i guess since i sorta exacerbated things a bit here, i want to reiterate this fact.
factually speaking, he is nowhere close to what the general public and especially the general musician would deem as "the right notes," or "good notes," and most of the time he is not playing in the same key as the backing track or recording, or even in a single key at all.
as i said before, his rhythm seems to be ok. if someone magically put his left hand on the "correct" notes of some of the solos he plays, many parts would be close.
but generally speaking, he is way way out. you really can't argue against that. paired with the fact that he is a beginner, there probably is no way he is "exploring" or doing something with modes or whatever.
to echo fremen, the fascinating part about watching this as a professional musician, is the exhibit of someone being (most likely) tone deaf. that isn't an insult. it's not name calling. it's an actual condition. it's a thing.
the absolute WORST thing that can happen to this kid is for people to "supportively" tell him "wow that was great! you'll be a great guitarist." whoever is holding the camera in some of his videos is doing him a big disservice by not saying "um, are you sure that sounded good?" or something like that. maybe that camera guy was tone deaf too. who knows?
but it's kids like this, especially singers, who are constantly told by family and friends "wow you are really good, you should audition for a broadway show" or whatever... they get so psyched thinking they are amazing (compared to the general public) then when they go to that audition or maybe even a national tv show like American Idol... they end up on national tv being laughed at.
if i knew the guy personally, i would encourage him to keep playing guitar. but i would immediately tell him in the nicest way possible that he really isn't playing something that is commonly accepted as "musical" or "good." again, it's a shame if people are telling him otherwise. sure no need to bash him or tell him he sucks or whatever - though, honestly, factually, that may be completely warranted based solely on those performances.
but if people are compassionately trying to tell him "hey man, something's not right" and he insults them or tells them they are wrong, then the kid's got the wrong attitude and i feel deserves whatever he gets.
