Yngwie Malmsteen recently shut down claims that rock music lacks originality, calling the idea the “dumbest thing” he has ever heard during an interview with Metal Kaoz.
When asked about the notion that because the building blocks of music are finite, everything has already been played and recorded, Malmsteen strongly dismissed the argument.
“It’s that is the dumbest thing I ever heard,” Malmsteen said. “That’s like saying, ‘Oh, all the books have already been written.’ But they haven’t. Or, ‘All the paintings have already been painted.’ No.”
He explained that while the fundamental elements of music are set, the individual’s creativity is limitless.
“Because there are the building blocks of music or language or whatever,” he continued. “Yes, they are set. But your mind, your soul, your heart, your body, your being is not set. It’s what you do with this. It’s the same thing as you can buy this guitar. It’s not going to be exactly the same as what I play. It’s more than that. But that’s the same thing. The tools, the tools are the same. That it’s what you do with it.”
Malmsteen then compared this concept to other instruments, noting that customizing tools is not where true originality lies.
“It’s like saying, ‘Oh, all the notes already been done on violin, so why don’t you put long more strings on it?’ No, there’s four strings and that’s it,” he added. “That’s what you what you going to do with that f*cking violin. That’s it. And that that’s why I always looked at, you know, when people want to customize the guitars too much.”
He referenced classical violinist Niccolò Paganini to emphasize his point.
“I said Niccolò Paganini didn’t do that,” Malmsteen concluded. “He just took that piece of wood that he had and he made it do what he… You know what I’m saying? Because he… it was him. It was him. It wasn’t the violin. It wasn’t the language. It wasn’t the notes. It was what he did. That’s one example. And that’s how I look at what I’m doing, you know.”
The argument is a familiar one for Malmsteen, whose entire career has been built on the idea that a fixed set of musical rules can still produce something deeply personal.
