Shredding Bach: Heavy Metal Guitar Meets 10 J. S. Bach Masterpieces, Book & Online Video/Audio (Shredding Styles)

An excellent sélection of Bach pieces for advanced guitarists - learning and studying these will improve your playing and musical sensibility immeasurably. I might quibble with some of the tab choices - I found more efficient ways to play some of the arpeggio and scale passages -- but this is, overall, a fantastic book (like all of Schnauss' other books). He's a great educator; his analysis of Bach's music is worth the price itself.

Hmm. This is a little tough to review. It really depends on what you are looking for from this book/CD.PROS: The pieces included are great to practice for technique. The author also gives examples of certain parts of the piece that might be especially challenging so you can practice them separately before trying to learn the piece as a whole -- I liked this a lot. Unfortunately this book doesn't really say how to improve your technique itself, but, if you can play any of these cleanly without mistakes or extraneous string noise, you will definitely have good technique by that point!I was baffled by some of his chosen fingerings for some of the scalar runs but after a while there definitely seems to me some real thought put into it. Instead of the "easiest" way to play something, I *think* he's going for playing with patterns that can be repeated later on in the piece as it modulates through other keys (as many of these do) without you, the guitarist, needing to change fingering much beyond shifting it up/across the neck. I liked how this got me to use more of the neck than just staying in a single, boxy, scale shape. It was initially harder to do this, but after practice it ends up being easier than sticking to one pattern in one position (for me).CONS: Well, everyone who says the CD sucks is right. Sound quality is poor. Which is too bad because I would enjoy practicing with the slower versions of the songs if they sounded better.I thought I might want to play/perform some of these pieces for other people but they really don't stand up well by themselves. They're definitely written for rock guitar, not classical, so it's just my opinion but they end up sounding like exercises more than songs. Go listen to Glenn Gould play Bach and then listen to the CD that comes with this. 'Nuff said.CONCLUSION: If you want to practice something that is more interesting than guitar "exercises" or scales, this is fun to practice and will definitely improve your technique. If you already know your scales and modes, you will find some of his chosen fingerings to be very interesting and useful. If you're looking to perform these pieces, just know they won't sound as good as they would on a classical guitar or piano. If you care a lot about backing tracks, these might disappoint you. All in all, I'd buy this for fun technique practice. After all, there aren't many "easy" YJM songs to learn ... haha :)

First of all, I am not a "shred head" guitarist. That being said, this book is an excellent way to learn some Bach melodies and stretch your technique to new heights. The author's liner notes for the pieces are all very helpful. The only problem I have with the product is the cd - the lead guitar sounds very muddy (why I only gave it four stars). It would have been nice to have heard a guitar with a bit less distortion for these beautifully crafted pieces of Bach's compositions. However, the author does hit the right notes at the right times and the cd is nice to have to actually hear what the piece is suppossed to sound like (even if you choose not to use all the fuzzy distortion). Overall I would recommend this book to intermediate to advanced guitarists. It is challenging and will push your mind and muscles. A definite good purchase.

If you are a beginner, this may not be what you are looking for. The book lacks some guidance in how to approach the musical pieces and does not cover technique thoroughly enough, but then again, that is not what it was designed to do. If however you have a grounding in playing and are able to complete scales and progressions and have reasonable co-ordination, this book will show you how to play some of the most intriguing and well known Bach pieces very well.This is not a book you will be able to pick up and play by the end of the weekend, but with practice and patients, you will be rewarded with shred chops to rival Yngwie... well maybe not!Well written, the recordings are ok... well done German...Now get shredding...

This is a good book using guitar tablature to lay out some Bach for you. The author tries to incorporate different techniques into the pieces to provide that shred guitar element. All in all he does a good job too. The audio that comes with the book is a little different story. It's annoyingly low quality. It sounds like the author just hit record on a webcam and did a quick take for each example. Other than that though the book itself is great. The way the pieces are laid out is logical and he does know how to shred the bach. So get the book and take the audio for what it is....just to give you an idea of how the piece is supposed to sound.

I'm a teacher and musician of over 20 yrs. After purchasing this book, I was delighted to find the arrangements both exciting and challenging to play. I had already learned several of the pieces from attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. but found the newer arrangements to be excellent technique builders. I had realized after playing the first 4 songs that I too (being a teacher) could also improve upon my alternate and sweep picking as well as left hand legato. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and found it to be a great book overall. You will not be disappointed.

The pieces are very challenging and will improve your chops. The backing tracks include 2 different speeds which helps immensely. Many have large stretches that will really improve your ability to reach between notes, also string skipping, sweeping, alternate picking, tapping and more. The lessons before the pieces are very helpful and point out both key techniques in the piece and also compositional analysis and theory. This will make you not just a better shredder, but a better musician. Playing these pieces by Bach on the electric guitar is both a challenge and a pleasure.

As a guitarist who loves many styles of music, from classical, to classic rock, I decided to try out some pieces by one of my favourite Baroque composers, J S Bach. A quick trawl of Amazon revealed Shredding Bach with CD, by German Schauss, and at the price it was offered at I felt it was worth a punt!It arrived, and I had a quick flick through, finding that each piece was preceded by a brief analysis of the piece, focus on the main techniques in each piece, and some exercises to help prepare you for the challenges of each piece. The included works are:Invention no. 8 in F MajorDouble in B MinorPresto in G MinorInvention no. 4 in D MinorPrelude no. 2 in C MinorBadineriePrelude in C MajorJesu, Joy of Man's DesiringAir on a G StringToccata in D MinorEach piece is really clearly laid out, and arranged in such a way that with a bit of experimentation you can really add your own style to each piece. You CAN progress through in order, but I found dipping in and trying out the various exercises was REALLY useful: They're great warm up challenges, and you can really feel your fretting hand working! Normally practice bores me rigid, but the results you see from playing these licks are almost instant. The theory behind why each segment or complete piece sounds as it does, and the easily absorbed theory explanations are great - if you were looking for a way to learn a little about theory, you could do worse than this.So the book? Fabulous, 5 stars all day long.But the CD...German Schauss is evidently a highly talented and proficient guitarist, but you'd never guess that from the CD! It sounds like it was recorded and mastered on the cheap, with a wooly, fuzzy feel. You want the notes to surround you and roar forth from your speakers, and instead they sound as though they've been gagged by a shred-hating recording engineer. You get a feel for how everything should sound, but the programmed drums, bass, and other instruments are an insult to German's skill and effort.So in summary: Great if you use the book more than the CD. If Alfred sorted out a better quality CD, it'd be a 5 star buy.

This is really good fun! Some great Bach pieces interspersed with some notes on techniques and theory in between. Will have you sounding like an 80's neo classical shred player in no time. It does however require a certain amount of skill in techniques such as sweep picking, legato and tapping and sometimes the finger positioning isn't the most economical. The CD also isn't that good, which lets this down but on the whole a great book which I recommend.

This is a great book for building your guitar technique. There is a great selection of material in this book . This book is Highly recommemded.

Can't live without virtuoso metal or shredding? Or Classical Music? Are you a serious rock/metal lead guitarist who wants that bit more mileage in their repertoire? If you match one or all of these criteria, then this is indeed something for you to empower your guitar playing with. Please believe me, when I tell you that you are really in for the ultimate in guitar instruction here.Shredding Bach is an in-depth analysis on how the amazingly complex but musical masterpieces of J.S Bach can be adapted and played in a heavy metal/shred guitar style. Given the highly applied and technical nature of heavy metal and shred guitar, it is nevertheless an affirmative fit with classical music. This excellent book stands apart in the sense that the music itself is the method of instruction. That's right folks, the very music of Bach itself will be teaching you killer lessons in technique, theory and musicality. Instead of countless exercises, you will learn ten real musical pieces by Bach adapted for metal guitar starting from simplest to the most advanced.However, what really makes this book stand alone in uniqueness from others is that each defining element (whether it be a concept, technique, phrasing idea) which makes the piece what it is in its musical context, is isolated and has its musical potential analysed, so you can see how it works on the whole in the piece. I feel that the player can improve their music theory and aural skills (so that they can recognise such elements in other music and even go onto using them in their own compositions and playing) and take something away from that. This was really instrumental in my own understanding in my pursuit of guitar mastery. It by far is an exemplary means of musical emphasis at work.Also, your potential technical improvement is by no means spared either, given that each piece requires pretty well developed technique to play fluently and by learning these pieces at your own pace, you will be trained accordingly in vital skills for metal/shred guitar such as alternate picking, string skipping, sweep picking, legato and two handed techniques such as tapping and sweep tap.This book is aimed at intermediate to advanced guitar players/students that share a passion for neoclassical metal guitar (I am talking about the substyle of heavy metal that is influenced by classical music and popularised by metal guitarists such as Yngwie Malmsteen, Jason Becker, Tony MacAlpine, Chris Impelliteri, Marty Friedman and Luca Turilli) I would also recommend it to any lead guitarist serious on constantly looking to improve their musical technique and theory.The author German Schauss is a guitar instructor and academic at Los Angeles Music Academy and Berklee College of Music (Boston, Massachusetts)in the department of rock guitar studies. He also has a breathtaking instrumental album titled The Lightspeeder out. Given that he, like us, shares the same passion for neoclassical metal and shred guitar, you can be sure that you are getting the most genuine and up to date instruction that this field of guitar playing can offer. Also, as someone who was fortunate enough to attend one of his guitar clinics at Berklee a couple of years back, I can only reiterate this with absolute certainty.Although not for the faint hearted, these pieces will nevertheless challenge any passionate guitar playing fans of neoclassical metal and/or lead guitar in general and will indeed make good on their technique and musical knowledge. Included is also a CD of the pieces recorded at both slow and normal speed. So, when you are ready to get this book, make sure your guitar is all supplied with amperage and ready to burn. Shred on!!

Ich spiele ordentlich aber nicht fantastisch Gitarre, kann manche Malmsteen-Licks/Songteile fast im Originaltempo spielen, konnte aber mit der Kolumne des Autors German Schauss in der Zeitschrift Gitarre&Bass bisher nicht viel anfangen, das ist mir oft zu wild.Ich habe als Schüler auf der Trompete sehr gerne Bach gespielt und mir aufgrund der guten Rezension das Buch gekauft. Ich hätte besser auch die englischsprachigen Rezensionen auf amazon.com gelesen...Die Text/Erläuterungen zu einzelnen Songteilen und Spieltechniken sind recht nett, die Auswahl der Stücke gut. Leider sind die Arrangements maximal ok, an manchen Stellen sind die Fingersätze abenteuerlich, mit unnötigen Lagen- und Saitenwechseln. Damit käme ich noch zurecht, man kann sich manches einfacher setzen. Was mir aber den Spaß ziemlich verdirbt ist die grauenhafte CD: Die Backing Tracks sind schlimm arrangiert, mit billig ätzendem Sound, insbesondere die Drums sind dermaßen geschmacklos, unrhythmisch und nervig, erstaunlich. Ich übe sonst gerne mit geloopten/verlangsamten Aufnahmen, aber damit - nö. Die Aufnahmen der Gitarrenparts sind leider auch ziemlich schwach, mit gelegentlichen Fehlern, extrem unmusikalischer Phrasierung und unfassbar schlechtem Timing. Bekannte Titel wie die Badinerie sind an schnellen Stellen mindestens eine Sechzehntel off, die Aufnahme musste wohl sehr schnell gehen...Damit bin ich leider sehr enttäuscht, wer die Aufnahmen nicht nutzen will kann damit meines Erachtens mit Abstrichen Spaß haben.