Shredding
Shredding (German: snip to pieces ) referred certain fast musical elements of a guitar solo playing . The term is mainly used in rock music . It became widespread in the 1980s, when many guitarists included playing styles in their repertoire that are characterized by high speed (e.g. Yngwie Malmsteen , Eddie Van Halen , Randy Rhoads , Steve Vai and Paul Gilbert ), even if it was there were already some guitarists who distinguished themselves through virtuoso solo playing and who were later often referred to as shredders, e.g. B. Al Di Meola , Frank Gambale or Steve Morse , who are more at home in jazz or fusion .
When shredding, playing techniques are primarily used that allow a rapid sequence of tones, for example sweep , economy picking, string skipping, alternate picking , tapping , two-handed tapping, hybrid picking and various legato techniques. Which of these techniques are used varies from musician to musician. There are guitarists who have mastered a wide range of different techniques, while others limit themselves to a smaller selection.
An early example of this technique, which had a great influence on rock music, is the song Heartbreaker by the band Led Zeppelin , composed by Jimmy Page , which appeared on the album Led Zeppelin II (1969), whose two-part guitar solo was the first to feature a series of complex playing techniques such as fast tone sequences , Bends and tapping combined. At concerts, Page also included elements of classical music in the solo. Steve Vai said in a September 1998 interview with Guitar World magazine : “That one heartbreaker had the biggest impact on me as a teenager. It was defiant, daring, and more groundbreaking than Hell. It really is the ultimate rock guitar solo. ”And Eddie Van Halen also claims to have been inspired by this solo for the playing technique that would later make him famous.
Famous shred guitarists
Michael Angelo Batio
Michael Angelo Batio was voted the fastest shredder of all time by the music magazine 'Guitar One' in 2003. He has made a name for himself in the music world, in particular through his perfected two-handed guitar playing, which he celebrates on a double-necked guitar (right and left-handed guitar in one). His song "No Boundaries", in which he undoubtedly manages to bring speed, precision and melodiousness under one roof, is often named as his magnum opus.
Yngwie Malmsteen
Born in Sweden, Yngwie Malmsteen shaped the world of rock music in the 1980s, as did Edward Van Halen . Few other famous rock - guitarist is so much on the classical influences like Malmsteen, whose trademark in addition to his Legato technique are especially his often rapidly played classical runs.
Jason Becker
Jason Becker showed his talent on the guitar at a young age. Similar to Yngwie Malmsteen, he dealt intensively with classical elements of music and integrated many of them into his solos. In particular, his adaptation of Niccolò Paganini's 5th Caprice for electric guitar is still used today by many guitarists as evidence of his extraordinary abilities. At the age of 20, Becker fell ill with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) , which led to the fact that he lost almost all motor skills and could only be active as a composer.
Paul Gilbert
Paul Gilbert , guitarist of the bands Racer X and Mr. Big , attracted attention from his early years with his solos. Gilbert, who is also successful as a solo artist and learned his trade at the Guitar Institute of Technology , among others , uses string skipping in addition to various other techniques during his solo parts . Similar to tapping, this enables him to incorporate larger intervals into his game.
Andy James
Andy James is one of the most famous modern shred guitarists. After he had made a name for himself as a DVD teacher with the Guitar Lessons distributor Lickribrary and had already released two albums by this time, he increasingly became an Internet phenomenon. He organizes online competitions for aspiring guitarists. To date he has released four solo albums: "Telling it Like it Is" (1999), "Machine" (2005), "In the Wake of Chaos" (2007), and "Andy James" (2013). In 2013 he produced an EP called "Transfusion" together with shred metal guitarist Paul Wardingham. The band "Sacred Mother Tongue", with whom he released four albums, broke up in 2013. His style can best be described as melodic shred metal. He masters extraordinary alternate picking, technically extremely strong string skipping, modern tapping that includes large intervals and a masterful sweeping technique. The song "War March" from the album "Andy James" sums up his musical work best.
Guthrie Govan
Guthrie Govan is a guitarist born in Chelmsford, England, in 1971, who covers many musical styles in both his video lessons and album releases. Essentially he is a rock-fusion guitarist, and he celebrates this style for the most part on his only solo album to date. With Marco Minneman and Brian Bell he formed the fusion rock band "The Aristocrats" in 2010, with whom he has released two albums so far. His musical career dates back to the early 1990s, but he only became world famous through the guitar teaching platform "JamTrackCentral". The improvisations he played there received millions of clicks on YouTube. He's still active for Jamtrackcentral. His playing lives mainly from his brilliant legato technique, his musical feeling and his complex, progressive compositions. Leading, much better-known guitarists, such as Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert and Steve Vai, almost regularly praise Govan for his outstanding playing.
Shawn Lane
Shawn Lane (born March 21, 1963 in Memphis, Tennessee, † September 26, 2003 Memphis, Tennessee) released two solo albums called "Powers of ten" and "The Tri-Tone Fascination" in the 1990s. In 1994 he played for the first time with the exceptional Swedish bassist Jonas Hellborg, with whom he released a total of seven albums by 2003. He was enthusiastic about music from an early age, played the cello as a toddler, learned the piano and switched to the guitar at the age of 12, which he has always described as “his” instrument. At the age of 15 he was already considered a child prodigy in Tennessee. On his solo albums he combined his virtuoso handling on the piano with his even more virtuosic handling on the guitar and thus merged his two main instruments into musical cocktails that covered both adrenaline-charged songs and melancholy ballads. Technically, its fast alternate picking and hybrid picking stand out. He was also famous for the extremely wide stretches of the grasping hand.
Marty Friedman
Marty Friedman made a name for himself together with Jason Becker in the band Cacophony . He joined Megadeth in the early 1990s and set himself a monument for himself with the album Rust in Peace (1990). His guitar playing is more chord-oriented than scale-oriented, whereby he makes increasing use of Asian and Oriental sound material. In 1999 he left Megadeth after five successful albums and focused on his solo career and life in Japan. Marty Friedman's solos in "Tornado of Souls" or "Lucretia" are perhaps the best listening tips to help you internalize your guitar playing.
Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani is one of the leading shred guitarists, and often fills the majority of his compositions with complex legato runs . In addition, clear, memorable lead passages shape his style. As one of the few shred guitarists, Satriani reaches an audience of millions. Most of his songs are suitable for radio despite the lack of vocals. It was nominated 14 times for a Grammy, but never won it. Many well-known and successful guitarists came under his care as students, including Kirk Hammett and Steve Vai .
Edward Van Halen
Born in the Netherlands, Edward Van Halen is the guitarist of the rock band Van Halen , which were one of the most important rock acts in the world in the 1980s . He plays with hammer-ons and pull-offs and brought the importance of the vibrato lever to a new level with unprecedented tones and effects . He was partly responsible for the rapid spread of tapping , as he integrated it into many of his solos, and thereby enabled undreamt-of possibilities for guitar playing. In addition to these virtuoso techniques, his playing is characterized by excellent rhythm work.
Randy Rhoads
Randy Rhoads is one of the most impressive and influential guitarists of his time alongside Edward Van Halen. Before joining Ozzy Osbourne , he played in the band Quiet Riot, which he co-founded . His early death in 1982 at the age of only 25 prevented a prosperous career. Hardly any other guitarist became as world famous as he with only two albums. Especially the song "Mr. Crowley" from the album "Blizzard of Ozz" is an absolute showpiece of the art of shredding.
Dimebag Darrell
Dimebag Darrell (real name Darrel Lance Abbott) was the only guitarist in the neo-thrash metal quartet Pantera . Shortly before his death (2004) the debut album of his new band Damageplan was released . His brutal grooving style lived mainly from pinched harmonics , which he drove to dizzying heights with his Floyd Rose vibrato, and incorporated them into his solos without technical difficulties. No song fits this article better than The Art of Shredding from the 1990 album Cowboys from Hell .
Steve Vai
Steve Vai is one of the most recognized and technically adept shred guitarists in the field of rock (primarily instrumental rock). His style is characterized by extremely fast and complex runs, composed of various techniques of the modern rock guitar, and his soulful vibrato, with which he often creates singing lead passages. His composition For The Love Of God is often treated as a masterpiece of his work .
Erock
Eric Calderone, aka "Erock", became world famous only through YouTube. He "covers" well-known songs from other musicians and from films or video games, but rearranges them in a Power Metal guise and adds modern, intense shred solos. Songs like "Gangnam-Style meets Metal" or "Skyrim meets Metal" have been seen over four million times on Youtube to date and with almost one million followers he is the most famous "Youtube guitarist" ever. On November 5th, 2009 his first song "Pirates of the Caribbean" was released on Youtube and to date 168 songs have been released on his channel "331Erock". In the meantime he has produced three solo albums called "Hollywood Shred", "No more Heroes" and "LoPanLunatic" on his own. In 2013 he won the "Dimebag-Darrell-ShredderAward". His arrangements live mainly from his intensive alternate picking, tapping and two-track intoned lead melodies, which his studies in classical guitar in Florida as well as his studies in orchestration at the well-known "Berklee College of Music & Arts" in Massachusetts should be beneficial to him.
Eric Johnson
The Texan Eric Johnson is better known for his always harmonious, sensitive playing and his "warm" tone. He is able to play with and without a pick. He is an early master of hybrid picking. He bases his often very fast runs on an always harmonious background. Its complex chordal progressions are also worth mentioning. His best known piece is the Grammy Award winning "Cliffs of Dover". In 1996 he played the first of the legendary "G3 tours" with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.
Zakk Wylde
Zakk Wylde (real name Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt) played in 1988 on the Ozzy Osbourne album "No Rest for the Wicked". Initially traded as a replacement for Jake E. Lee , Wylde gave subsequent albums his own stamp. It is characterized above all by its stylistic closeness to bluegrass and country. In addition to his ongoing work for Ozzy and his occasional projects such as He also played B. Pride & Glory and various solo albums with the groove stoner rock band Black Label Society (BLS).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jeff Kitts, Brad Tolinski: Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time! . Hal Leonard Corporation , 2002, ISBN 978-0-6340-4619-3 , p. 189.
- ^ Eddie Van Halen Smithsonian Talk 2-12-2015
- ↑ Guitar One ( memento October 26, 2009 on WebCite ): The fastest shredders of all time
