what's shredding?

[hayabusa]

hi, i'm a bass guy. not really familiar with guitars. ive got a couple of questions:

what's shredding? my guitarists talk like it's the pinnacle of guitar playing, and does too much shredding really eat up the frets?

almost all electric guitarist use solely picks. (they can't pluck like classical) is there any style of playing the electric guitar that involves fingerpicking? coz i want to learn electric guitar but i can only pluck classical style or bass style and i suck at using the pick.

 

[Whitestrat]

hi, i'm a bass guy. not really familiar with guitars. ive got a couple of questions:

what's shredding? my guitarists talk like it's the pinnacle of guitar playing, and does too much shredding really eat up the frets?

almost all electric guitarist use solely picks. (they can't pluck like classical) is there any style of playing the electric guitar that involves fingerpicking? coz i want to learn electric guitar but i can only pluck classical style or bass style and i suck at using the pick.

Shredding? Nah... ignore it. Just play what you like, and at the best you can. Practise with a metronome. Shredding will come naturally.:twisted:

Jeff Beck, Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton are some of the few fingerpickers. Actually, finger picking is faster, cleaner and more efficient than using a pick. Just that it doesn't give that much of an attack like a pick does.

Try learning the 2 solos to Sultan Of Swing by Dire Straits. THAT need to be finger picked. Use a pick, and you double the learning time...

 

[Godspeed64]

its actually wise to learn picking..
your speed will increase a lot.. plus there are techniques that could be learnt using the pick..
you want to know what's shredding? go listen to malmsteen or something..

 

[hayabusa]

um.. so what's involved in the process of shredding? is it like doing sliding/vibrato/tremolo action? or something really extreme like biting..

 

[Gr3y]

go down to a stationery shop and ask the cashier for 1.

 

[MaCcA]

mayb someone could really answer the question directly...i myself dun have a clear idea of wat it means exactly....

 

[Whitestrat]

its actually wise to learn picking..
your speed will increase a lot.. plus there are techniques that could be learnt using the pick..
you want to know what's shredding? go listen to malmsteen or something..

There is nothing a pick can do that 5 fingers can't do better...

 

[Whitestrat]

um.. so what's involved in the process of shredding? is it like doing sliding/vibrato/tremolo action? or something really extreme like biting..

Shredding is defined: (from wikipedia)

Shred guitar refers to a guitar playing style where technical proficiency is used to maximize (and sometimes specifically demonstrate) speed, often in a neoclassical framework. Beginning in the 1980s, shred guitar began to appear in a heavy metal sub-genre known as neo-classical metal, since it often involved phrases and techniques reminiscent of Classical music.

Playing techniques
Guitar playing techniques commonly involved in shredding include:

• Alternate picking
• Hybrid picking
• Legato
• Economy picking
• String skipping
• Sweep picking
• Tapping
• Tremolo picking
• Wide intervals

The most basic and probably most common form of shredding involves ascending and descending a two- or three-octave scale or mode at a fast tempo. This run or lick can be played by individually picking all, or a selection, of the notes (alternate picking or economy picking); multiple-picking notes (tremolo picking); or picking just the first and/or second note of a string followed by a rapid succession of hammer-ons and/or pull-offs (legato) — the latter format being very versatile, providing ease to incorporate other patterns or licks into, as well as unique tonal qualities not possible with pure picking.
One of the most difficult techniques, sweep picking, is commonly used to play extremely rapid arpeggios across the fretboard (sometimes on all strings); and finally, tapping is also often used to play arpeggios or scalar patterns using pure legato with no picking, but is not limited to just that — for example, complex combinations of tapping and sweep picking have been used by artists such as Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert and Jason Becker.

 

[gutturalpiss]

covering a flurry of notes (by the common man's understanding at least 12) in ~55.56 ms latency between each note

 

[Gr3y]

Paul Gilbert cant sweep well and isnt know for sweeping.. he string skip man!! damn those writters..

 

[hayabusa]

whitestrat: wa.. such a scientific explaination. this one can enter the national science challenge. haha.. so can i summarize shredding as playing the guitar at light speed?

 

[Whitestrat]

whitestrat: wa.. such a scientific explaination. this one can enter the national science challenge. haha.. so can i summarize shredding as playing the guitar at light speed?

Not from me lah... wikipedia wan...

yup.. you got it. playing guitar CLEARLY at light speed.