It is an incredible time for electric guitarists all over the globe. This modern era of music has opened a vast array of genres and sub-genres that never existed until now. Creativity has reached new levels and musicianship is also at a high, especially in the electric guitar world. Games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band have produced new legions of aspiring young guitarists. Modern metal has brought forth some of the world's greatest new players to the scene, which has redefined the very concept of metal itself, helping to make it a fully accepted form of music.
The term "shred" is used in a very generalized manner, but I don't believe always correctly or accurately. Many think shred belongs only to our modern era, when in reality, shred has been around since the 1600's. It's not only a guitar player that can play with blistering speed, or a metal musician in the throes of a frenetic frenzy at 200 bpm. Shred can be expressed by any musician that pushes their chosen instrument to the limits. For example, when Beethoven wrote the third movement of Moonlight Sonata (Presto Agitato) he was shredding his ass off! If anyone were to hear that recreated in the modern day on electric guitar, they would definitely define it as some sweet shred.
The art of shredding, because it is an art, entails evolving your musical skill and experience to higher states of expression no matter what the instrument may be.
Shredders are among the greatest musicians in all of history, they are those who have chosen to refine their skills to the greatest level of technical proficiency as well as encapsulating the ability to imbue powerful emotion through each and every note they play.
I will begin posting weekly lessons here on blogger for all of you aspiring guitarists out there that need a little more knowledge or assistance. Feel free to post any comments or questions.
