"Shredding isn't good music/it takes no talent/it has no feel" thoughts

Ben Thorpe · Oct 5, 2018

I’ve been seeing this a lot online and I’d like to get other people’s thoughts on this subject. Being able to shred on a guitar requires a very technically proficient guitar player, but some argue that shredding isn’t talent or that it’s not music because it lacks “soul” or “emotion”, and I’d like to get your thoughts on this subject.
I think that this mentality is quite a reductionist mindset, that ALL shredding lacks emotion and isn’t music under any circumstances. I think that shredding does have soul and feel as long as it’s used effectively. Simply put, a fast-paced song should have a fast-paced solo to accompany it to create the emotion that the song is intending to create. For instance I don’t think the solo for “so far away” would be very effective if Syn was shredding during the solo, or if through the fire and flames had a slow melodic solo. The solo for TTFAF does have a “feel” to it, that feel being “excitement” and “energy”, which is what was intended. Both solos are effective at creating the emotions the songs were intended to create. Those are my thoughts, but what are your thoughts on shredding?

idssdi · Oct 5, 2018

I like to distinguish between tasty shredding and shredding because you want to go fast with no context whatsoever. What I mean with this is that shredding on its own is a mechanical thing. Once you’re getting the mechanics of it and can go fast you have it but there is not nescecarily any musicality involved in doing so. You can just go fast.
However, tasty shredding requires a lot of musicality(like how you do it and when you do it and stuff like that). Take someone like Gary Moore for example, he shreds but is incredibly tasty. Same for Syn, S.R.V, Steve Vai, Joe satriani etc. To name a few.

Guest · Oct 5, 2018

Thing is, you wouldnt tell John Petrucci ‘He lacked feel’, cause he might shred your face off.
It’s a very interesting topic/debate, because what is an opinion to one, is also an opinion to another. Shredding requires hours and hours of time and dedication to be able to do it well. We should all debate what defines ‘feel’ at some point. Because John Petrucci has feel, but its not the same type of feel the guys who like to play one note over the 12 bar blues. No digs to either side, this is my idea of one extreme against the other. That Blues guy who likes to experiment with how many ways he can play 1 note isnt the same type of feel Mr Petrucci can play using all 12 notes.
To me, ‘feel’ is ones level of understanding, whatever the concept/idea/background is. The Blues guitarist couldnt improv over Dream Theater, simply because they do not have the ‘feel’ to perform over multiple time signature changes. Neither would it suit Dream Theater if that guitar solo consisted of very few expressive notes. But also on the other side, Petrucci might not have the right feel to approach Blues like the Blues pioneers do.
It really depends on the general, overall feel. But no one should be saying shredders lack feel. All music is full of emotion and feel.

Jak Angelescu · Oct 5, 2018

I would actually argue that shredding is an emotion. When you’re really angry or feeling frantic with frustration, you wouldn’t really represent that emotion with a soulful BB king blues lick lol. There are tons of shredding solos that make me feel pumped up and energetic like I’m ready to go into battle . I just hate the fact that people are so one track minded

Dan Shipway · Oct 5, 2018

“All Steve Vai does is play a million notes per second, He has no feel”- Music is win

Jake Young · Oct 5, 2018

….what Ben said.

Jak Angelescu · Oct 5, 2018

Yeah, what Ben said.

Ed Seith · Oct 5, 2018

Shredding is a tool in your toolbox.
If it’s the ONLY tool, you’re not going to be a very interesting or well-rounded player, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an important tool to have.
Those who criticize it usually lack the discipline or drive to develop it.

Lachlan Hayden · Oct 5, 2018

I think like Jak said was very true, it can be it’s own emotion. Personally I think that there is mindless shredding, then shredding that is musical. I mean look at John Petrucci he shreds and it’s very musical, actually it’s probably one the most musical things I ever heard. Then he can do both in a solo, if you haven’t go check out the best of times by dream theater. That is probably one of his best solos. He shreds very fast but it’s very soulful and emotional. It’s a very debateable topic, I think the most important thing is that we are open minded to the topic and can be creative. So overall I think that there is two kinds of shredding mindless and just musical shredding. Thats my thoughts on it, make sure you try to check out that song it’s amazing.

Lachlan Hayden · Oct 5, 2018

Haha, read this comment after I posted mine. I can see that we agree

Sayonil Mitra · Oct 5, 2018

Agreed. It’s all about emotion. shredding is just a tool like other broad techniques. Some players can put feel in to shredding, some can not. So shredding is not good music is almost equivalent to saying something like playing pentatonic scales is not good music. It’s all upto the player how he/she uses it. I have seen this on internet as well and it’s a dumb thought. It definitely takes talent/practice even to be able to play at lightning speeds.

Guest · Oct 6, 2018

Heres my say on the subject https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzhvkgvTx4I

Christopher Lonski · Oct 6, 2018

The whole thing about shredding is that it should be done in moderation. Music is supposed to have peaks and valleys, tension and release. When you’re just blazing up and down scales, it gets boring because you’re staying at 10 the whole time. Theres no variation, no build in emotion or tension.
One of my guitar teachers, Alex Machacek, described that nonstop kind of shred as a magic trick. Like you have a deck of cards have someone pick one, and then guess the card and they’re like “whoa!! That’s dope!!!” Then you show them the trick again and they’re like “aww that’s kinda cool man”. Then show them a third time and they’re like “alright dude what else you got?”
It all loses its value quickly. Most people want to hear individual and separate musical ideas. That’s one of the reasons I love avenged so much. They’re amazing at focusing on a single music idea and creating a whole song that is cohesive, or in the case of the stage, take two completely different songs and combine them to create a cohesive song.

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