Shredding or songwritting?

I personally think that they should go hand and hand. I feel a good player that can write meaningful emotional stuff is unstoppable, like Ola englund Or Keith marrow and Jeff Loomis. But if you had to pick, Songwriting or Shredding?
 
To me, good songwriting is the best vehicle to showcase guitar playing - including shredding.

I'd much rather listen to a batch of good tunes than a bunch of amazing playing over crap backing tracks.




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You cant hum shredding... there is a place for it, but songwriting is paramount. nobody remembers solos.. everyone remembers a catchy song.

i know what you are saying, but there are plenty of solos i can remember note for note....and that move me as much as a good melody. there can be a raw release of emotion and aggression in a solo that a melody can't do. i love both.
 
Songwriting. A solo without a good track behind it lacks a frame of reference. Take 'Comofortaby Numb' for instance. IMHO it's one of the best solos ever. Pay it without the backing and it becomes mediocre. Same with 'Hotel California' and a lot more besides.

You can sacrifice a solo and have good music but you can't sacrifice the backing and have good music. As shredding tends to be a part of soloing (unless you're Necrophagist), then it applies.

Just my 2c. :)
 
They certainly aren't mutually exclusive, but I think shredding should always be in furtherance of the songwriting (Dream Theater sometimes) otherwise it gets to be wanky instrumental gymnastics for its own sake (also Dream Theater sometimes).
 
Why have 4 notes when 400 when will do..?
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With only twelve notes, when used properly shredding becomes more of a musical texture. It takes skill and tastefulness to combine great song writing and guitar playing. To me they can be the same thing.
 
Wow. Interesting responses. The two, for me, aren't even remotely related. I'm a writer and a "shredder" of a type. When I write it has nothing to do with shredding or playing guitar at all. When I play guitar it's only in the service of the song, if it needs shredding or not. Two different things entirely. But you know, that's just me.
 
A monkey can be trained to play an instrument. At least in my case.

Creating something out of nothing that can be loved by people you know nothing about is much more challenging.
 
I forgot to say in my earlier post that many of my favorite solos (in my own music) are the ones that are "composed" - the whole "song within a song" idea (my Randy Rhoads influence!).

I also consider this a part of songwriting ;)


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This isn't even a contest for me; I've never found solos appealing in the least. Occasionally, there will be a guitarist that I feel does something actually interesting with them (Cantrell, Dimebag... that's pretty much it). Most of the time though, I find them off putting.
 
I turned 29, 2 months ago.

When I was 21... a few days shy of 22- May of 2007

I was sent to LA to play/work with/audition for S.Vai and his band on guitar/keyboards...

It was the scariest and greatest week/experience of my life...

Most importantly I got home thinking-

"Well I've gone as far as I could with the shred thing- doesn't get better than that" [on a side note it also made me realize the guy who i think is the greatest guitarist on earth is actually 1000000x better than i thought he was- until you jam with him- you'll never know how really great he is- no matter how much esteem you have for him currently]

Working with different people around that time (including Derek Sherinian from D.T.) I kind of thought- you know what's harder to do than 20 min of musical masturbation shred music (e.i. d.t. - sorry). A simple, 3-4 chord, genuinely good song.

And pretty much done have more mainstream music since then.

I think everyone has a hit song in them... I know a lot of guys personal who have had one hit or several... I think I got one in me... so I'll work on it.
 
There's a big line between song writing and impressing other guitarists, because that's all the YouTube, backing track shredders are doing.
 
I vote for songwriting, but that's just because I'm a lazy prick that never practices enough to gain acknowledgable shredding skills, so I use the songwriting to hide my crappy playing behind the other instruments. :mrgreen
 
Following only applies to male persons (are there female forum members here?):
Get + impress groupies => shredding.
Get + impress groupies => songwriting, as long as you're cute and/or good looking.
 
To me, both are equally important. They both go hand in hand to make a song work. Downloading backing tracks from the internet and improvising/shredding over them are great to show off skills, technique, fretboard knowledge, etc., but after a while it can become bland. Being able to compose a song that is catchy and has a great melody is the key to the strong foundation of the song. The shredding/soloing is only there to enhance the overall picture. Some of the most memorable solos of all time aren't necessarily shredding to no end, but instead slower with more soul to it. Now, when you can combine the soulfulness and speed where needed, and can actually make it fit and compliment the song, then you are golden.

Something even some of my favorite artist can't always pull off is making the solo fit and compliment the song. Tons of badass songs out there, then you here the solo and its like wow that doesn't fit the mood/feel of the song at all. It isn't always about speed when it comes to memorable solos. I feel its more about note choice and the way you choose to express the notes that count. YMMV etc etc yadda yadda
 
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