Shred Guitar ? - what exactly is it

Anyone cares of Mark Tremonti?

he SHREDS LIKE A MONSTER

yea sometimes I think Jazz guitar doesent sound all that great. Its very theoretical and doesnt not break any rules of music, therefore it should sound good. But for some reason, I think being that orthodox is somewhat of a restriction from expressive music. Though I am a strong belive in music theory and Im on an improvising flick right now, when your always caught up in what scale should follow a progressing and always following certain rules (circle of 5ths, ect), it kinda ruins the fun. And that may be a reasons why Jazz guitar (not sax, I love all sax) sometimes sounds odd, weird, and by to book.

...I donno, alot of people may not agree cause its hard for me to explain what Im trying to say.

Ok this is all I'm gana say. I think shredding is crazy, but still sometimes good. And for the whole Jazz argument, if you play one style of music, you might think that another style is pointless and stupid. See all, country, Jazz, rock, classical, blues, and everything else, they all are music. Wheather you like them or not...well....thats up to you.

Can I just point out I hate jazz and think it's the most pointless excuse for not knowing what you're actually doing.[/QUOTE]

!?!?!?!?! Jazz guitarists know what they are doing more than other guitarists. Try to do what they do!

Playing lead guitar is about composing music spontaneously, and the key to creating a memorable solo is to consider its structure within the context of the piece's melody, rhythm, beat, and general mood and tone. The main difference between shred guitar and other styles is that shred can potentially throw these considerations out the window, and allow the player to simply focus on spiralling up and down scales at breakneck speed; it is at this point that shred becomes meaningless wankery. Granted, there are highly accomplished "shredders" (eg. Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Marty Friedman) who incorporate the aforementioned considerations into their highly technical scalar approach to playing, and they deserve all the accolades they get. What brings shred down in the eyes of many guitarists is the vast body of shredders who learned to play lead guitar by copying Kirk Hammett's widdly bits, and produce solos by replicating these sections in the appropriate key (Zakk Wylde being the chief culprit).
Shred is fine, as long as utmost restraint is exercised when playing it.