[Baldy]

What is shredding?

[Stratrat]

Originally Posted by Baldy

What is shredding?

Cramming as many notes as humanly possible into each measure.

(Semi-) kidding aside, it's an extremely fast lead guitar style commonly associated with people like Yngwie Malmsteen.

[__tsidewinder__]

Wow, does shredding gets put down here! Imagine the people who put hours of each day into practicing shreddor stuff, and then they read THIS.

Shredding has got its uses. There are some shreddors who are melodic too.

First, theres FunTwo, I'm sure a lot of you have heard of him.

Theres also Akio Shimizu, a Japanese guitarist who shreds some, and I actually like it a bit.

Heres some links: (probably previously posted, but it proves my point)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjA5faZF1A8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXX_fEMf6Pg

The second you have to wait for about a minute before he actually starts playing some (subjectively) good stuff.

It all comes down to taste I suppose, but there are probably plenty of excellent melodic and musically (not just technically) talented shreddors out there. Theres nothing wrong with liking that sort of thing.

Some other names that come to mind are Eddie van Halen, Kirk Hammet, Dimebag...

[Stratrat]

Originally Posted by __tsidewinder__

...It all comes down to taste I suppose....

That's the bottom line right there. Music is a very subjective and very personal experience, and there are probably no two people in the world with the exact same musical tastes.

Originally Posted by __tsidewinder__

...Theres nothing wrong with liking that sort of thing...

Nothing at all wrong with it. Everybody just has to realize that everybody else won't share their love of it....or whatever other kind of music each of us likes. I love country music, but I'm sure there are a lot of people who think it's like acid being poured into their ears. It's all good.

[Ledhead V-2]

Originally Posted by __tsidewinder__

Wow, does shredding gets put down here! Imagine the people who put hours of each day into practicing shreddor stuff, and then they read THIS.

Shredding has got its uses. There are some shreddors who are melodic too.

...names that come to mind are Eddie van Halen, Kirk Hammet, Dimebag...

I actually see the bulk of this thread's responses to shredding to be positive, not negative. But I suppose it's all in the translation. Others here quite obviously believe that it's all just speedwork and very little meody. My answer to that would be to pick up a Joe Satriani, Steve Vai or John Petrucci cd (or better yet, dvd), give it a look/listen, and if that doesn't cure you of the ho-hum-shredders-are-boring syndrome, nothing will. (Get Vai's "Live at the Astoria, London, 2001" dvd. It'll blow your socks off!!)

Also, shredders like EVH and Hammet (tho not so much Dimebag, I've noticed) get lots of attention here and are usually listed on anyone's top rock guitarists poll.

[TwistedLefty]

I basically stopped listening to popular music in the mid eightys because of the prevalent "play faster" genre that seemed to be taking over at the time in southern california.
i totally respected the ability/artistry that was being represented, but to my ears it all seemed to sound the same.
it wasn't so much the "fast playing" that killed my interest but the "sameness" of the tones or song structure.
it seemed to me that the "feeling" or emotional connection between the artist and the audience had turned into some sort of vain competition to see who could "shred" faster.

[Dewy]

In 8-30 second bursts... but I'm with the majority here. Shredding is often done in the absence of something more meaningful.

Then again, part of Rock & Roll is Angst... and sometimes the guitar just needs to scream for me.

Zakk Wylde has some excellent shredwork, check out the Pride & Glory Album.

[Baldy]

I could agree with your opinion here,and take it a step farther by saying that a lot of catagories of music ,such as country have fallen into a repetisious rut.Same licks Same distorted sounds.with fewer great instrumentilists,and a lot of copycats.I've sort of nicknamed the music plastic,as it seems to all be cut from the same mold.However I'm just a 65 year old grouchy old man,so what do I know.Love you guys////////Baldy

[Stratrat]

Originally Posted by Dewy

....Shredding is often done in the absence of something more meaningful....

Man, if that's not a quote begging to be put in somebody's sig, I've never seen one!

[JessThrasher]

I really admire shredders but I can't do the stuff they do. Joe Satriani and Steve Vai would be my favs.

The term "shredding" has been abused too much even within heavy metal culture. The true meaning of shredding can be founr in the wikkipedia link below. Shredding has also become a slang term just for playing fast or even a slang term for just playing in general. "Shred the axe" is one of the terms that has evolved from "shredding" being used as a slang term.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shred_guitar

[mattz196]

Originally Posted by Lcjones

not to be too cold hearted ......
----------------------------------------

shred
noun, verb, shred·ded or shred, shred·ding.

–noun
1. a piece cut or torn off, esp. in a narrow strip.
2. a bit; scrap: We haven't got a shred of evidence.

–verb (used with object)
3. to cut or tear into small pieces, esp. small strips; reduce to shreds.

–verb (used without object)
4. to be cut up, torn, etc.: The blouse had shredded.
----------------------------------------------------------
**

So did to "Shred" maybe come from the effect of the strings on the fingers ? or maybe the first shredder just worked in a Taco joint

[JessThrasher]

It came from the fact that shredding is mostly for metal and harder rock and the aggressiveness of the technique. The aggressiveness can resemble ripping stuff up.

[PurplePeopleEaters]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HGE0va4mB...elated&search=

This dude has some good teaching how to shred vids on youtube. This is the first of four (the rest are on the right hand side). The key is sweep and alternate picking.

I can kind of shred but sometimes my pick hand goes too fast and I get some glorified tremolo picking. This guy's videos have helped a ton.

[knight46]

That looked like some good information, I can't wait to try some of this technique. Is that the proper way to hold a pick?

[PurplePeopleEaters]

Originally Posted by knight46

That looked like some good information, I can't wait to try some of this technique. Is that the proper way to hold a pick?

I'm completely self taught but most people i've seen who have teachers don't hold it like that. It probably is the correct way to hold the pick for shredders. You end up having a lot more control over the pick that way. I have no clue how he uses a 3m pick though.. I have one of those and it just gets annoying. I would reccomend fender heavy's instead.

The technique he uses for learning solos quickly in the 2nd video is really helpful. Playing each note at the same BPM but alternate picking each note 2-4-and 8 times really helps you get the finger speed down.