Melody and speed do not mix very well. There's no point in playing melodies fast because it just goes over the head of most people. In short, if you want music then go slow, find the good note, concentrate on phrasing, and make people happy. Give them something they can get into.
I personally believe this. As fast as I can play I see no "musical" reason to do it (which might suggest that not everything you do with a musical instrument has to be subordinated to music. Odd? I see the whole thing with speed boiling down to this:
A. it's fun to play fast even if it's not very musical -- and fun is good, as Dr. Seuss said ;-)
B. it is a strategy for getting attention...useful in live/gigging situations where audience attention wanders. I know from personal experience that shredding like an idiot pays off in live performance in small doeses. As sad as that may be, the vast majority of people who go to live music events can and will be wowed by the fast lick
C. it may have aesthetic application in reflecting the world around us...in, say, avant garde or experimental music...for example, I could see shredding like an idiot in Naked City with Zorn perhaps...I mean they were making music that represents the dismemberment of a human body while still alive (very disturbing music to say the least)...and you'd need some kind of disturbing capacity on the guitar that went beyond "melody" and music...because, as a few of you may know, most avant garde and experimental "music" doesn't sound very much like music in the ordinary sense.
Any opinions?
Stay Frosty
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