Shred guitar is a virtuosic style of electric guitar performance. Categorized by its use of advanced techniques, shredding is a complex art form. Shred guitar includes fast alternate picking,sweep-picking, diminished and harmonic minorscales,tapping, andwhammy bar use.[1] Often incorporated inheavy metal, guitarists employ aguitar amplifier and a range ofeffects such asdistortion. This creates a sustained guitar tone and may facilitateguitar feedback.
The term is sometimes used in reference to virtuosic playing byinstrumentalists other than guitarists as well. The term "shred" is used outside the metal idiom, particularly bybluegrass musicians andjazz-rock fusion electric guitarists.
Many jazz guitarists in the 1950s such asLes Paul,Barney Kessel andTal Farlow used an improvised technique by raking the pick across the strings to play a rapid succession of notes, today known assweep picking.[2]Les Paul's performance of "How High the Moon" contained sweep picking, one of the earliest recordings of the technique.
Jimi Hendrix,Eric Clapton, andJeff Beck further developed guitar techniques towards the end of the 1960s.
Ritchie Blackmore, best known as the guitarist ofDeep Purple andRainbow, was an early shredder. He foundedDeep Purple in 1968 and combined elements of blues, jazz and classical into his high speed, virtuosic rock guitar playing. Songs like "Highway Star" and "Burn" fromDeep Purple and "Gates of Babylon" fromRainbow are examples of early shred. Blackmore was distinguished by his use of complex arpeggios and harmonic minor scales. His influence onRandy Rhoads andYngwie Malmsteen is considered definitive for the evolution of the genre.[3][better source needed]Also in 1974, the song "Free Bird" byLynyrd Skynyrd was also released, and the guitar solo in the song is widely acclaimed as an earlier example of shredding.
In 1969, guitaristJimmy Page fromLed Zeppelin composed "Heartbreaker"; hisguitar solo introduced many complex techniques mixed together (very fast playing with hammer-ons and pull-offs). Page included excerpts ofclassical music in the solo when playing it live.
In 1969,Alvin Lee's lightning-fast licks playing atWoodstock were also a prime example of early shredding.[4]
In September 1973, guitarist and singerGlen Campbell used shredding technique in between verses while performing a jazzy version of(Back Home Again in) Indiana onThe Tonight Show.[5]
In 1974, the German bandScorpions used their new guitaristUlrich Roth for their albumFly to the Rainbow, for which the title track features Roth performing "one of the most menacing and powerful whammy-bar dive bombs ever recorded".[1] A year later, Roth's solo guitar playing for the albumIn Trance would become "the prototype for shred guitar. Everything associated with the genre can be found on this brilliant collection of songs—sweep-picked arpeggios, harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and jaw-droppingwhammy bar abuse".[1]
In 1978,Eddie Van Halen recorded "Eruption", using thetapping technique in his instrumental.Niccolò Paganini used similar techniques on the violin in the early 1800s. This is found in traditional Turkish folk music. The first example on the guitar was in 1932 byRoy Smeck.[6]
In 1979, Roth left Scorpions to begin his ownpower trio,Electric Sun. Their debut albumEarthquake contained "heaps of spellbinding fret gymnastics and nimble-fingered classical workouts."[1]
Randy Rhoads andYngwie Malmsteen advanced this style with the infusion of neo-classical elements.Progressive rock,heavy metal,hard rock, andjazz fusion have all made use of and adapted the style successfully over the years. In general, the phrase "shred guitar" has been traditionally associated withinstrumental rock and heavy metal guitarists. This association has become less common now that modern forms of metal have adopted shredding as well. In the 1990s, its mainstream appeal diminished with the rise ofgrunge andnu metal, both of which eschewed flashy lead guitar solos. Lesser known guitarists likeShawn Lane andBuckethead continued to develop the genre further in the 1990s.[7][8]
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Shredding includes difficult guitar techniques such as "sweep, alternate, and tremolo picking; string skipping; multi-finger tapping; slurs, [and] trills."[9] Shred guitarists use two - three octavescales,triads, ormodes, played ascending and descending at a fast tempo. Often such runs are arranged in the form of an intricatesequential pattern, creating a more complex feel.
A lick in guitar playing consists of a short sequence of notes which form a phrase. One famous example of this concept is "The Lick", which is a commonly used jazz phrase based on the minor scale. In shredding, licks become more complex by including advanced guitar techniques. Playing licks at fast tempos also adds complexity. Using short rhythmic figures like 16th notes/triplets creates faster licks. For every beat of the metronome, the guitarist plays three/four notes depending on the rhythm. Shorter rhythms may be difficult for new players. Precision is crucial to achieving the desired effect. If the notes are sloppy, the playing sounds amateur.
Guitarists use rehearsed licks in otherwise improvised solos, or for practicing. Guitarists often 'trade licks' with each other, sharing such sequences.
The lick can be played by multiple-picking notes (alternate picking), or picking just the first or second note of a string followed by a rapid succession ofhammer-ons and/orpull-offs (slurs). Rhythmically, a shredder may include precise usage ofsyncopation andpolyrhythms.Sweep picking is used to play rapid arpeggios across thefretboard (sometimes on all strings). Thetapping technique is used to play rapid flourishes of notes or to play arpeggios or scalar patterns using pure legato with no picking (the picking hand is used to "tap" notes on the fretboard). Various techniques are used to perform passages with wideintervals, and to create a flowinglegato sound. Some performers utilize complex combinations of tapping, sweeping, and classical-stylefinger picking. This increases speed by reducing the motion of the plucking hand.
Shred guitar players often use electric solid-body guitars from brands such asCharvel,ESP,Fender,Gibson,Ibanez,Jackson,Kiesel/Carvin,Kramer andSchecter. Some shred guitarists use elaborately shaped models byB.C. Rich orDean, as well as modern versions of classic-radical designs likeGibson'sFlying V andExplorer models.Tremolo bars (also known as "whammy bars"), which are hinged bridges that can be bent down or up in pitch, are an important part of shred playing, as they permit the "dive bombing" effect and many sounds which are not possible with a fixed-bridge instrument.
Guitars with double-cutaways give performers easier access to the higher frets, allowing extended room for the fretting hand to get extended reach onto the higher notes of the fretboard. Some shred guitarists, such asScorpions'Ulrich Roth, have used custom-made tremolo bars and developed modified instruments, such as Roth's "Sky Guitar, that would greatly expand his instrumental range, enabling him to reach notes previously reserved in the string world for cellos and violins."[1]
Most shred guitar players use a range ofeffects such asdistortion andaudio compression units, both of which increase sustain and facilitate the performance of shred techniques such astapping,hammer-ons, andpull-offs. These and other effects units, such asdelay effects are also used to create a unique tone. Shred-style guitarists often use high-gainvacuum tube amplifier brands such asBogner,Marshall,Carvin,Peavey,Soldano,Mesa Boogie,Orange,Laney,Hughes & Kettner andRandall. To facilitate the use ofaudio feedback effects with the guitar, shred guitarists use high gain settings, distortion pedals and high on-stage volume.[10]
In 2011,Guitar World magazine focused on shredding outside theheavy metal music genre with an article discussing the magazine's Top 5 Shredding Bluegrass songs. The list included songs by instrumentalistsTony Rice, Josh Williams,Bryan Sutton,Chris Thile andDavid Grier.[11]Music Radar's list of the top 20 greatest shred guitarists of time featuredAl Di Meola,John Petrucci andSteve Vai as the top three, respectively.[citation needed]Guitar World rankedAl Di Meola –Elegant Gypsy,Van Halen –Van Halen, andOzzy Osbourne –Blizzard of Ozz (featuringRandy Rhoads on guitar), as the top three shred albums of all time, respectively.[12]
In 2017, Jawbone Press released the bookShredders!: The Oral History of Speed Guitar (and More) by author Greg Prato, which explored the entire history of shred guitar. The book featured a foreword byAlex Lifeson and an afterword byUli Jon Roth, and featured all new interviews withJoe Satriani,Steve Vai,Billy Sheehan,Paul Gilbert,George Lynch,Kirk Hammett,Michael Schenker,Ace Frehley,Guthrie Govan, andAlexi Laiho, among others.[13]