A style of
lead guitar playing. To shred is to make disciplined use of
alternate picking and
sweep picking to play single note leads, typically through overdriven
amplifiers - this facilitates a very even, consistent attack. This is almost always executed rapidly, displaying
virtuosity.
Legato phrasing is avoided, although some
guitarists would contend that
two handed tapping techniques can be considered part of shredding. Shredding is often combined with
string bending and
artificial harmonics. Since
Yngwie Malmsteen it has been popular to shred using
harmonic minor scales, and this does sound good. Other popular
shredders include
Tony Macalpine,
Steve Vai and
John Petrucci.