What does it meanif you have"chops"as a guitar player?

Question

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Answer 1

You've got fancy sideburns !-

Answer 2

It means you have technique, or in other words that you can play accurately, reliably and expressively.

It normally also means that you can play difficult stuff, but this reflects a prejudice among certain players in favour of flash and speed over musicianship. For example, REM's Peter Buck does not have as much chops as, say, King Crimson's Robert Fripp, in that Fripp can play horrendously difficult parts which would defeat Buck, but this hasn't stopped them from being in the same band together (Bill Rieflin's Slow Music Project). Chops are not fundamentally about speed, although a complete player ought to be able to play fast if he/she wants to. Chops are about how well you can play the music you want to play.

Answer 3

Old time jazz cats who played sax used to complement each other's playing by saying they had good "chops", a slang term for mouth, as in "he punched him right in the chops". A good sax player had excellent embouchure, or mouth strength. The term gradually spread to include all instrumentalists with great skill.

The term was used long before guitars were referred to as "axes", though the supposed ax/chops connection is a common misunderstanding.

Answer 4

It means that you're a good guitar player and that you have experience. For example, saying "He has great musical chops" is like saying "He's experienced and good at what he does."

Answer 5

In the sense that your insturment is your axe, your chops are what you do with it.