I don’t hear much guitar at all

[GoldfishLord]

This is probably why I find, giving a blast to the follow-up album, Danger Money, that washing the more jazz improvisation-keen elements of Bruford and Holdsworth out makes the sound less unruly and more focused (I’m sure there’s a Thijs van Leer joke somewhere here). Although, I’ve got to say, for a lauded guitarist like Alan Holdsworth, I don’t hear much guitar at all on this record overall, and certainly nothing jaw-dropping.

Source: https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/uk-uk-album-of-the-week-club-review

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Does "guitar" not mean "a musical instrument" but "guitar playing"?

 

[emsr2d2]

It just means that the person can't hear the sound of the guitar very much. Of course it's being played. If it wasn't being played, it would be completely impossible to hear it!

 

[GoldfishLord]

It seems to me that the word "guitar" itself has the meaning of "the sound of the guitar".
Is that right?

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, but only in the same way that any noun after "hear" means "the sound of [noun]".
I can't hear your voice.
He couldn't hear the alarm.
They didn't hear the bells.

It doesn't imply "the sound of" in every scenario. For example, adding "the sound of" wouldn't work in the following examples:
We won't be able to hear her instructions.
He pretends not to hear my comments when I criticise him.

 

[jutfrank]

It means that the guitar does not feature very much (or as much as expected) on the record.

 

[jutfrank]

Does "guitar" not mean "a musical instrument" but "guitar playing"?

Would you mind telling me what you think the difference is?

 

[GoldfishLord]

I think that "guitar" doesn't means "a musical instrument", but "the sound of the guitar".

 

[jutfrank]

Okay, but would you mind telling me what you think the difference between 'guitar' and 'the sound of the guitar' is?

I'm trying to understand your questions better.

 

[GoldfishLord]

I think that "guitar" and "the sound of the guitar" are different.
"Guitar" is not a sound but an instrument.
"the sound of the guitar" is a sound made by that instrument.

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes, "guitar" is the name of the instrument. However, when we say "I can't hear the guitar", we mean "I can't hear any sound made by a guitar [in this particular instance]."

What sound, other than the sound of someone playing it, do you think a guitar makes?

 

[jutfrank]

I think that "guitar" and "the sound of the guitar" are different.
"Guitar" is not a sound but an instrument.
"the sound of the guitar" is a sound made by that instrument.

So could you explain how you think it's possible to hear an instrument?

What's the difference between hearing an instrument and hearing the sound of an instrument? I'd really like to know what your understanding is.

 

[GoldfishLord]

"To hear an instrument" and "to hear the sound of an instrument" mean the same.

So, I infered from it that "an instrument" had the meaning of "the sound of an instrument".

It seems that that was wrongly inferred.

 

[jutfrank]

"To hear an instrument" and "to hear the sound of an instrument" mean the same.

That's right.

So would you now explain why in post #1 you asked which of two different meanings was being used in the text? If they mean the same, why would you ask such a question?

So, I infered from it that "an instrument" had the meaning of "the sound of an instrument".

It seems that that was wrongly inferred.

No, you didn't infer anything. You asked a question about which of two different meanings was being used in the text. I want to try to understand what was going through your mind when you asked this question. The question seemed to us to make no sense.

 

[Holmes]

. . . I don’t hear much guitar at all on this record . . . .

Interestingly, a similar noncount use of nouns that are normally count nouns sometimes occurs when English speakers talk about food dishes:

I don't taste much carrot in this soup.