Blues vs. Shred?!?!

[BadHorsie]

You know, I've been at this forum for quite a while now. And all this time I've noticed that there's an overwhelming number of people either on the "blues" side or the "shred" side. So I'm asking everyone to help me out on this question that's been on my mind for some time now. Why is it that 99% of the posts here read something along the lines of "Clapton plays with much more 'soul' than any shredder", or "The blues players bend and use vibrato so they have more 'soul' in their playing? I understand what you're trying to say but it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. First of all you think that shredders don't play with soul because? They're all technique, right? Well... guess what? BENDING and VIBRATO... are techniques! If you wanna disagree with me about any of this please do. Please come and shed light on this subject for me. Because I am obviously blind and in the dark about playing the blues.

[Edited by BadHorsie on 05-25-2001 at 12:06 PM]

[skee1]

Good Point
I think you can put a little soul or feeling,
in any Style of music or Techniques.




M.T

>keep pickin but enjoy<


[Edited by skee1 on 05-25-2001 at 12:50 PM]

[Zeppelin]

yeah vibratos and bends are techniques, and maybe people who like blues, like me and others on this site are not so right when they are talking about shredders being soulless players, and yeah some of the shredders do put much feeling in their playing, but the difference is that the most important thing in shredding, or at least i and lots of people think so is to show how quick you can play, while in the blues the most important thing, is to "touch the soul" of the listeners.. the ideas behind the two styles of playing are different and i think that vai wont ever be able to play page's stuff, in the right form, altough he has better skills than page... it's hard to prove your point on argue of that kind, but my point is: in the blues, there is a special feel of the guitar, which is not found in shredding, i call this feel soul in the music, and that's all

[BluesShredder]

Both bluesman and shredder have great technique.
I love both blues and shredding (hell I am BluesShredder
:-) )
dont hear what people say, "shredders dont have feeling" "blues are boring" its not the music or the style its the performer, there is no good or bad music there are only good and bad performers, so its not the style of music that has or not soul its the musician who reveals his soul.
About shredding, in order to play fast really fast you must think fast, and when you think you dont feel, as when you feel you dont think - thats a fact, thats how the human body works.
I agree with you Zeppelin.
By the way Buddy Guy is playing as fast as any Shredder and there is no question if he plays with soul


Blues Shredder

[BluesShredder]

Zeppelin shredding isnt just showing how fast you can play.
Most Shredders play as fast as they can only because they can do that, but dont judge this style of music because of them, as i said its not the style that makes music good or bad but the performer himself. Listen to Malmsteen's Concerto suite for electric guitar and then you will see what shredding is all about.

Blues Shredder

[LuigiCabrini]

The argument people have against shred, and I think that it's often a valid one, is that the music becomes eclipsed by the technique required to produce the music. The best example of this that comes to mind is Frank Gambale. Much of music is dictated by sweep picking. He basically invented the technique, got very good at it, and then played sweep licks just because he could, not really because they fit musically, or because they were interesting melodies.
The point should be to make music. As long as the notes being played are being played for musical reasons, rather than to show technique, then the intentions are correct. Charlie Parker played very fast, and played lots of notes, but he was never boring; it was always phrased musically, and his lines always made musical sense.

[Joseph]

Well, it all depends on the musician, and whether or not he plays to impress himself or to impress others...

We are all motivated for different reasons when it comes to excelling on the guitar. For everyone, it takes time to find their sweet spot, and what type of music best represents their overall personallity, but there are a lot of musicians who get tired of searching and would rather just take the fast road to whatever sounds seem to garner them respect by legions of fans. But what really matters as a musician is whether or not you respect yourself, and if you ask me, there are a lot of musicians today who don't necessarily respect themselves because they are still unpracticed, and searching for meaning, (which shows in their music, and lack of new ideas.) But for a lot of reasons they choose to not let this bother them, because once you reach a high level of success, you tend to cast away your original intentions, and your overall love for music in an attempt to gain recognition. Fore a lot of people, being noticed is most important on their agenda...

Its hard toi explain in one (gulp), but music that is played with passion can come from just about anywhere, as long as you truly believe in the sounds you have created, and believe in yourself as well. There are too many imitators today, Ide love to see the return of the guitar heros, instead of the lame excuses of musicians that we have been forced to endure and accept.
Don;t get me wrong, there are a lot of talented musician that are still fortunate enough to grace the charts, but still theres a big void that needs to be filled. We could either waiting patiently for the next big, or we could create our own...

When it comes to blues, and shred music, the blues is what inspires me the most, and I guess it comes from my childhood and dealing with my imediate re-action as to what sounds real. But still, I love listening to Yngwie, Vai, Satriani, these guys are amazing, and I really feel thrilled that I can play a few parts from their major compsitions very accurately...

-Joseph

[raymond james]

Does it really matter? If it comes from the heart then hey, that is what it all about. Yngwie has brought me to tears the same as Stevie Ray, so if it has emotion does it matter.

[Raskolnikov]

Well, I think it comes down to this:
Humanity is in the imperfections. Also, vibrato is a technique thats largely up to the individual player. Nobody has quite the same vibrato. I think that bends and vibrato are more expressive than a barage of fast notes. You can make your guitar wail, moan, cry, whatever without changing strings. It's all in the fingers. If you're playing fast though, it becomes increasinly difficult to add vibrato or bends- you basicly have to stop to add it. But, realy fast notes played the right way are excellant for building tension and/or intensity in a solo. Nun Chuka Kata by Buckethead comes to mind. That's the one example of shred that I can think of that really moves me; their's this one spot where he takes the guitar someplace "higher." Then again, I don't listen to much shred, so I don't have the background to give more examples.
I can also see this in my own playing. I can throw out some ungodly fast funk bass that's impressive, but you won't find anybody dancing to it. A simple groove on the other hand...
The bottom line here is that everything has it's place, everything is related, and everything can be mutilated to work anywhere. But when it comes right down to it, some guy shaking the piss out of his B string sais a lot more to me than flawless appegros.

[Zeppelin]

Originally posted by Raskolnikov
The bottom line here is that everything has it's place, everything is related, and everything can be mutilated to work anywhere. But when it comes right down to it, some guy shaking the piss out of his B string sais a lot more to me than flawless appegros.

yeah well that's exactly what i meant when i was talking about "bends and vibratos"

[James]

Probabaly the reason why blues players are seen as more soulfull is because its a lot easier to do a big bend while closing your eyes and generally getting into the sound then it is to shred. Shredders are somewhat limited to how much freedom they have to "get into it" since they have dedicate themselves mentally and physically to the demanding techniques they're performing.

I never agreed with those who say shredders don't have as much soul as blues players. Everyone has a different type of music that sends chills down their spine. If you enjoy what you're playing then to you that music will have the most soul.

But I suppose for the vast majority of the population, its easier to find "soul" in, say, B.B. King's playing then Yngwie's, simply because they can digest it better.

[Joseph]

When it comes to music, sometimes it hard for a lot of people to relate to something that sounds very fast, being that it doesn't exactly emulate the crys of a human being. But with all of the bending and wailing that comes from the blues, a lot of people are easily gravitated towards it, where the sounds easily can take them back to their past, as well as creating new memories. But still, for a lot of musicians, the music that they hear inside they're head is sometimes spinning at 100 miles per hour, where experimenting with several different fast runs helps them comes to terms with the music they are hearing inside their head.

However, when it comes to the blues, theres nothing simple about it. Because for any serious musician, its relly hard to reach that level of satisfaction, and for any musician its hard to finish a thought. What it all comes down to (in terms of what type of music has more passion) Of course its debatable. Because music deals with different emotions, sometimes you just have to let your mind go, and rely on whatever it is that you feel instead of what others expect you to feel. When a musician ties himself down to one particuar style, well then he/she is nothing more than a corporate puppet to society...

-Joseph

[justinsane666]

LISTEN DUDE, I'M NEW TO THE SITE. AND THIS IS THE FIRST THING I RESPONDED TO. HOW CAN YOU EVEN ASK THAT QUESTION???
I AM A HEAVY PLAYER(SHREAD AS YOU CALL IT) AND I GREW UP LISTENING TO SABBATH, ZEPPLIN,AEROSMITH,ALOT OF 60'S ROCK AND SO ON AND SO FORTH!! AND I PLAY HEAVY! BUT WITH ME BEING INFLUENCED BY THEM... THEY WERE GROWING UP WITH THE LIKES OF B.B. KING, CHUBBY CHECKER, CHUCK "YOU CAN SMELL MY FARTS" BERRY, BUDDY HOLLY,AND ON AND ON CAN I GO!

WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS THAT WITH OUT BLUES AND 'I FOUND MY THRILLS, ON BLUEBERRY HILL', THEN THERE WOULD BE NO "SHREAD" AND 'SEASONS IN THE ABYSS' (SLAYER). BECAUSE EVERYTHING CAME FROM BLUES... EXCEPT 'WHITE ZOMBIE'.

[Zeppelin]

hey justinsane666!
i think that most metalheads are probably heavily influenced by the 70's music, which is influenced by the blues, but the big difference is that at first there was the blues, the music with the soul, after that came the hard rock, which was like the blues, but with heavier riffs, and stuff and the solos became faster but still had that blues touch, and then the metal era started, which is might be influenced by the blues, but misses its touch and feel, and overaly mostly about speeding, and heavy distortions

[STEVIE_MATRIX]

I THINK IT IS UP TO THE PLAYER!!.BUT NOT TO BE LIMITED BY ONE STYLE..I LOVE SHREDING ( BECAUSE I CAN )I FEEL LIKE I CAN SAY WHAT EVER I WANT TO IN MY OWN WAY..IT DOESNT MEAN IM BETTER OR ANYTHING...ITS JUST MY WAY OF SPEAKING TO THE
LISTENER....I LOVE ALL STYLES OF GUITAR PLAYING...I DONT WANT TO BE LIMITED...IM 26 YEARS OLD ...IVE BEEN PLAYING 17 OF THOSE YEARS...I CAN TELL YOU THIS FROM MY EXPERIENCE..I GROW EACH YEAR IN MY PLAYING..I ALWAYS LEARN NEW THINGS.MAN...THERE ARE SOOO MANY GREAT PLAYERS OUT THERE.

BLUES..SHREDDERS..CHICKEN PICKERS..SPANISH..FLAMENCO..ETC ETC...WHO"s TO SAY WHO IS BETTER?..ITS UP TP YOU..THE LISTENER...I LOVE THEM ALL..& PLAY THEM ALL..I DONT WANT TO BE LIMITED...I WANNA SAY WHAT EVER I WANT WHENEVER I WANT & BE ABLE TO PLAY IT ..NO LIMITATIONS!! I AM A SHREDDER BY CHOICE ( OR IF YOU WANNA LABEL ME ).I LOVE IMPELLITERI.
MICHEAL ANGELO..MALMSTEEN..GILBERT..VAI..SOGOVIA..SRV..PLUS A MILLION OTHERS!!ETC ETC..DOESNT MATTER WHAT YOU PLAY OR WHO YOU LIKE..( THERE ALL GOOD )ITS ALL UP TO YOU!
THE LISTENER.& IT ALL TAKES ALOT OF DEDICATION TO PLAY
ANYTHING ON THE GUITAR...
.................SOO SHRED OR BLUES????????...............

................. I CHOOSE BOTH.........................
SORRY TO BE SO LONG WINDED HAHAHA GOOD LUCK MY BROTHERS IN ALL YOU DO...REMEMBER...ITS ALL EMOTION...NO MATTER WHAT STYLE IT IS.......AN ESCAPE FOR ME...A JOB FOR OTHERS

[BadHorsie]

It seems somewhere along the line people have misunderstood my question. I was asking why everyone thinks that you can't be soulful if you are a "shredder". When I say "shredder" I don't mean mindless people who's soul purpose is to play fast. The fact that someone likes to use speed to control the feeling of a song or lead should have nothing to do with being able to play with "soul".

[Jon Broderick]

Please don't type in all caps.

[STEVIE_MATRIX]

CANCEL MY MEMBERSHIP....NOT INTERESTED IN A SITE THAT WORRIES ABOUT CAPS!... HOW STUPID....IS IT GUITAR TRICKS OR PLEASE DONT USE CAPS CAUSE ITS MY PAGE ILL BOOT YOU OFF? SO ILL SAVE YOU THE TROUBLE.... ALL THE INFO IS WRONG ON HERE ANY WAY!! TIGER CLAW? SORRY STUPID!! ITS CALLED FLUTTER...GOOD LUCK ....CAUSE YOU ARE GONNA NEED IT

[LuigiCabrini]

Look man, he doesn't want you to type in caps cause it's hard to read for everyone else on the board. H he asked you nicely, so don't get into a hissy fit about it. You've had some good things to contribute, and I think it would be a shame for you to have to leave just because you won't stop typing in caps.

[Martin Spaans]

Can someone explain what shredders are ? maybe I'm one of them too but i don't know the term.

[Elmo45]

Isn't a Shredder like that dude on the Ninja Turtles?

[Fenderblues]

Hey, we play music and I believe we all put our headrt and soul into it and each time we play we give a little of ourselves, it make no difference what style of music you play as long as you are true to yourself.

Riff and be merry

[skee1]

Originally posted by STEVIE_MATRIX
CANCEL MY MEMBERSHIP....NOT INTERESTED IN A SITE THAT WORRIES ABOUT CAPS!... HOW STUPID....IS IT GUITAR TRICKS OR PLEASE DONT USE CAPS CAUSE ITS MY PAGE ILL BOOT YOU OFF? SO ILL SAVE YOU THE TROUBLE.... ALL THE INFO IS WRONG ON HERE ANY WAY!! TIGER CLAW? SORRY STUPID!! ITS CALLED FLUTTER...GOOD LUCK ....CAUSE YOU ARE GONNA NEED IT
I was a Sysop of a BBS back in the late 80s!
But before i started my own bbs i did/nt know the rules,
of Boards so i got called, down a few times for useing,
All Caps on some of the boards.(no big deal)
Anyway back then typeing in all caps was considered,
(Screaming or yelling out loud plus hard to read on a pc.
I really think you should stick around awhile you seem,
like you have alot of good things to offer for guitar,
players .
Hopefully (Guitar Tricks will stay in tune talking about,
guitar stuff ect,plus helping others.
Its going to take all of us working togather to make this,
happen. I belive we can make it happen so lets do it.
M.T (Keep Picken but smile and enjoy!
(Life is to short.

[billcrawford]

Wow, hot or what!
I've gotta go and listen to Paris, Texas by Ry Cooder to remind me what it is all really about!

[space ace]

I think they are both useful for all guitarists. If you are strictly one and not the other you shouldn't make a band because with one sound and style you won't get any gigs. For listening I perfer the blues because I can only put it one way. Hendrix, Stevie, and Clapton all came off of and played the blues. And look at the shredders Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie. Eddie is a bit of and asshole to his fans and Yngwie is a major asshole to his fans. Blues men are nice guys.

[Joseph]

What it all comes down to is which type of music gives you more of an emotinal effect, and the truth is it all depends on the person, and the type of mood we are in. We are all attracted to different things when it comes to music, and even people. And sometimes our tastes change, its good to keep an open mind because you always have to be ready to work with changes in your life. Any musician who feels the need to express his overall personality through music is okay in my book, but it gets really tiresome when musicians try to hard to cater to what they think the majority of people would accept with open arms. You have to be true to yourself if you want be any good..

-Joseph

[lovejuice]

First of all no one can say that just because someone plays blues that means there more soulful than a shredder.

Anyone who believes that needs to listen to some BLS's song "Counterfeit God" and Pantera's song "This Love".

Come on now some one like Dimebag not being soulful just because of his style... :rolleyes:

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

woah, ok then, random thread from like 4 years ago... umm... I'm too lazy and tired to read all the replys... but... um, I shred and play blues... depends what kind of mood I'm in... but I have put alot of technique into blues and alot of soul into shredding... so, it can go both ways

[Akira]

What is it with new people randomly resurecting mega old threads?

[ren]

What is it with new people randomly resurecting mega old threads?

I haven't heard anyone say 'mega' since about 10 years before this thread started! :D

[alucard0941]

What is it with new people randomly resurecting mega old threads?
I know, who actually looks at old threads. There is no point of posting because its unactive

[Blues_Man]

You know, I've been at this forum for quite a while now. And all this time I've noticed that there's an overwhelming number of people either on the "blues" side or the "shred" side. So I'm asking everyone to help me out on this question that's been on my mind for some time now. Why is it that 99% of the posts here read something along the lines of "Clapton plays with much more 'soul' than any shredder", or "The blues players bend and use vibrato so they have more 'soul' in their playing? I understand what you're trying to say but it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. First of all you think that shredders don't play with soul because? They're all technique, right? Well... guess what? BENDING and VIBRATO... are techniques! If you wanna disagree with me about any of this please do. Please come and shed light on this subject for me. Because I am obviously blind and in the dark about playing the blues.



You are blind my boy! In blues its not just technique! ooo wow..vibrato...yay..
Its the feeling, the meaning of the note, the way they use the guitar to convey emotions! you try playing certain songs by certain artist like eric clapton or ac/dc! sure you can play it exactly right but it still wont sound the same why? because they put so much energy and feel into it that you just cant replicate it!

on the shredders side, not all but some (most people at guitar center) shredders all guitar is, is just seeing how fast you can play with technique.
Now some good shredders like YNGWIE can put some feel into it.
But my big thing is, theres a difference between guitar player, and guitar athlete, players use feeling, athletes just see how fast they can play and ooo! they can sweep pick,tap,do flashy pick slides!!! which are you?

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

well, the person who resurrected this thread was a newbie with 2 posts... so, he was probably just using the search option and came across a "mega" old thread

[Dante7978]

You are blind my boy! In blues its not just technique! ooo wow..vibrato...yay..
Its the feeling, the meaning of the note, the way they use the guitar to convey emotions! you try playing certain songs by certain artist like eric clapton or ac/dc! sure you can play it exactly right but it still wont sound the same why? because they put so much energy and feel into it that you just cant replicate it!

on the shredders side, not all but some (most people at guitar center) shredders all guitar is, is just seeing how fast you can play with technique.
Now some good shredders like YNGWIE can put some feel into it.
But my big thing is, theres a difference between guitar player, and guitar athlete, players use feeling, athletes just see how fast they can play and ooo! they can sweep pick,tap,do flashy pick slides!!! which are you?

Wow, all this coming from a guy with the word, "blues" in his name...Now then, I don't see why sooo many people stereotype shred as, "Oh nO!O Look aTttTT howWWW Fasttttt I caaaanananan plaayayayay!!!@#!@!" Are you kidding me? Shred isn't all about SPEED. Yes, you can say, "no man, look at michael angelo batio, rusty cooley, francisco farreri..." Sure, they are all about speed, but we all know that's boring as hell. Shredding is about how to make an interesting solo that can pump up the song, and yet make it tasteful. Shredding is NOT all about playing extremely fast. Oh, and Yngwie doesn't have emotions in his songs. If you think he does, no wonder you think shred is all about speed. All in all, shred is used to make a song exciting. Emotion? You can bend a note for 20 seconds with a nice feel to it and call it emotion. Would I like it? No. If you want to listen to good shredders, take a listen to people like Marty Friedman, Alex Skulnick, David T. Chastain, Michael Schenker, and much more. Shredders DO put feel and emotion in their solos. "OH OMFG!!@#@!@" Don't be so shallow and just say "it's the feel that only counts." Yeah, it does count, but that's not the only factor in a good solo. And if you're a blues extremist who can't see my point, go ahead and make your point. Not to sound disrespectful of course, being an ass on a thread sure beats the boredom of everyday life. :p

[CW14]

What is it with new people randomly resurecting mega old threads?
I remember doing that once :rolleyes:

[CW14]

Shred isn't all about SPEED. Yes, you can say, "no man, look at michael angelo batio, rusty cooley, francisco farreri..." Sure, they are all about speed, but we all know that's boring as hell. Shredding is about how to make an interesting solo that can pump up the song, and yet make it tasteful. Shredding is NOT all about playing extremely fast.

The definition of shredding is basically "playing fast"

[teejay]

Blues and "shred" are not mutually exclusive. Blues is a style of music (state of mind) and shred is a technique. Ignore shred at your peril! Being able to play fast "flurries" of notes is an important technique just like bending, vibrato, legato phrasing etc. It can be very expressive and most people who say they don't need it usually can't do it. Sweep picking and fast percussive runs are signature styles of the flamenco guitarist (Paco de Lucia, anyone?) and flamenco is deeply emotional also check out John McLaughlin, he fuses blues and "shred" and plays with passion.

[Dante7978]

The definition of shredding is basically "playing fast"

I'm well aware of the definition of shred. Did you even read my point before quoting me. :rolleyes: Notice how I said it's isn't ALL about speed, meaning there is speed, but there are other points that make it interesting.Oh, and if you wanna go by definition

Shred in music - In the context of an electric guitar, "shredding" refers to a virtuosic, highly technical style of playing the instrument, as exemplified by the virtuosos of the eighties such asJason Becker, Marty Friedmann, Shawn Lane, Steve Vai or Yngwie J. Malmsteen

The style of shred guitar is strongly founded in technique and theory. Many shred gutiarists are extremely well versed in music theory and classical music. Much time is devoted to the development of technique through numerous exercises. A key practice tool is the metronome. Many virtuosic techniques displayed by "shredders" include sweep picking, tapping, legato, as well as a combination of the aforementioned techniques.

Although shred is not as prominent today as in the 80's- highly technical guitar playing can still be found in many genres. Progressive metal contains many guitar virtuosos. John Petrucci, guitarist for Dream Theater, exemplifies the "prog metal" guitarist . He attended Berklee School of Music before taking off with Dream Theater.

Other sources of technical gutiar playing can be found in many metal bands. Children of Bodom's Alexi Laiho is an example of another technical guitarist.


Taken from http://www.answers.com/topic/shred

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

The definition of shredding is basically "playing fast"
sure but notice how the definition is NOT "playing with no emotion at fast speeds" it is simply "playing fast" that could be "playing (with emotion) fast" there is plenty of emotion in shredding. not all shredding contains emotion, but you have to look in the right places. blues usually portrays a sad emotion, where as shredding usually portray a high energy (I really couldn't describe it).

[CW14]

sure but notice how the definition is NOT "playing with no emotion at fast speeds" it is simply "playing fast" that could be "playing (with emotion) fast" there is plenty of emotion in shredding. not all shredding contains emotion, but you have to look in the right places. blues usually portrays a sad emotion, where as shredding usually portray a high energy (I really couldn't describe it).
Yeah I agree with you on all that. I didn't say there was no emotion in shred

[6strngs_2hmbkrs]

Yeah I agree with you on all that. I didn't say there was no emotion in shred
sorry, was I aiming my argument at the wrong person? sorry, I figured that because you had said that that you believed the other guy... whatever, either way, to the other guy who said shredding had no emotion... yeah, my argument was pointed towards you, or anyone really who believes that shredding has no emotion.

[lesismore14]

I am mostly a blues player, but I still encorporate a lot of modal based and sometimes diminished runs (which might or might not be considered shredding) but it is still similar to what shredders do. You can have soul in either style of playing, it just depends on how you are doing it. Most shredders that I hear don't play with much soul, their playing doesn't sound varied, it sounds more like practicing scales up and down the neck, and I think that might be what they want it to sound like, they just want to go fast. But there are certain players that you might classify as shredders such as Yngwie Malmsteen, who in my opinion plays his style with soul. You can tell he can really feel it.....Yes, at times he fills his entire song with notes, which can be a bit boring, and overwhelming. But you can hear certain things he plays really talk to you on a personal basis. I love Yngwie's Concerto Suite for Guitar. That is definately an example of shredding with soul.

Blues on the other hand is meant to be played with soul. Blues itself, even the words/singing, or any instrument used in blues really requires you to reach into yourself and pull out those notes. You've got to feel it. This feeling is very hard to describe. I think it could almost be a matter of..."If you have it you have it, and if you don't you don't" and that's the way it is. When I sit down and play along with one of my old blues albums from albert or BB, I just let all my emotion out, and that DOES NOT mean playing as fast as I can. It basically means less think....more feel. Don't think about where you're going to go up the neck, just let you're soul take you there.

[FireAndIce24]

sorry but its kinda of pointless topic....

blues people can shred...they can play fast. everybodies happy, no problem. :)

Shredders can play blues....everybody rips on them for not having emotion. everyones happy, no problem :)

[sixstringenius]

I used to be shred all the way but I recently decided guitar wankage isnt my style, i just prefer the whole emotional aspect of blues, not just the technique but the lyrics, beat etc

[iiholly]

Why even try to say one is better than the other. Ah well, I'm just in a passive mood. Each has there strong aspects, and each has its weaknesses. You may prefer one to the other, but no one cares what YOU or I think.
Peace.

[Akira]

Why even try to say one is better than the other. Ah well, I'm just in a passive mood. Each has there strong aspects, and each has its weaknesses. You may prefer one to the other, but no one cares what YOU or I think.
Peace.

This woman is right. Listen to her. Now.

[Gibson13601]

Im more of a bluesy pentatonic player myself but I can and do throw some two hand tapping in once in awhile if it fits the mood and tempo of the tune. I think if you go in just one direction of these two you can get a little repetative in your sound. But if ya try and blend the two to some extent your playing will become more interesting to the listener and more importantly "yourself"!!

[Polera]

Blues rock for me..

[silentmusic]

If the guitarist is playing from the heart then it dont matter.. but myself I prefer to shred!! but when the mood takes me I listen to blues or play it on my guitar.. :cool:

[ibo2]

Its the feeling, the meaning of the note, the way they use the guitar to convey emotions!

How about a very uh... emotion-conveying shredder? There's a local band here in MD (USA) called Ashes Remain. Their guitar player is in the top 10 fastest and all around best guitar players I've personally ever heard. Check em out at www.ashesremain.com Go to the media section, then to songs, and listen to Broken Pieces and Cry Out. Definetely worth taking a look at guys.