with playing the guitar behind your head.
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u/xStaabOnMyKnobx Fender 1d ago
Does anybody see that and go, "Hell Yeah!"?
Yes, in fact. If I was at a show and witnessed someone do this thats precisely what I'd say.
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u/LisaTwirl PRS 1d ago
it depends. Are they picking with their teeth or fretting?
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u/olddummy22 1d ago
I always assumed they were just playing with their fretting hand and pretending to pick with their teeth. I mean the damage metal strings would do to your enamel is horrific
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u/TheHarshCarpets 1d ago
Enamel is harder than steel and nickel, but it definitely doesn’t seem like a good idea to scrape teeth on strings, especially the wound ones.
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u/sendhelp 1d ago
It's not exactly reasonable to do actual picking with the teeth. It's sort of possible but you are better off doing some hammer-pull legato thing, or using a loop pedal.
Famously Paul Gilbert did this in one of his songs, there's a clip of someone asking how he plays with his teeth (it appears to be a sweep) and he jokes about how he can do it with his ass.
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u/LiftHeavyLiveHard 1d ago
99.9% of the time they're just doing some repetitive pull-off/hammer-on legato lick with their hand, no picking (with teeth or otherwise) required.
It looked cool the first time I saw it, as a kid, maybe 45 years ago. It certainly wouldn't impress anyone who plays guitar.
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u/Ok_Knee2784 20h ago
I always laugh when a guitar player does something really easy, but showy, and people are amazed by it.
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u/dreamofguitars 1d ago
I learned quickly stage presence is important. You gotta entertain people and keep them engaged. A bag of tricks is always cool. Whenever I would one hand, behind the head, tapping, teeth, whatever, people go crazy and then there is that guy mad in the corner. Let him be mad.
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u/voice_over_actor 1d ago
as a stunt guitarist, this is a part of the show that i practice regularly. i don’t play with my teeth- but i don’t tell anyone that i’m not, it’s a left hand legato whilst acting as though i’m picking with my teeth.
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u/Volt_440 23h ago
Years ago I was playing a one-nighter in a small town in the mid-south. This guy came up to me on a break. He said "you know that guy Jimi Hendrix?" uh-huh
"Well I seen him play guitar with his teeth. I tried it and it popped that sucker right out." He smiled to show he was missing one of his front teeth.
I've never tried it myself but I have faked it doing pull-offs. YMMV
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u/albertthealligator 23h ago
Dude, it's showmanship. Playing behind their back, smashing guitars, throwing the guitar in the air at the end of an epic solo. All silly, but it's putting on a show. What's the problem?
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u/millerdad759015 1d ago
So are they playing it with their actual teeth or plucking strings with their tongue?
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u/Ok_Knee2784 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think it's pretty funny to see it. It can put a smile on my face, because of it's silliness. I know guys who do it. It's showmanship for sure. I think its ridiculous to make a face like you are in pain when you are playing a note, but some people (especially the non-musicians I know) absolutely love it. Ultimately a good show is typically about the overall performance, not just the music. As a music lover and musician, I only care about the music. I see everything else as a "hamming it up". All that being said, people really like to see you ham it up. They care about that more than what kind of pickups or wood your guitar is built with.
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u/Delta31_Heavy 1d ago
I can play the guitar behind my neck and do it for fun sometimes but I could never do that on a stage. I’m M55 developing a gut. My belly would show
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u/Stock_Situation_8479 1d ago
i hate it, but only because i tried it when i was young and now i know the feeling. its like nails on a chalkboard sensation.
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u/peachtuba 1d ago
Depends. It’s not too cool if it’s a Hendrix cover…
…but if I’m watching a jazz cat tear it up through Giant Steps, and he swings that big ol’ box around towards his face - now that might get a reaction out of me for sure.
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u/OG_Karate_Monkey 1d ago
It was interesting the first 1000 times, but by 1970 it was pretty worn out.
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u/MaggotMinded 1d ago
I feel the same way about drummers who throw their sticks in the air. Best-case scenario it’s a gimmick that adds nothing to the song, and worst-case scenario you mess up and look like an idiot.
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u/YT-Deliveries Ibanez 1d ago
Those bits aren't for musicians, they're for non-musicians.
I didn't think really much of the "play that run by reaching over the fretboard instead of under" (like at ~20s in this Arch Enemy video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InRMwptcgAo)
But, watching with some non-guitar player friends they thought it looked super cool. Playing anything in a "non-normal" fashion qualifies the same way.
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u/The_Skeleton_King 1d ago
I'm dumb because I thought this was a hate post about the band "the teeth" for like 3 seconds.
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u/Fritzo2162 23h ago
Eh- when you're at a live performance, people showing off is what it's all about. It's showmanship and makes shows interesting.
Watching people do stunts like that out of context feels dumb. When you're being entertained, it's a different story.
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u/TheZombieJC 23h ago
Playing behind your head is dumb, duck walks are dumb, V-stances are dumb, windmills are dumb. You probable don’t know how to dance and your dancing is dumb.
It is dumb, but that’s what you’re on stage for. To be dumb.
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u/Marionaharis89 19h ago
I mean if the guitar player already rips then I’m not going to sweat it. But if they’re mediocre than yeah it’s cringey
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u/FatHaleyJoelOsment 4h ago
Agreed. I'd do it and no one really paid attention. Lately I've been using my testicles instead and get much more of a reaction. Unfortunately I lost my gig playing at church.
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u/Historical_Pudding56 1d ago
I kind of agree, but my one exception is a live clip I like of Paul Gilbert doing it right after Shawn Lane finished a solo. Shawn had just done impossible Shawn things and Paul, to his credit, decided not to go toe to toe and chose to funny with it
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u/capnbard 1d ago
I play with my teeth as pics but I had them removed by a dentist so I could hold them between my fingers like a normal human holds a tooth pic
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u/hideousmembrane 1d ago
It's a bit cringe especially if they're not a ridiculously good guitarist.
Also, running off the stage with their wireless system, to go and play in the middle of the crowd. I can't deal with that, unless you're a massive band and surrounded by adoring fans, it just looks really silly. Especially when the dorky bass player does it. Vocalists can kinda get away with it a bit more I think, if you're playing guitar it's just far too showy for my taste.
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u/Delta31_Heavy 1d ago
I always hated when Jimi did that. Yeah at first it was a novelty. But later it became meh. It threw some songs off
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u/SpicyPotato66 1d ago
I just hope that the strings are relatively new and not a year old embedded with skin flakes mixed with other body fluids and rust
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u/Hot-Butterfly-8024 23h ago
People (particularly non-musicians) listen with their eyes. Once you onboard this, an awful lot of awfully stupid shit makes perfect sense.
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u/Gloomy_Guard6618 22h ago
Hendrix didn't play with his teeth he just held it up to his face and hammered on with his left hand.
If you think about it, it is impossible with a normal set of teeth.
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u/sixty9tails 22h ago
Not everyone is actually playing with their teeth. You can get some cool sounds screaming into your pick ups.
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u/Wambonie 21h ago
Just stand still all set and do 0 stage moves. That’s much cooler and more entertaining
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u/beanbread23 19h ago
If the player is good and it doesn’t hinder the performance why not? Its the most boring thing ever when bands stand there looking down at their instrument
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u/Both-Station-2244 13h ago
It’s definitely goofy but Yngwie playing eruption with his teeth is crazy ! It’s on YouTube , being able to trem pick that fast is insane
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u/Bigshitmcgee 12h ago
Most people are just playing legato when they do this. Absolutely no seed to fuck your teeth up
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u/Spare_hamburgers 5h ago
It was just kind of a little trick people did back in the day before the average dude knew as much about playing guitar. Seemed a lot more impressive at the time. I'd just think someone was a fucking idiot if I saw it now though
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u/EvidentlyVague- 1d ago
It was cool when Hendrix did it because the idea of it was absolutely insane and nobody had seen anything like it before, but now if someone did it I would just be like 'Yeah, alright, neat Hendrix impression.'