Cool Air Guitar: My Playlist for Instrumental Bliss

There are times when I just want to listen to the sound of melodies, harmonies, and rhythms and bask in the beauty of songs that are exquisitely composed by brilliant minds that truly understand the language of music. In those times, however, I may be more inclined to listen to the kinds of songs that have no lyrics, so I can fully immerse myself in the sound of instruments that speak volumes.

The sound of the guitar, mostly, is what I would prefer in times when I just want to listen to instrumentals. Often times, such songs are apt for situations where I need to clear my head, ponder on certain matters, or even write posts. And, considering that I am also a guitar player, there are specific guitarists that I am usually ravished by their dexterity, and so I run to their playlists.

I thought of a guitarist that I had not really heard from in a year and remembered how much I adored him on the guitar. I went to play one of his songs, and, bam, the memories of guitarists that I enjoy, as well as some of their songs, came rushing in afterwards. In no time, I created a new playlist for them.

Cool Air Guitar is what I named this new playlist. Just like the cool breeze over my neck and the fresh breath of clean air, the songs I would go on to put on this play list would be carefully picked to serve that purpose—to provide me with the calm I long for in such moments when they are needed.

From my Cool Air Guitar playlist, I will showcase three songs that I would like to highlight today. They are from three different artists.

Pure Imagination

One special thing about Ruben Wan for me is his ability to control his guitar like it is a part of him, like an extension of his mind. And then there is the way he composes his songs, which makes them so creative and intelligently crafted. Ears can only tell, so I'll leave you with Pure Imagination for you to indulge yourself in.

There are many songs of his that I love, of course, and it was a difficult decision trying to pick one out of the myriad of great music that he has put out.

Just the Two of Us

There are often certain techniques that are particular to certain guitarists. Although they could be learned, they are usually attributed to their pioneers when they are heard.

Ichika Nito is a guitarist who is known for his speed and accuracy on the guitar and his special type of way with fingerstyle. On electric guitars, he is a beast. He has many unique compositions of his own, but the one I bring today is a collaboration he did with another special guitarist, Marcin.

Marcin is a champion with the acoustic guitar. It is rare to see people play the acoustic guitar the way he does. He does percussion on guitars like they were made for him alone, and his dexterity and agility are superb!

Having them both on this track was just divine. Not only were they really good with their parts in this song, but the entirety of the song and its composition were just delightful.

Ego Death

Polyphia is a rock band that does nothing but be super amazing with their tracks. It is popularly known that the difficulty level of their songs is usually high, mostly because all four of them have gained real mastery of their instruments: one drummer, two guitarists, and one bass guitarist.

One of their amazing songs that I would like to showcase today is the one where they had the epic Steve Vai play alongside them.

The song has an incredible arrangement. I became connected with the song the moment I started listening to it. When I heard Steve Vai join in, around 03:12, my jaw dropped at what I was hearing.

Fast forward to 04:09 when he unleashed his epicness on the guitar, I was in awe of the brilliance of the song. I have been listening to the song regularly ever since, and now I have brought it for you to enjoy. Do enjoy!

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There are many more songs like these, especially in my playlist, but of course, we agreed to showcase just three today—and there we have it. That's a wrap on my #threetunestuesday entry for the week. Thank you for reading and listening!