Why do non-musicians insist the shredders cannot remember all those notes and...

[DarkHorseJ27]

There have been several times when I've been watching a DVD or a youtube video of one shredder or another playing and whoever was watching (usually non-musician) stated they there was no way they could remember all those notes and that they just make it up.

 

When I show them multiple videos of the same guitarist playing the same thing note for note they still contend the player is just making it up, but then they just don't want to admit they were wrong.

 

But why would someone that doesn't play and instrument or doesn't have any musical training, formal or informal, think they would know what a musician does or doesn't remember, and then hold such a strong opinion on it?

[xrleroyx]

They're jelly.

[Dr_Kuh]

You have to admit that it is impressive, even as an active musician. The human brain can do amazing things.

[bubkus_jones]

 

They're jelly.

 

 

Pretty much. The non-musicians can't grasp the human brain's ability to remember patterns, as they likely have little-to-no personal experience.

[kulardenu]

It's like trying to convince conservatives that their wrong...

[vcnyls]

Are you really surprised that people who don't know about a subject are nevertheless posting about it on the internet?

[Nephilim-777]

I thought the consensus was that shredders were merely high-speed, chromatic runners. I seem to remember that when Yngwie hit mainstream everyone was bitching about him turning guitar playing into an athletic event.

[Flatspotter]

Studies have shown that if a person believes something to be true, and you present them with evidence to the contrary, the evidence does not convince them that they're wrong. It merely serves to reinforce their original belief.

 

Of course, this isn't true of everyone, but there is an alarmingly large number of people who think this way.

[oldschoolshred]

Easy, they have no ear. They are non-musicians and are probably tone deaf.

 

I'd extend your question to "why do some non-musicians listen to some of the most crappy music on the face of the planet and then have the nerve to argue that it's equally as good as some of the stuff musicians love?"

 

This not to say that complexity is equal to good music, cause IMO it's not. Or that taste isn't in the eye of the beholder, cause it is.

 

But there are limits. Lady Gaga for instance. That's just crap anyway you cut it. And it's insulting for a person ignorant of music to feel they have authority to say otherwise. It's like a person who doesn't speak Spanish to argue about what's the best part of Don Quixote in its native tongue.

 

Taste is one thing. But an informed opinion is always better than an ignorant one.

[AxAxSxS]

Why do some musicians create some of the crappiest music on the face of the earth?

[cylon]

lol ax that deserves its own thread

[Grantus]

Is this something that really bugs you?

[DaleH]

Who watches shredders? Rather watch paint dry.

[DaveAronow]

Sounds like you just hang out with people that like to argue.

 

I've never heard this.

[mikesr1963]

I have to admit, a lot of the stuff I play I don't remember it note for note and it's more muscle memory. When learning it or playing something I wrote I pay close attention, but the more I do it the more I don't think about it, it just happens when it needs to.

[honeyiscool]

Who actually thinks that?

[Funkwire]

Really? Most non-musicians I know are very impressed by shredders. They think the guy that plays a jillion notes per second is a far better musician than say, Buddy Guy.

[billybilly]

 

Really? Most non-musicians I know are very impressed by shredders. They think the guy that plays a jillion notes per second is a far better musician than say, Buddy Guy.

 

 

Sadly, this is true. A friend of mine who is not a musician in any way is always talking about how great his brother and his mates are at guitar. All they do is run scales with machine gun picking and he thinks they are the greatest players ever. I say nothing in response either way, its his opinion.

[benzem]

 

Really? Most non-musicians I know are very impressed by shredders. They think the guy that plays a jillion notes per second is a far better musician than say, Buddy Guy.

 

 

This, usually.

[straycat113]

Well that would be like saying an actor in a two hour play is reading his lines off of a teleprompter! Most instrumental shred is worked out in such detail that the player works his runs out for either outside or inside picking. Unless someone is just improvising they will be able to play it note for note like any piece of music.

[kayd_mon]

I wasn't aware that many non-musicians listened to shredders. Even so, I've never heard this complaint.

[Pascal]

I'd actually be more impressed if they were just making it up (i.e. improvising).

[DarkHorseJ27]

 

I'd actually be more impressed if they were just making it up ( i.e. improvising).

 

 

That is the other argument I pose, that if they are coming up with something that good (relatively speaking) then its even more impressive than the memorization.

[aenemated]

i, for one, am outraged.

[DaveGrima]

 

Sounds like you just hang out with people that like to argue. I've never heard this.

 

 

^^This. Next time youre watching a shredder video just lean over and whisper in Djangos ear to just sit back and enjoy the show and dont think about it too much.