I CAN'T SHRED :(

[Opay21]

I've been playing for about approx 4 or 5 years now, and somehow I know my way around the fretboard. I'm really not a fan of shredding pero It's a nice technique to learn IMO. Any way, I can do simple fast runs kadalasan mga simple na ascending arpeggios lang and nothing complicated or ear catching. The thing is, it's like kahit magpractice ako ng sagaran even just for one line of shredding,I can't seem to get it. I can do some rock n roll stuff and some blues, but shredd? uh oh. Any opinions, comments, advices, or same experiences here? 

[abyssinianson]

when i was taking more lessons, my teachers always said shredding is more a manifestation of repetitious technique than anything else. first, know your way on the neck, then, practice knowing how each part of the neck sounds. know the scales and play around with them. a lot. i am not a fan of shredding as well but it is a good thing to have in your player's bag to have and break it out every so often to get that "wow" factor during a set. like with most things, too much of an element CAN get old so I don't do it too much. besides, i've always been of the opinion that shredding tastefully done (like in jazz fusion or trad jazz) is much more captivating than blasting through a whol;e song with nothing but lightning fast notes and nothing get weird looks from an audience than just wanking on the guitar..that is bad.

[vhunter]

when i was taking more lessons, my teachers always said shredding is more a manifestation of repetitious technique than anything else. first, know your way on the neck, then, practice knowing how each part of the neck sounds. know the scales and play around with them. a lot. i am not a fan of shredding as well but it is a good thing to have in your player's bag to have and break it out every so often to get that "wow" factor during a set. like with most things, too much of an element CAN get old so I don't do it too much. besides, i've always been of the opinion that shredding tastefully done (like in jazz fusion or trad jazz) is much more captivating than blasting through a whol;e song with nothing but lightning fast notes and nothing get weird looks from an audience than just wanking on the guitar..that is bad.

Agree.. but there is that attraction to freaks like herman lee. Gets old quick though.

Back to topic. Work with a metronome sir. Start slow and try to be as efficient as you can with your motions. It wont happen overnight but it will eventually. Also work on note clarity... Its useless to be fast if you sound like your slurring... articulation and note quality will build speed.

[saijo]

I have the same issue. I used to listen a lot of friedman,becker and malmsteen and hoping that ill adopt and play the same music/genre too-_> fast forward-->,i end up empty handed. I really love shred guitar at first,(malmsteen and becker moved me a lot and probably the main reason i picked a shred maple neck guitar just to realize that i like strat tone better.im playing on a gio ibanez before i got my prestige though)I just can't do the fast licks,repetitive fluid runs, compositions etc. Got tired,bored, frustrated with everyday routine then months past, i gave up. I stopped for almost 2 years. Then one day i picked up my guitar again but with different approach. I started listening to other kinds of stuff,(rnb,blues,jazz and so so) then i found the music thats for me. Im happier, comfortable and more confident with the music i play now than before even im just starting to learn new stuffs which is easier and faster than i did before. If youre wondering why the heck i even typing these stuffs is because its probably the music that youre into now might be the music isnt for you,you have to try different things and step outside the box every once in a while just to see the reality.

In short






take a rest. based on my experience.


just my $0.20

[Opay21]

when i was taking more lessons, my teachers always said shredding is more a manifestation of repetitious technique than anything else. first, know your way on the neck, then, practice knowing how each part of the neck sounds. know the scales and play around with them. a lot. i am not a fan of shredding as well but it is a good thing to have in your player's bag to have and break it out every so often to get that "wow" factor during a set. like with most things, too much of an element CAN get old so I don't do it too much. besides, i've always been of the opinion that shredding tastefully done (like in jazz fusion or trad jazz) is much more captivating than blasting through a whol;e song with nothing but lightning fast notes and nothing get weird looks from an audience than just wanking on the guitar..that is bad.

Exactly why I'm kinda frustrated. Hmmm. Maybe not enough practice? Dami ko kasi kilala na mahusay amg shred samantalang nauna pa ako mag gitara. OT: College kinda sucks, less time to practice. When I graduate I'ma play till my fingers get twice the size due to swelling. 
Back the topic, the thing that happens with me is that I play about 9 ascending notes(seldom alternate picking, mostly hammer ons and pull offs) then I stop and go slow. I always get the same sound and it's kinda getting OLD.

[bryanarzaga]

me i dont shred, i just stumble across the fretboard 

[saijo]

me i dont shred, i just stumble across the fretboard 

shred fusion

[boncram]

Exactly why I'm kinda frustrated. Hmmm. Maybe not enough practice? Dami ko kasi kilala na mahusay amg shred samantalang nauna pa ako mag gitara. OT: College kinda sucks, less time to practice. When I graduate I'ma play till my fingers get twice the size due to swelling. 
Back the topic, the thing that happens with me is that I play about 9 ascending notes(seldom alternate picking, mostly hammer ons and pull offs) then I stop and go slow. I always get the same sound and it's kinda getting OLD.

ok lang yan. *hugs*

[abyssinianson]

Agree.. but there is that attraction to freaks like herman lee. Gets old quick though.

funny you should mention him. i met the guy years ago when they first started playing the states and they were playing at a small-ish club in Chicago. they guys were p#ss drunk but shredded through the songs like nuts. the keyboard player was the drunkest one of them all but he was the msot impressive of the bunch. i later asked Herman (i still get a kick how he, an Asian guy, has a british accent) how he was able to keep it together and he said it was basically autopilot. after playing patterns for a while, your hands and ears just know where to go-and where not to.

a piece of advice i got from an old teacher of mine, Toshi Iseda, was that fast riffs are broken down into patterns and a big element of playing fast - and well - is knowing how to link those patterns together into a coherent and seamless passage. patterns are key. play passages slow first paying attention to how efficiently they need to be played at faster speeds.

@opal21: it sounds like your stumbling block is not knowing what to do after the 9th note. this is where putting patterns together is key. the role of scales are like lego blocks, they go together in lots of different ways depending on how you use em. sometimes they work, sometimes they dont; you just have to try em. finger placement is also key as much as picking accuracy and note theory.

as far as "wow" factor goes..i guess it touches on playing dynamics and what things you can do with a piece of wood to play as well as entertain. i am a big fan of odd techniques like the legato technique that Satch does on the "Mr. Potatohead Groove thing." Not many people who do not play know about this technique and I love it because it is interesting and it sounds good. this approach continues to my acoustic playing as well having been a fan of guys like Billy McLaughlin and Michael hedges for a long time. to me, weird is good, especially if it sounds interesting. I go to concerts to enjoy music but a larger part of what I do is to watch other people play and see what I can expand and include in my own playing.

[turiguiliano]

me i dont shred, i just stumble across the fretboard 

Dibs on all your shredder guitars! 

[bryanarzaga]

Dibs on all your shredder guitars! 

dude im not even dead yet 

[william251082]

I've been playing for about approx 4 or 5 years now, and somehow I know my way around the fretboard. I'm really not a fan of shredding pero It's a nice technique to learn IMO. Any way, I can do simple fast runs kadalasan mga simple na ascending arpeggios lang and nothing complicated or ear catching. The thing is, it's like kahit magpractice ako ng sagaran even just for one line of shredding,I can't seem to get it. I can do some rock n roll stuff and some blues, but shredd? uh oh. Any opinions, comments, advices, or same experiences here? 

Patience lang, practice lang katapat nyan. Magmetronome ka, ulit ulitin mo, imposible naman di mo pa makuha yun. What's MUCH harder is to actually make good music.

Sa 'kin mas trip ko ang groove at harmonies kesa speed. (personal opinion lang naman)

Newsflash!: Some of the best musicians in the world can't shred!

[arkeetar]

Patience lang, practice lang katapat nyan. Magmetronome ka, ulit ulitin mo, imposible naman di mo pa makuha yun. What's MUCH harder is to actually make good music.

Sa 'kin mas trip ko ang groove at harmonies kesa speed. (personal opinion lang naman)

Newsflash!: Some of the best musicians in the world can't shred!

Me can't Shred, pero ok lang 

[ghostalker]

Me can't Shred, pero ok lang 

me too

[Opay21]

funny you should mention him. i met the guy years ago when they first started playing the states and they were playing at a small-ish club in Chicago. they guys were p#ss drunk but shredded through the songs like nuts. the keyboard player was the drunkest one of them all but he was the msot impressive of the bunch. i later asked Herman (i still get a kick how he, an Asian guy, has a british accent) how he was able to keep it together and he said it was basically autopilot. after playing patterns for a while, your hands and ears just know where to go-and where not to.

a piece of advice i got from an old teacher of mine, Toshi Iseda, was that fast riffs are broken down into patterns and a big element of playing fast - and well - is knowing how to link those patterns together into a coherent and seamless passage. patterns are key. play passages slow first paying attention to how efficiently they need to be played at faster speeds.

@opal21: it sounds like your stumbling block is not knowing what to do after the 9th note. this is where putting patterns together is key. the role of scales are like lego blocks, they go together in lots of different ways depending on how you use em. sometimes they work, sometimes they dont; you just have to try em. finger placement is also key as much as picking accuracy and note theory.

as far as "wow" factor goes..i guess it touches on playing dynamics and what things you can do with a piece of wood to play as well as entertain. i am a big fan of odd techniques like the legato technique that Satch does on the "Mr. Potatohead Groove thing." Not many people who do not play know about this technique and I love it because it is interesting and it sounds good. this approach continues to my acoustic playing as well having been a fan of guys like Billy McLaughlin and Michael hedges for a long time. to me, weird is good, especially if it sounds interesting. I go to concerts to enjoy music but a larger part of what I do is to watch other people play and see what I can expand and include in my own playing.

This is actually true. I kinda never gave it time para gawing somehow "nakapattern na". I always thought that when shreding it's mostly improv. Kasi sa sobrang bilis minsan It never occur to me that shreders "plan" things ahead. What an enlightenment this thread. Thanks!

Patience lang, practice lang katapat nyan. Magmetronome ka, ulit ulitin mo, imposible naman di mo pa makuha yun. What's MUCH harder is to actually make good music.

Sa 'kin mas trip ko ang groove at harmonies kesa speed. (personal opinion lang naman)

Newsflash!: Some of the best musicians in the world can't shred!

Hmmm... guess your right. Kaso miski hindi shred mejo olatz pa eh. Duguang practice lang siguro ang kulang


Thanks for the replies, appreciate it.

me too

Hehehe, mag shred ba habang PnW? 

[paperlungs]

me too

me three.

[arkeetar]

we can express how we feel with a certain song not just by soloing... 

gusto ko matututo pero sa actual performance hindi ko naman ma-apply, alam ko lang... masarap mag gitara 

[ierofan]

me three.

ako din. di naman ako malungkot. hehe. 

[arkeetar]

ako din. di naman ako malungkot. hehe. 

chain reaction 

[ierofan]

chain reaction 

eh, para malaman nya kung gano karami pa dito ang hindi marunong magshred. 

[Letour]

Shredding is a method of playing that its experts and naysayers. All methods have them.

Some players cross over and combine playing styles. Just because you can't do one style doesn't mean that you are less of a guitar player. What is important is that you enjoy what you are good at.

I have been playing for over 20 years and I can't shred at all. I can play bluesy fast but that's it. I am sure that you are play notes faster than me.

But if you do want to shred, take the great advice here of the some of the members who posted. Just remember, those that can shred were once like you, starting out to shred. 

[shredmaestrobri]

Most guitar technique problems can be solved by slowing down (with a metronome of course).

Never skip gradients or go past a gradient you never fully mastered.

[rust]

i even start to pick up guitar for almost 10 years and up to this time i can't shred..hehe..
but im still happy i have the talent in playing guitar even just a simple licks..
i agree practice makes better...dyan ako nag kulang...hehe..

[red_hot]

Most guitar technique problems can be solved by slowing down (with a metronome of course).

Never skip gradients or go past a gradient you never fully mastered.

tama---
take it slow don't just jumped in advance but sometimes to learn the basic we go advance
then after a while we never know already doing the speed well for some its a gift
if its not for us i guess better thing to adopt but practice and dont give up is our weapon!!!

[jmreyes]

I don't shred because;

1) I cant.
2) I believe its not the number of notes that you hit. Its how you sincere you are with each and every note.

But I have to admit, I wish I could play licks faster than I could. Pero walang problema, basta't masya sa tugtugan, ayos na.