Shred Guitarists Get A Groove
I teach many guitar players that have been playing for years, and they all strive for Guitar Speed, commonly Shred Guitar. I picked up on shred guitar in the early nineteen eighties and that was when shred guitarists began becoming really popular. Then in the early nineteen nineties, the concept of Shred Guitar began to dissapear, and no one was really recording guitar solos much less speed guitar or shred solos.
But now the true art of Shred Guitar has made its way back. The one thing I want to emphasize is that many shred guitar players, and this is probably what killed the art in the first place, didn't realize that it must be enjoyable to listen to, and appealing to listeners ears. When I say appealing to listeners ears, I am referring not just to Shred Guitar and Speed Guitar enthusiasts, but to the plain everyday non musician listener. In other words it must truly be a pleasant musical experience. There are many things a Shred Guitar player must keep in mind to accomplish this goal.
For starters is melody. A strong melody is probably the largest factor that most shred guitar enthusiasts tend to miss out on. Read my article about a major hidden trick for producing insane shred guitar melodies at MusicToolReviews. This is a huge hidden secret that few shred guitarists know about.
Two is spine tingling tone. Great tone is typically accomplished by a great sound engineer mixing the final tracks to a song, and insuring that the tone of the shred guitar lead passage blends well with the other instruments.
Three is probably the biggest one, rhythm and or groove. You must always practice with a metronome. I know you get this constantly, but you MUST practice with a metronome. Even if you master the art of guitar speed, you still must make regular visits back to the metronome to bring your tight timing back in. But now with groove, one of the biggest things I see in so many shred guitar enthusiasts is that they lack any groove. Most of the shred guitar enthusiasts sound very mechanical, meaning that there is no real feel or human groove. This typically comes from the lack of interaction with other human musicians, and yes, you can easily overdo the interaction with your metronome.
A shred guitarist can overcome the lack of groove by taking many breaks from the metronome, and just jamming with other musicians, and or as i do, play with backing tracks like JamTrax. A good mix is practice with your metronome about fifty percent of the time, and then with either other musicians or backing tracks the other fifty percent of the time.
And the fourth point a shred guitarist absolutely must keep in mind is keep it clean. There is absolutely nothing more annoying than hearing a sloppy shred guitarist play, it's just awful. Playing clean comes back to practicing with the metronome, start slow, emphasize good clean notes, progress slowly, and slowly increase the metronome speed constantly staying focused on clean crisp clear notes.
But now the true art of Shred Guitar has made its way back. The one thing I want to emphasize is that many shred guitar players, and this is probably what killed the art in the first place, didn't realize that it must be enjoyable to listen to, and appealing to listeners ears. When I say appealing to listeners ears, I am referring not just to Shred Guitar and Speed Guitar enthusiasts, but to the plain everyday non musician listener. In other words it must truly be a pleasant musical experience. There are many things a Shred Guitar player must keep in mind to accomplish this goal.
For starters is melody. A strong melody is probably the largest factor that most shred guitar enthusiasts tend to miss out on. Read my article about a major hidden trick for producing insane shred guitar melodies at MusicToolReviews. This is a huge hidden secret that few shred guitarists know about.
Two is spine tingling tone. Great tone is typically accomplished by a great sound engineer mixing the final tracks to a song, and insuring that the tone of the shred guitar lead passage blends well with the other instruments.
Three is probably the biggest one, rhythm and or groove. You must always practice with a metronome. I know you get this constantly, but you MUST practice with a metronome. Even if you master the art of guitar speed, you still must make regular visits back to the metronome to bring your tight timing back in. But now with groove, one of the biggest things I see in so many shred guitar enthusiasts is that they lack any groove. Most of the shred guitar enthusiasts sound very mechanical, meaning that there is no real feel or human groove. This typically comes from the lack of interaction with other human musicians, and yes, you can easily overdo the interaction with your metronome.
A shred guitarist can overcome the lack of groove by taking many breaks from the metronome, and just jamming with other musicians, and or as i do, play with backing tracks like JamTrax. A good mix is practice with your metronome about fifty percent of the time, and then with either other musicians or backing tracks the other fifty percent of the time.
And the fourth point a shred guitarist absolutely must keep in mind is keep it clean. There is absolutely nothing more annoying than hearing a sloppy shred guitarist play, it's just awful. Playing clean comes back to practicing with the metronome, start slow, emphasize good clean notes, progress slowly, and slowly increase the metronome speed constantly staying focused on clean crisp clear notes.
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