Who here doesn't like shred?

Andy43 · #1 04-19-2009, 12:30 PM

I'm not talking about stuff like Vai or Satch or anything like that. That to me is just guitar instrumental music. I'm talking about shred, stuff where the musician plays needlessly fast just to satisfy their ego. It is just soo annoying to me. When I first started out playing guitar I thought it was so impressive that someone could play so fast, but that was before I realized that there is very little art in doing so. They basically play fast to impress, not thinking about what the listener wants.

End of rant. What are your guys opinions?

Brosa · #2 04-19-2009, 01:02 PM

Give us an example of what think is shred.

To me speed is just a means to an end. Very few people can pull it off cleanly.

A nice example of cool and fast playing imo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkEo3IqpNus

**jono** · #3 04-19-2009, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy43

They basically play fast to impress, not thinking about what the listener wants.

End of rant. What are your guys opinions?

I always thought that when you think about what the listener wants to hear rather than what you yourself want to play, well that's selling out!

Homebake · #4 04-19-2009, 01:37 PM

i've come to realise that shredding, by itself, is meaningless. shredding with good chords/song behind it starts to sound nice. players that have backing tracks of simple, 4 power chord songs and shred all over the place for 10 minutes is completely boring to me.

i like different players for different reasons and the top reason i like steve vai is his orchestration, use of chords and arrangement. sure, his lead playing is mind boggling and awesome too, but it wouldn't mean **** if it wasn't for his actual SONGS. check out stuff like "blue powder", "oooo" and "fire garden suite". those songs all have really cool and interesting chords and stuff. vai is far more compositional than say, satch.

but on the other hand, i do love a good lot of shreddin' now and then. a bit of malmsteen never hurts and gilbert is probably the best "shredder" i know in terms of musicality. he manages to kick ass and shred at the speed of light but also keeps you interested with his song structures. i also think "shredding" is so much a part of his style which is why he's so good. playing fast is just what he does.

so long story short, playing fast is all well and good, but it don't mean **** if you can't write actual music. it's also critical to relate your "shred" to what chord is going on and what is right for the song.

but back to the main question, yes, i hate guitarists who (unfortunately) impress people by just playing fast (and usually, sloppily too).

Rachmaninoff · #5 04-19-2009, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy43

I'm talking about shred, stuff where the musician plays needlessly fast just to satisfy their ego.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homebake

yes, i hate guitarists who (unfortunately) impress people by just playing fast (and usually, sloppily too).

Me too.
I used to admire those stuff when I was 14. Thanks to that I got a good technique, I must say.
But today it just sounds boring to me.
Indeed, 'music for the teenager gutarists', since most of the listeners are teens.
A phrase with 3 well-chosen long notes, well played, impress me much more.

skins345669 · #6 04-19-2009, 01:50 PM

Just as has been said, shredding for shredding's sake is just boring. When applied properly, it can be great.

Homebake · #7 04-19-2009, 01:51 PM

for sure, learning as many techniques and styles as you can is a plus. the only thing i think gilbert doesn't do is sweep, but he has pretty much every other "shred" technique down pretty damn well.

mi2tom · #8 04-19-2009, 02:09 PM

Shredding is fun!

callen3615 · #9 04-19-2009, 03:41 PM

I used to love it. Now I think its agonizing to listen to.

callen3615 · #10 04-19-2009, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brosa

Give us an example of what think is shred.

To me speed is just a means to an end. Very few people can pull it off cleanly.

A nice example of cool and fast playing imo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkEo3IqpNus

I watched like 30 seconds of that and got bored.

Andy43 · #11 04-19-2009, 05:09 PM

Yngwie Malmsteen in my opinion is shred. Just listening to his music you can tell that his personality is filled with ego.

Winter Soul · #12 04-19-2009, 06:27 PM

I really enjoy listening to well written shredding, like stillborn one - necrophagist

eviltwin · #13 04-19-2009, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by callen3615

I watched like 30 seconds of that and got bored.

it didn't even last 10secs here...does that mean I hate shred? or just that I cannot stand YJM...

The bottom line for me is that music is not in the olympics, there is no purpose in being fast for the sake of being fast. Having said that, there a number of guitarists who have speed that I can really enjoy, whether it's the frantic pace of Vernon Read, the tasteful flurries of Petrucci or the brutal fretboards assaults of Dimebag, but in many cases their finest work is not necessarily their fastest.

"It's such a fine line between stupid, and clever."

mike570 · #14 04-20-2009, 12:59 AM

It all boils down to considering what you have in your heart and letting it out on guitar. For some people that means shredding while others take a very different approach.
If it's coming from your heart, then it's music.
If it's anything else, it's showing off or making lots of noise.

rob777vdy · #15 04-20-2009, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homebake

i've come to realise that shredding, by itself, is meaningless. shredding with good chords/song behind it starts to sound nice. players that have backing tracks of simple, 4 power chord songs and shred all over the place for 10 minutes is completely boring to me.

i like different players for different reasons and the top reason i like steve vai is his orchestration, use of chords and arrangement. sure, his lead playing is mind boggling and awesome too, but it wouldn't mean **** if it wasn't for his actual SONGS. check out stuff like "blue powder", "oooo" and "fire garden suite". those songs all have really cool and interesting chords and stuff. vai is far more compositional than say, satch.

but on the other hand, i do love a good lot of shreddin' now and then. a bit of malmsteen never hurts and gilbert is probably the best "shredder" i know in terms of musicality. he manages to kick ass and shred at the speed of light but also keeps you interested with his song structures. i also think "shredding" is so much a part of his style which is why he's so good. playing fast is just what he does.

so long story short, playing fast is all well and good, but it don't mean **** if you can't write actual music. it's also critical to relate your "shred" to what chord is going on and what is right for the song.

but back to the main question, yes, i hate guitarists who (unfortunately) impress people by just playing fast (and usually, sloppily too).

ALEXI LAHIO springs straight to mind here