What exactly is shredding?

[Locomotive breath]

Just wondering.. I think I like it.

[Josh Redstone]

Shredding; verb;
Using alternate picking to sound fills or licks at break neck speed.

[Incidents Happen]

an excerpt from "Guitars for Dummies"

just kiddin;)

but yeah, thats pretty much what shredding is. showing off. some shredder is gonna go on here and be like "Hey! Thats not what shredding is! its finding your groove, and really makin love to the guitar through your fingers" or something like that, but i really dont wanna spark a shredding-antishredding debate, so i'll just leave it at that and if you have an opinion that differs mine, [u]please[u] do not confront me about it, i could care less:).

[taylormarkow]

makin love to the guitar through your fingers :confused:
whatever you say.
i dont hear people say shreddin very often, and now theres a thread about it.

[iiholly]

If I make love to my guitar it doesn't sound good :x. Never the less shredding sounds like such an eighties word to me, but what do I know... and I don't need to be told I don't know :D. The reason I think it sounds like an eighties is probably due to an overdose of teenage mutant ninja turtles... you know shredder shredding *shrugs*.

[deejmic]

Yeah, I haven't heard any new guitarist "shred" in quite a while. I think the fascination may have worn off or something. I wanted to shred soooo bad when I was 14 or 15.
By 18 I could. And then I lost the thrill in it. Quit practicing at break neck speed and never went back to it.
Now I'm just a slow ass 30 something who is searching for the perfect guitar tone.

I dont know which is more pathetic really.
I should just shut the hell up and play.

[lalimacefolle]

There are new guitarists that shred quite fine. Petrucci is one of them, (he's like the most popular one, I think of him as the 90's Satriani... Not the best, but he'll turn people on the extreme techniques) you have Ron THAL, Matthias IA Eklundh, etc...

I am quite a fan of shredding, but once it stops being funny and musical, I turn my ears away.
Actually, I have always thought of shredding as a way to show how you could master your guitar, but in a funny way, like someone who would write his letters backwards... No use, but quite a show.

[Josh Redstone]

I think shredding is fine, as long as its used tastefully. Otherwise, it seems like you cant play artisticly and you play tastelessly, and who wants to listen to that?

[iiholly]

Someone might.. you never know. What do you mean by tasteful anyways. Are YOU tasteful? I'm not telling you anything.

[lalimacefolle]

quite a philosopher :D
I guess that when you write a tune only to showcase an ability you have, then it has chances not to be tasteful.
I think that only Bach was good enough to make his studies sound so musical that you can enjoy listening to them, without really knowing what technique is involved in its performance.

I have seen concerts where some guys where clapping only to the difficult licks. Now that's not tasteful.
Have you ever heard how the public reacts to a repetitive lick in a blues solo? It's not because it's hard, but because it builds tension, it gets you involved in the solo, the music. And that's what it's all about.

[Azrael]

Originally posted by iiholly
Someone might.. you never know.

Oh well... someone might listen to you recording a fart.. you never know. *LOL*

[iiholly]

Sadly there are multiple website dedicated to recorded farts.

[Azrael]

well - we are living ina world full of milk-shake minds.. what did you think? *LOL*

[iiholly]

Milk shake... *drools*. I would have to agree, but I am a very agreeable person :D.

[MikeP.]

Shamelessly I Live to Shred!!

I'm constantly learning new tecniques I cannot easily play, be it a certain lick,rhythum,trick, style of music, etc.

Anything I come accrossed that is difficult or challenging to play...well sign me up, I'm there!