The Guitar Player's Resource
Representing today's younger guitarist is Ryan Formato from Mastic, New York. Just 18 years of age, Formato submitted a four song demo CD-R filled with blazing shredded moments and all the high-tech, modern playing techniques you'd hope you'd find in a much older guitarist. Still some of the same issues a lot of guitarists who've mastered fast playing have are present in Formato's demo. When the playing slows down, the intonation tends to suffer. Sustained notes tend to drift slightly out of tune in a non-musical way. Another area for improvement could be his phrasing. A lot of improvised passages don't quite 'fit' into the musical space allocated to them, falling just short, or running a bit long, and have to be cut off in a jarring way. Attention to phrasing and making musical runs and lines fit, is a skill that comes with experience and a good ear, really listening to the music and letting your brain guide your fingers, instead of the other way around. Still, Formato's got a solid foundation on which to build, and his age means he's got plenty of time to develop.
Ryan picked up the guitar at age fourteen and seriously became interested after hearing Steve Vai. He has been playing guitar religiously for the past four years and will continue with the guitar through college while studying jazz. In addition to the Vai influence, guitarist Jeff Denny has taught Ryan everything he knows about the guitar, from fierce licks to music theory. He is currently working on songs for his first CD. Ryan has competed in the Guitarmageddon competition, making it all the way to the regional finals.
Formato's main goal in developing music is to allow the whole world to hear great rock instrumentals, and to allow people to appreciate the guitar for all the beauty that it can create. He is aspiring to become the next "Vai" and prays that it can happen one day with enough hard work.
Ryan Formato
United States
Web site: www.ryanformato.com