Prefer Melody or Shredding ??

[AyushPresley]

Now Melody + Shredding = a big WOW ... but if you had you choose between Melody or Shredding what would you choose and why ?

I don't know about any of you's but Yngwie Malmsten ofcouse does serious shredding but i don't consider him as a melody maker like wise who do you consider the best in playing melodically and shredding...

[flyingfrets]

Satriani.

[layboomo]

Now Melody + Shredding = a big WOW ... but if you had you choose between Melody or Shredding what would you choose and why ?

I don't know about any of you's but Yngwie Malmsten ofcouse does serious shredding but i don't consider him as a melody maker like wise who do you consider the best in playing melodically and shredding...

 

While I appreciate the technical ability it takes to shred........it bores me to tears after about 10 seconds listening to it if there is no melody involved. Fast playing in general needs the contrast of slower or even silent passages to really make a statement IMHO. Call me old, but I'd rather listen to Clapton tune his guitar than Ying-Yang play for an hour. Of the shred type players both Satriani and Vai can be very melodic and some of the Buckethead stuff is just amazing too. I could never do that stuff in 100years but I certainly appreciate their ability. I also think Eric Johnson is probably one the most melodic of the speedtype players out there....and he certainly has some great tones at his disposal.

[Stig]

I'll take David Gilmour over any shredder any day. I'll take George Harrison or Roger McGuinn over Yngwie, hands-down.

[Notes_Norton]

I'll take melodic players any day. Clapton, Santana, etc.

 

Any able-bodied person can learn to play scales at blazing speeds if they practice enough. But if it sounds to me like they are playing scales at blazing speeds I get bored, even if I am awed by their technical prowess.

 

That doesn't mean that everything needs to be slow, you can play melodically and include bursts of speed. It takes talent, but it can be done.

 

Playing incredibly fast and accurate makes you a good technician.

 

Playing melodically makes you a good musician.

 

If you are a good musician blessed with good technique, that's even better.

 

But without melody, all you get IMHO are empty notes.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[AyushPresley]

I'll take melodic players any day. Clapton' date=' Santana, etc.

 

Any able-bodied person can learn to play scales at blazing speeds if they practice enough. But if it sounds to me like they are playing scales at blazing speeds I get bored, even if I am awed by their technical prowess.

 

That doesn't mean that everything needs to be slow, you can play melodically and include bursts of speed. It takes talent, but it can be done.

 

Playing incredibly fast and accurate makes you a good technician.

 

Playing melodically makes you a good musician.

 

If you are a good musician blessed with good technique, that's even better.

 

But without melody, all you get IMHO are empty notes.

 

Insights and incites by Notes[/quote']

 

Totally agree with you. I my self am a slow player and sometimes i consider my self inferior when some one shredds. it makes me feel that i don't know anything. i like Clapton and i admire his style a lot i love playing slow( slow here is not like snail slow but can't shred).. when some one plays slow but with melody thats far more mystical than Shredding the fret board for nothing. i would ofcourse consider them good but wouldn't like shredding over melody. (but it's an IRONY.. I feel inferior when someone shredds)

[L1Picker]

Melody. I respect the talent and dedication it takes to shred, but it does nothing for me.

[MelodyMaker1]

One more for the melodic players, shredding takes skill and technique, but I find it hard to listen to for more than a few minutes. Give me the Blues.

[Mugatu]

Can I make an admission? I've never heard of shredding.

 

I can only surmise that it's some sort of speed playing, from what's been said above.

In another thread today, I mention David Gilmour as being a big influence, and I mentioned his "economy" style of playing. Sometimes he doesn't say an awful lot, not in numbers of notes per bar anyway. But in my opinion, every note is felt, and every phrase really means something.

My blues tutor asked me who I wanted to play like... I said no one in particular, but I wanted to be able to say as much as Gilmour does with his melody.

Now, when he teaches me new songs, he emphasises that of course it's good at times to practice fast because it helps to develop lead technique, however he does like me to come back the next week and play it like I feel it, rather than play it fast. I like slower playing anyway, it gives you more time to augment, put vibrato on, bend to your heart's content, listen to a nice note sustain, and just generally enjoy the whole thing more.

(I'm even pretty certain it gives me more time to pull meaningful faces).

[L1Picker]

My blues tutor asked me who I wanted to play like... I said no one in particular' date=' but I wanted to be able to say as much as Gilmour does with his melody.[/quote']

 

That's a very eloquent way to put it. I like that.

[sexygibson]

I would put Steve Vai at the top of the list but I too do not really listen to shredding type music anymore. As a teenager in the 80s i was really into that and the glam metal bands but as i have matured so has my taste in music. I have since went back to the roots of it all and play alot of blues.

[generation zero]

Gilmour for the win. Impressive as speed is, melody and heart is more impressive. I saw Micheal Angelo Batio in a clinic at a local music store, and while I was amazed at his technical proficiency, none of what he actually played stuck with me. However, right now, I could sing you practically note for note any solo David Gilomur has ever played. To me, that's what counts... play something I can feel, something that will stick with me.

 

I don't particularly care much for AC/DC, but Angus Young put it best in an interview I read in Guitar World a few years back. He was asked why he hasn't taken his playing any further than he has in the past 30 odd years. His response was {paraphrased} "What, you mean like those shred guys? All those super fast scales and arpeggios and whatever? I can do all that... I do it at home, it's called 'practice'. With AC/DC, I'm playing rock and roll, I just play what the song needs."

[charlie brown]

That kind of technique, can make one's jaw drop...but, for me...BB King can make the hair on the back of my neck

stand up, with 1 or 2 well placed notes. EC is a master at that, as well...but he's also quite fast, when he wants

to be. Certainly not a "Shredder" type player, but he has plenty of speed, when needed. I too, love George Harrison's

approach, to the lead being for the Song! David Gilmour, Hendrix, Jeff Beck, as well. Personally, I'll never be a "shredder,"

as I don't think these old fingers Could do that, but I've never (really) tried, 'cause it just doesn't do anything for me.

I do respect those that do it well, however.

 

CB

[davidg3333]

Shredding bores me. Being technically accurate bores me too. I have found that with Santana's last few albums he is technically very good in a number of related styles but seems to be missing something. Perhaps spontaneity? I am not certain I can put my finger on it. Playing with feeling is what it is all about, otherwise a robot can play the instrument and be as good.

[IntelligentAl]

Like others have said before me, I do respect shredders and I am often amazed at just how fast they can play, but listening to a song that has a five minute solo at a billion notes per second just doesn't do anything for me. The only time I have ever really enjoyed music that fast is Slash's solo at the end of Paradise City.

 

I would choose melody over shredding any day. George Harrison, Buddy Guy, Angus Young. All much better players in my opinion.

[snookelputz]

Music is comprised of melody, harmony and rhythm. Nothing in that statement says "fast as hell".

[Ron G]

Shredding pyrotechnics is really impressive......for about a minute. I don't get how somebody could listen to it for longer. Reminds me of an old joke:

 

What did one stoner say to the other stoner when they ran out of dope at a Grateful Dead concert?

 

"Wow, this band really sucks"

[Stig]

That kind of technique' date=' can make one's jaw drop...but, for me...BB King can make the hair on the back of my neck

stand up, with 1 or 2 well placed notes. EC is a master at that, as well...but he's also quite fast, when he wants

to be. Certainly not a "Shredder" type player, but he has plenty of speed, when needed. I too, love George Harrison's

approach, to the lead being for the Song! David Gilmour, Hendrix, Jeff Beck, as well. Personally, I'll never be a "shredder,"

as I don't think these old fingers Could do that, but I've never (really) tried, 'cause it just doesn't do anything for me.

I do respect those that do it well, however.

 

CB[/quote']

 

You and me both. At 45, my fingers aren't going to get any faster than they are or have ever been. I can pour on the coals in short bursts, but nothing I've ever played requires extended periods of blazing speed.

The fun for me is working with what I've got, making it interesting and serving the song.

[Notes_Norton]

I think it is to your advantage to be able to play very fast, and then use that ability very sparingly, when artistically relevant. Of course, that is where your own personal talent and taste comes in.

 

Although I played bass a few years and have had my hands on the guitar for many years, I've only been serious about lead playing for about a year and a half now. It's coming a long very well, I can play 16th notes at about 120bpm with reasonable accuracy, especially in short bursts, but I don't want to be a shredder.

 

I can play very fast on my saxophone and the wind synthesizer so I will relate to that instrument a bit more in this post. But music is music so it applies.

 

Back in the mid 20th century, jazz players invented bebop which is equivalent to today's shredding on the guitar. Most bebop players bore me, but I admit there are a few that play melodically enough for me to like, Charlie Parker and Richie Cole to name a couple.

 

But my favorite all-time sax player was Stan Getz who could play bop if he wanted to, and in his earlier years recorded some bop, but mostly played beautifully constructed dynamic and melodic solos. The occasional burst of speed was tastefully inserted for effect and not overdone. Other melodic sax players are/were Stanley Turrentine, King Curtis, Ken Peplowski, Houston Person, and the list goes on.

 

Some of my favorite rock guitar melody players are Santana, Clapton, Page, Gilmore, Walsh, etc.

 

I could play as fast as a shredder on the sax, but I choose not to.

 

To me a well constructed improvised solo is first of all melodic.

 

There has to be a bit of predictability and a bit of surprise to the solo. The audience has to be able to predict what the soloist is going to play next part of the time, because if they cannot, they will get bored. On the other hand, the audience has to be unable to predict what the soloist is going to play next part of the time because if they can't, they will get bored.

 

It's like playing with a cat using one of those toys on a string. If you make the toy too easy to catch, the cat gets bored. If you make the toy impossible to catch, the cat is interested for a while, and then gets bored with the game.

 

The solo also has to be appropriate to the song. That's a rather intangible thing to explain, but you know it when it is not.

 

Music takes an entire "toolbox" full of talents. Technicality is only one of the tools. Technicality without musicality is just empty notes, it isn't really music.

 

Your technique has to serve the requirements of the song and the audience - not the other way around.

 

Here is a nice quote from one of histories most famous cellists:

 

"The most perfect technique is that which is not noticed at all." ~ Pablo Casals

 

That's what I strive for.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[hybrid77]

SHRED = WANK

[51xt33]

I like both shred and melodic, but only shred if it is melodic. Some shred is music, some noise. I would much rather hear a blues guitarist like Mick Mars rock, than a shredder try to play the blues if he has no heart.

Oh yea, and Satrianni for the shredders and Gilmour for da taste

[Just Strum]

IMHO - Shredding SUCKS!!!

 

Never tapped my foot to a shred.

[JefferySmith]

IMHO - Shredding SUCKS!!!

 

Never tapped my foot to a shred.

Never whistled a shred. And there's no Chet Atkins albums named "Chet Picks on the Shredders".

[Just Strum]

I'm not aware of a shredders Christmas CD, although I'm sure someone will try to prove me wrong.

[leicester35]

Never whistled a shred. And there's no Chet Atkins albums named "Chet Picks on the Shredders".

 

We need Hank Marvin to quit recording lounge versions of standards and themes from films' date=' and release [i']Hank Shreds[/i]