WARNING - RANT!
I have spent the last month learning the Tornado of Souls solo. It’s been a great ride. I’ve played it daily for about 45-60 minutes. I’ve loved digging into Marty’s playing but watching any instructional videos of him and many other fast players has left a bad taste in my mouth.
At first I found his snarky attitude about shredding, sweep picking, etc. entertaining and while I do agree that sweeping and playing fast just for the hell of it can devolve into wankery, I’ve begun to think, “It’s easy for these fast guys to act smug about this when they, for whatever reason, have cracked the code.” They seem so terribly bored with fast playing when in fact that is really all they do.
It’s like cook acting as if garlic is passe.
To Marty’s credit, he has some fantastic tunes that very playable with little to no super fast stuff. but the idea that he doesn’t sweep and doesn’t know what hybrid picking even is seems absurd to me. Videos he and others have made where they play at lightning speed as if the rest of us should just “get it” are nearly worthless - especially in comparison to the research and great content on this site.
Thank you @Troy and co. for what you’ve done and for presenting it in a way that isn’t condescending. THAT is useful and though I will probably never be as fast as Marty, it has revolutionized my approach to the guitar, my confidence and my sound. the me of 6 months ago would be in utter shock that I can even get close to Tornado of Souls.
END RANT