Re: get through a song without shred
I think it depends a lot on whether you are playing for the public or just playing for yourself. If it's just for yourself, then it doesn't matter what you do, you can play whatever pleases you. But if you are playing for the public, it's important to realize that shredding has a restrictively limited appeal, in fact the general demographic really only includes other shredders and pubescent boys. To the best of my knowledge there's only ever been one global hit which included a shredding solo, EVH's solo on Michael Jackson's Beat It, and that was 25 years ago. It would appear that the general public don't thirst to hear a guitar player shredding. They do, however, seem to respond well to playing that is tasteful, dynamic and dripping with emotion. Even then, most people aren't listening to guitar solos at all. My theory is that many people respond to guitar solos by saying "Why has the singer stopped?"
I think the main reason for this is that shredding is inherently self indulgent, and it usually sacrifices emotional content for the player showing off their individual skills. Your complaint of boredom is echoed by the majority of people who have to listen to someone shredding. As I said, this is irrelevant if you are just playing for yourself at home, but if you are playing to an audience, particularly professionally, then it is worth considering giving people something they at least have a chance to "feel."
It would seem that you are disatisfied with your own approach to playing when it descends into yet another shredfest. I think it will require discipline and a concerted effort to explore the more expressive parts of your playing. A lot of people talk about "Gilmour type solos" but very few actually pull it off. That kind of playing requires digging deep to play from the emotional center and not from the head, nor the ego. There certainly wouldn't be time to be bored if you were really playing from that place, and the results can be stunning. I think most shredders are playing from their head, and ego, and many of them would be seriously challenged to play anything from the heart because they are not familiar with that feeling, which is also why so many shredders are daunted by the concept of relinquishing their high gain tone, or should I say, lack of tone, for fear of the emotional and expressive inadequecies it may expose.
It's horses for courses, but rest assured that there are squillions of amateur and out of work bedroom shredders who are living proof that shredding is about as popular with the general public as Venezuelan nose flute music. Perhaps these factors, along with your own desire to make more dramatic music, might inspire you to embark on a deeper exploration of your expressive guitar playing skills. Good luck with it all, and enjoy!
Cheers................wahwah
that's going to be hard, but i'll try some new stuff this weekend. also it's not so much when i'm composing, but when i'm playing that i get bored if my hands are not more active when playing.
