Shred guitar or
shredding is a virtuoso
lead guitar solo playing style for the
electric guitar, based on various fast playing techniques. Music critics have stated that shred guitar is associated with "
sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-
tapping and
whammy-bar abuse", while others contend that it is a fairly subjective cultural term used by guitarists and enthusiasts of guitar music. It is commonly used with reference to
Heavy metal guitar playing, where it is associated with rapid
tapping solos, fast scale and arpeggio runs and special effects such as
whammy bar "
dive bombs". Metal guitarists playing in a "shred" style use the electric guitar with a
guitar amplifier and a range of
electronic effects such as
distortion, which create a more sustained guitar tone and facilitate
guitar feedback effects. The term is sometimes used with reference to virtuoso playing outside the metal idiom, particularly in
bluegrass and
jazz fusion.