# Kid shreds at NAMM



## Scar Symmetry (Mar 9, 2010)

Apologies if it's a repost.


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## CooleyJr (Mar 9, 2010)

This is that kid that played PG stuff almost flawlessly when he was 8. That whole "8 year old shredder" thing. Seems like he's doing quite well for himself!


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## jymellis (Mar 9, 2010)

somebody get that fender out of his hands and give him a 7


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## Fzau (Mar 9, 2010)

He is like, infinite times better than me


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## avenger (Mar 9, 2010)

Thats it! I am quitting my job so I can practice shred all day. He plays so clean its sickening!


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Mar 9, 2010)

ok, lets see him write a song now. i was bored watching him. not that that it isnt cool for someone so young, but in all honosty, when i listen to music, i dont care what the person looks like or how old they are, but that they have insteresting music, and if thats all that kids learning, hes missing the mark


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## tr0n (Mar 9, 2010)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> and if thats all that kids learning, hes missing the mark



True, but to be fair, his articulation is spot on. The squeals and vibrato especially.


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## vampiregenocide (Mar 9, 2010)

Screw that kid


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## rikwebb (Mar 9, 2010)

Is 4:00 onwards the solo that Nuno Bettencourt plays before Mutha (Don't Wanna Go To School) or just very similar?


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## Fred the Shred (Mar 9, 2010)

It is, Rik.


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## marius47 (Mar 9, 2010)

I will never be that good :: goes to a corner and shoots himself::


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## Cancer (Mar 9, 2010)

I love how the kid just loses himself about 1:01. You can tell he just sooooo into it, really looking forward to see what he does in the future.


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## Shawn (Mar 9, 2010)

Really impressive.


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## Scar Symmetry (Mar 9, 2010)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> ok, lets see him write a song now. i was bored watching him. not that that it isnt cool for someone so young, but in all honosty, when i listen to music, i dont care what the person looks like or how old they are, but that they have insteresting music, and if thats all that kids learning, hes missing the mark



I think you're missing the point entirely dude, this isn't about music, it's about amazing dedication to an instrument for someone so young. I posted it to inspire people, I know I sure as hell can't play that and there will be people who are even older that will be inspired by this kid's talent upon viewing.

He may not have any original material, but he doesn't need to have original material to impress me. He's obviously more dedicated than I am and for that he gets my respect.


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## Cheesebuiscut (Mar 9, 2010)

Yeah gotta agree with scar I really hate the generic reaction of *OK FINE HES AN AMAZING SHREDDER BUT CAN HE WRITE!?* and vice versa.

It completely misses the point every time. The kid is freaking amazing. <--- period, then look at his age and imagine where his playing will be in 10 years worth of more experience and what he'll be able to write considering the technique he has at his disposal now.

Somehow I imagine that he won't have trouble playing the tunes that pop into his head.


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## cyril v (Mar 9, 2010)

holy fuck., he plays a lot cleaner than he did before, which was already fucking insane.


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## drmosh (Mar 9, 2010)

he's incredible, for his age his touch and vibrato are just fucking insane. I'm pretty fucking sure awesome things are going to come from this kid.


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## darbdavys (Mar 9, 2010)

tr0n said:


> True, but to be fair, his articulation is spot on. The squeals and vibrato especially.


imo, his vibrato is absolutely nothing special. ofc there are no long notes there to determine that for sure, but from what I've heard, they're totally average.
but his technique is like gazillion times better than mine


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## Scar Symmetry (Mar 9, 2010)

Yeah his vibrato could be better, but it's not something that takes away from his playing too much.


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## Loomer (Mar 9, 2010)

Well, once this kid start writing stuff, it sure as shit won't be lack of technical facility holding him back. Once he hits puberty, starts having his heart broken by shallow teenage girls, and generally grows up to see how cruel and fucked-up the world is, he'll have one helluva a "painter's palette" right at his fingertips


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## darbdavys (Mar 9, 2010)

Loomer said:


> Well, once this kid start writing stuff, it sure as shit won't be lack of technical facility holding him back. Once he hits puberty, starts having his heart broken by shallow teenage girls, and generally grows up to see how cruel and fucked-up the world is, he'll have one helluva a "painter's palette" right at his fingertips


or he'll start playing stuff like My Chemical Romance or BFMV


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## HeartCollector (Mar 9, 2010)

Anton Oparin is really really good. He covers a lot of paganini with ease. 

But don't get discouraged guys. There will always be bigger fish. There will always be some kid who sat in his bedroom longer than you and learned to play way harder shit than you etc. It's all about the music you produce. This kid has only done covers/improv solos from what I've seen. And yeah, he might write his own stuff one day, but it wont be like the stuff you make so don't sweat it.

I mean when you get to that point it, is pretty much exploiting music theory to make pseudo-classical shred compositions. Which are cool, I'm a huge fan of stuff like that. But those simple riffs from the less talented guys are what make me tingle the most. Like the riff from Crazy train. lol


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## 13point9 (Mar 9, 2010)

technically good, needs to start writing his own stuff now...


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## EliNoPants (Mar 9, 2010)

i just hope he doesn't burn out, i've seen other videos of kids shredding away at young ages, and looked for them a few years later, and they just got tired of it and quit entirely


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## Samer (Mar 9, 2010)

The kid is great, super clean!


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## onefingersweep (Mar 9, 2010)

I don't think he will be tired and quit. This kid has always looked inspired. he smiles in most of the videos. You don't do that if you don't like what you're doing.


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## HeartCollector (Mar 9, 2010)

onefingersweep said:


> I don't think he will be tired and quit. This kid has always looked inspired. he smiles in most of the videos. You don't do that if you don't like what you're doing.



Yeah I don't think he will quit either. But it's only a matter of time before he gets bored of everything and moves on to jazz fusion.. haha


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Mar 9, 2010)

Scar Symmetry said:


> I think you're missing the point entirely dude, this isn't about music, it's about amazing dedication to an instrument for someone so young. I posted it to inspire people, I know I sure as hell can't play that and there will be people who are even older that will be inspired by this kid's talent upon viewing.
> 
> He may not have any original material, but he doesn't need to have original material to impress me. He's obviously more dedicated than I am and for that he gets my respect.


 wonderful??


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## Scar Symmetry (Mar 9, 2010)

Unreal.


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## s_k_mullins (Mar 9, 2010)

The kid is phenomenal... He definitely makes me look like a chump on guitar!
Thanks for sharing this Dave


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## Lakeflower (Mar 9, 2010)

He's awesome! Now i'm about to sell all my guitars and start playing the maraccas. End of story...


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## Nick (Mar 9, 2010)

Loomer said:


> Well, once this kid start writing stuff, it sure as shit won't be lack of technical facility holding him back. Once he hits puberty, starts having his heart broken by shallow teenage girls, and generally grows up to see how cruel and fucked-up the world is, he'll have one helluva a "painter's palette" right at his fingertips



lets not play any games here, this kid isnt going to have a girlfriend for a loooooong time!


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## Vision (Mar 9, 2010)

That's actually Buckethead unmasked.


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## Quantumface (Mar 9, 2010)

the kid shreds like a beast. a damn shame that he riffs like he grew up with my dad.


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## BigPhi84 (Mar 9, 2010)

Lakeflower said:


> He's awesome! Now i'm about to sell all my guitars and start playing the maraccas. End of story...




Oh really??? Then, don't watch this.


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## JohnIce (Mar 9, 2010)

I'm a songwriter above anything, and I get bored really easily by shred. However, when I was this guy's age, I didn't write very good songs, and I didn't play as well as him either.

So the notion that a kid at that age should have both amazing chops AND be able to write compelling music, is a bit unrealistic. Sure, some kids are just all around amazing musicians, but it's still a very tall order.

I wouldn't be surprised if many of you were bedroom wanking long before you started writing serious music. This kid has every right to do the same thing.


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## Scar Symmetry (Mar 9, 2010)

JohnIce said:


> I wouldn't be surprised if many of you were bedroom wanking long before you started writing serious music.



Sometimes I do both at the same time!


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## Randy (Mar 9, 2010)

BigPhi84 and Scar Symmetry: Destroying your hopes and aspirations, one instrument at a time


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## JohnIce (Mar 9, 2010)

Scar Symmetry said:


> Sometimes I do both at the same time!


 
I only, just now, realized how that actually came off...  Bedroom wanking in this case = practicing guitar. But I assume you all thought the same thing... right?

Or did you just let us in on the secret behind your tight right hand, Dave?


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## Cheesebuiscut (Mar 9, 2010)

I'm wankidextrous. 

Sadly enough I didn't even mildly think of it in any way but playing guitar until you said it.


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## Ckackley (Mar 9, 2010)

The kids awesome. Way better at technical playing than I'll probably ever be. 
There's a kid local to me that is a complete genius at shredding. He's a huge Randy Rhoads fanatic and can play every solo perfectly. I see him playing guitars at the local guitar shop here. The only problem comes in when someone throws a drum beat or a click at him or he tries to jam with someone. He crumples and falls to pieces. It's a shame really , though I'm sure with time he'll get it together.


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## Lakeflower (Mar 9, 2010)

BigPhi84 said:


> Oh really??? Then, don't watch this.





Ok, i guess i save some money for NOT buyin any maraccas, eh?


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## Origin (Mar 9, 2010)

Fuck, I hate kids like this who make me feel shitty. WELL, time to practice -_-


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## Andromalia (Mar 9, 2010)

I don't see what's wrong in playing other people's pieces. Maybe he's not a composer, so what.
Isaac Stern didn't write any piece of music that I know of. He "just" spent his life playing Mozart, Beethoven etc and is widely acclaimed as one of the best violin players of the 20th century.

Wish I played like that kid, likely too late for me now with work schedule, family life etc.


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## Xaios (Mar 9, 2010)

Andromalia said:


> I don't see what's wrong in playing other people's pieces. Maybe he's not a composer, so what.
> Isaac Stern didn't write any piece of music that I know of. He "just" spent his life playing Mozart, Beethoven etc and is widely acclaimed as one of the best violin players of the 20th century.
> 
> Wish I played like that kid, likely too late for me now with work schedule, family life etc.



Very compelling argument. Guitar seems to be the only instrument where people almost _demand_ that you be a competent songwriter as well as musician. You can get by on almost any other instrument for a life time never writing a single note of original music yourself and people won't think any less of you for it, but if you're a guitarist, you're pretty much expected to be a closet composer as well.

Having said that... DAMN, kid has chops!


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## SweepsAllDay (Mar 9, 2010)

Anyone saying something bad about this kid is most likely riddled with jealousy. You can't deny how amazing it is to see such technical prowess at such a young age.


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## HeartCollector (Mar 9, 2010)

Xaios said:


> Very compelling argument. Guitar seems to be the only instrument where people almost _demand_ that you be a competent songwriter as well as musician. You can get by on almost any other instrument for a life time never writing a single note of original music yourself and people won't think any less of you for it, but if you're a guitarist, you're pretty much expected to be a closet composer as well.



Well yeah man. Why else do you think people wig out when they see a guy with a guitar walking down the street? They wouldn't do that shit if the guy had a trombone that is for sure.

Modern bands brought the guitar in to the mainstream spot light, and set it apart from more classy instruments like the piano. For instance, Jimi hendrix and jimi page took the guitar and made it rebellious and sexy. They also made some of the most memorable songs of their time.

As a result of that, you have to step up your game more than other people who play other instruments. Yeah it is kinda lame, but I'm down though. Guitar is probably the funnest thing ever, and like i said before people FREAK OUT when they see you with one. You know how people say guitar gets you laid? Yeah man. The second you take the guitar from its modern sexstrument pedestal and bring it to a classical setting, all of that cool rockstar stuff goes with it.


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## NickB11 (Mar 9, 2010)

Wow awesome vid...thanks! That kid rips 

Found this one...at 1:36 and at 4:48 the epic begins lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_QQ_1TVjJg


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## Xaios (Mar 9, 2010)

HeartCollector said:


> Well yeah man. Why else do you think people wig out when they see a guy with a guitar walking down the street? They wouldn't do that shit if the guy had a trombone that is for sure.
> 
> Modern bands brought the guitar in to the mainstream spot light, and set it apart from more classy instruments like the piano. For instance, Jimi hendrix and jimi page took the guitar and made it rebellious and sexy. They also made some of the most memorable songs of their time.
> 
> As a result of that, you have to step up your game more than other people who play other instruments. Yeah it is kinda lame, but I'm down though. Guitar is probably the funnest thing ever, and like i said before people FREAK OUT when they see you with one. You know how people say guitar gets you laid? Yeah man. The second you take the guitar from its modern sexstrument pedestal and bring it to a classical setting, all of that cool rockstar stuff goes with it.



I've NEVER gotten lady-props for being a guitarist, even though I'm definitely not a classical type player. Fuck me.


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## HeartCollector (Mar 9, 2010)

Xaios said:


> I've NEVER gotten lady-props for being a guitarist, even though I'm definitely not a classical type player. Fuck me.



Have you played at a party for a bunch of drunk bitches? I haven't, but I'd imagine that would be a great way to go about it. lol


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## poopyalligator (Mar 9, 2010)

that kid is ridiculously good for his age. I wish i learned it early.


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## Charles (Mar 9, 2010)

Pretty inspiring stuff. Yes, he may not write any of his own music, but who the hell cares? Nothing's made me want to practice so hard in a long time.

Thanks for the vid, OP.


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## onefingersweep (Mar 10, 2010)

HeartCollector said:


> Yeah I don't think he will quit either. But it's only a matter of time before he gets bored of everything and moves on to jazz fusion.. haha



Well in that case I would be glad.


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## onefingersweep (Mar 10, 2010)

Vision said:


> That's actually Buckethead unmasked.



Really? Why does he play so bad masked then?


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## Fred the Shred (Mar 10, 2010)

Anton is a very talented kid, and it's still to soon to tell whether he has the composition ability to match or not. I most certainly don't look at a kid with well nurtured technique and immediatelly expect to see the next W.A.Mozart! 

He's still young, and gathering a very solid array of technical resources, so let's see how his ability to make music matches his chops as he matures.


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## HeartCollector (Mar 10, 2010)

onefingersweep said:


> Well in that case I would be glad.



Same here man. haha. He should follow suit with shawn lane, greg howe, and chris poland and throw down some jazz fusion. Seein that kid jam on some jazz would make my day. Not only that, but imagine how brutal his hybrid picking licks would be in that sort of context


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## sunbasket (Jun 10, 2010)

I don't think he'll burn out, but I hope he gets some time to just be a normal kid as well.

I wonder how his friendships with classmates at school are. He must be a bit alienated, albeit in a good way. "this child is special"... and to be honest I bet it hasn't helped him get any more sweethearts than any other kid. At that age, in the eyes of a potential sweetheart, a cool jacket / cool older brother = virtuosic shredding ability. Imagine if he had a cool jacket too...  

And I'm sure at least once he reaches high school he won't get picked on as if he were prodigious at the piano, or insanely good at the oboe. I mean, c'mon, this is guitar, coolest instrument around!


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## scottro202 (Jun 10, 2010)

Loomer said:


> Once he hits puberty, starts having his heart broken by shallow teenage girls, and generally grows up to see how cruel and fucked-up the world is, he'll have one helluva a "painter's palette" right at his fingertips



 That's what got me started song writing.

I'll never forget the first song I wrote, "Scotty Fell For a Lesbian" 

/offtopic

But seriously, this kid's insane. I wish I could shred like him. Let's hope he becomes as good of a songwriter as he is guitar player 

/ontopic


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## Murmel (Jun 10, 2010)

darbdavys said:


> or he'll start playing stuff like My Chemical Romance or BFMV


I don't hate the world or am sad about a relationship and I still like to play BFMV sometimes 
Or well, I do think that the world is kind of fucked up and that people these days generally aren't all that nice. But later I feel like it's become a little bit better on the latter part


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## auxioluck (Jun 10, 2010)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> ok, lets see him write a song now. i was bored watching him. not that that it isnt cool for someone so young, but in all honosty, when i listen to music, i dont care what the person looks like or how old they are, but that they have insteresting music, and if thats all that kids learning, hes missing the mark



These were my exact thoughts when I watched him playing PG stuff. There's no creativity or emotion there. The kid's got chops, but nothing musically that sets him apart from everyone else.


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## maliciousteve (Jun 10, 2010)

Fantastic technique. Little guy could play most of us on this board under the table, so to speak. 

I look forward to hearing some songs from him though.


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## otop (Jun 10, 2010)

Pfff this is all a lie.. He dosent age.. Just look theres no difference from the video of when he was 8 till 11. All this wizardry is making me quite sick.. Guy is probably in his 30s


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## OmertaDave (Jun 10, 2010)

Seeing that really does make me wish I picked up the guitar a lot earlier.


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## chucknorrishred (Jun 10, 2010)

that was awful


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## asher (Jun 10, 2010)

OmertaDave said:


> Seeing that really does make me wish I picked up the guitar a lot earlier.



This like a thousand times over.


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## SerratedSkies (Jun 10, 2010)

How big is the closet his parents keep him in all day and night? Does he defecate in there?

More importantly, does he know what theory actually means?


Part of me is jealous, and part of me wants to call protective services.


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## Anton (Jun 10, 2010)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> ok, lets see him write a song now. i was bored watching him. not that that it isnt cool for someone so young, but in all honosty, when i listen to music, i dont care what the person looks like or how old they are, but that they have insteresting music, and if thats all that kids learning, hes missing the mark



Exactly!
He can probably play every piece in the world, but if he cant write a good song\solo or have a interesting improvisation then he's a boring player who's essence is just playing fast just like michael angelo, farreri etc..


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## Dragonfly (Jun 10, 2010)

That man at 2:05 looks like.. oh fuck,, I'm never gonna outplay this kid,

And that's a bit what I'm afraid of myself :\


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## Scar Symmetry (Jun 10, 2010)

Anton said:


> Exactly!
> He can probably play every piece in the world, but if he cant write a good song\solo or have a interesting improvisation then he's a boring player who's essence is just playing fast just like michael angelo, farreri etc..



lol at completely missing the point


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## Anton (Jun 10, 2010)

Scar Symmetry said:


> lol at completely missing the point



I'm after 3 hours of muay thai...so what are you talking about


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## scottro202 (Jun 10, 2010)

sunbasket said:


> I wonder how his friendships with classmates at school are. He must be a bit alienated, albeit in a good way. "this child is special"... and to be honest I bet it hasn't helped him get any more sweethearts than any other kid. At that age, in the eyes of a potential sweetheart, a cool jacket / cool older brother = virtuosic shredding ability. Imagine if he had a cool jacket too...



Coming from personal experience, amazing ability isn't as high on a girl's list as learning/knowing songs she likes. (This includes a LOT of John Mayer and Dave Matthews  )

Or playing in a band. If you play in a band, you could play the cowbell and get chicks (well, chicks LOVE cowbellers, so that's a bad example  )


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## Nitsuj (Jun 11, 2010)

Anton said:


> I'm after 3 hours of muay thai...so what are you talking about



Can you improvise in Muay thai?


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jun 11, 2010)

"hi there i am going to kick your ass at guitar and im only an LB"


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jun 11, 2010)

Oh, and an original by him


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## Excalibur (Jun 11, 2010)

Pretty impressive.

Now let's see him do a I-IV-V progression and sing along to it.


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## LadyKiller (Jun 11, 2010)

it's this russian guy Anton Oparin


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## boni (Jun 11, 2010)

Scar Symmetry said:


> I think you're missing the point entirely dude, this isn't about music, it's about amazing dedication to an instrument for someone so young.





So? 

Young brains have the ability to assimilate ANYTHING ten times faster and better than any old brain. Specially motor-language related abilities like art/music which is entirely motor and language based in the brain. It's called neuroplasticity. Google it.



High level cognitive processing like logical thinking, thats something special. 


Besides that, young brains don't have the ability to reproduce it's own authentic songwriting in the full spectrum of the human emotion. Why? Well, a kid doing art is just a kid.


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## Scar Symmetry (Jun 11, 2010)

Take your condescending bullshit elsewhere dude


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## failshredder (Jun 11, 2010)

Man, there's a lot of jealousy going on in here.


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## Excalibur (Jun 11, 2010)

failshredder said:


> Man, there's a lot of jealousy going on in here.



Alot of rage too, reminds me why I left this uber-serious forum in the first place.


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## PirateMetalTroy (Jun 11, 2010)

Let's all hope he doesn't grow up to be a fat as shawn lane. Let's also hope he lives longer than shawn lane as well.


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## WillingWell (Jun 11, 2010)

PirateMetalTroy said:


> Let's all hope he doesn't grow up to be a fat as shawn lane. Let's also hope he lives longer than shawn lane as well.




That's really in poor taste. Shawn's weight was directly related to the same reason he died; he was on steroids for psoriatic arthiris since his youth which caused the weight gain.


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## MJS (Jun 11, 2010)

I can't picture being bitter enough to see anything wrong with what this kid's doing. 

Some of the replies seem to translate to: "Big deal that a little kid can play anything that some of the greatest guitarists alive play... let's see him play some mediocre crap like I play, which must have a ton of feeling because it's way slower and sloppier than what he's playing."  

I guess he should just hold one note for 10 minutes and make a bunch of stupid faces to show the naysayers how versatile he can be.  

Not getting the bashing for lack of song-writing either. I don't see most adults writing anything worth listening to. Most adults also don't seem to play other peoples' stuff as well as him either. What's left?

I also don't get the fear of him not having a childhood. He looks like he's having a lot of fun doing what he wants to be doing, which is exactly what being a kid is all about. 

Anyway... I'm curious to see how things work out for him and hope he keeps having fun with it.


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## Scar Symmetry (Jun 11, 2010)

MJS said:


> I can't picture being bitter enough to see anything wrong with what this kid's doing.
> 
> Some of the replies seem to translate to: "Big deal that a little kid can play anything that some of the greatest guitarists alive play... let's see him play some mediocre crap like I play, which must have a ton of feeling because it's way slower and sloppier than what he's playing."
> 
> ...



Great post, well done


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## chucknorrishred (Jun 11, 2010)

^^

it takes only 6 months min. to get that good anyway


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## drmosh (Jun 11, 2010)

boni said:


> So?
> 
> Young brains have the ability to assimilate ANYTHING ten times faster and better than any old brain. Specially motor-language related abilities like art/music which is entirely motor and language based in the brain. It's called neuroplasticity. Google it.
> 
> ...



And even after all that, the conclusion is?


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## auxioluck (Jun 11, 2010)

MJS said:


> I can't picture being bitter enough to see anything wrong with what this kid's doing.
> 
> Some of the replies seem to translate to: "Big deal that a little kid can play anything that some of the greatest guitarists alive play... let's see him play some mediocre crap like I play, which must have a ton of feeling because it's way slower and sloppier than what he's playing."
> 
> ...



I'm definitely not bitter about it, and I'm not really jealous about it either. I said it, the kid has ridiculous chops, and yeah, he's way better than I am, but there's always going to be someone better than I am. There's no reason for any person to be jealous about someone being better.

I'm not asking for him to write me a masterpiece, nor do I want him to write anything now, the only thing that makes me worried about future songwriting for him is that he's always just looked like a machine to me. He has the chops, but I'm not sure he has the passion. For me, music is an emotional thing, and it scares me when I see emotionless musicians. It makes me really leery of their reasons for doing what they are doing. Emotion doesn't mean he plays slow, pretty leads, but emotion is looking at someone playing and KNOWING that they are loving what they are doing more than anything else in the world. Knowing what kind of parents are out there also makes me curious if this really him doing what he wants to or if this is a "Dad living vicariously through the son" kind of thing. I know that this has been said before.

The kid's good, but the unfortunate thing for him is that until he develops the creative and composition side of his musical personality, he'll just be "that kid that's got chops." Don't get me wrong, I wish him the best, and I hope at some point we see some cool writing from him, I can just see this either being a great foundation, or just becoming a pigeon hole. It reminds me of when the drum scene blew up about Tony Royster, Jr. when he was insanely good at 8-12 years old, and now he's just treated like another good drummer. It seems like everything changes when the novelty of age wears off.


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## Ricky_Gallows (Jun 11, 2010)

all that on a bridge pick up. damn. props lol.


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jun 12, 2010)

boni said:


> So?
> 
> Young brains have the ability to assimilate ANYTHING ten times faster and better than any old brain. Specially motor-language related abilities like art/music which is entirely motor and language based in the brain. It's called neuroplasticity. Google it.
> 
> ...



Look at the original I just posted above, I think it sounds pretty good and I've been listening to it for the past couple of days. While his influences are obvious the song is still badass


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## ittoa666 (Jun 12, 2010)

Damn Russians.


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## SnowfaLL (Jun 12, 2010)

yep the only way this kid will progress to the point where he can "make a living" and be a good guitarist in the eyes of many, is if he branches out and becomes more rounded, instead of a one trick pony.

He needs to get into jazz, learn all the chordal shit involved with it (the true difficult part of guitar).. almost anyone can shred those kinda paul gilbert songs with 2-3 years of practice, because everything is already tabbed out and all you have to do is be dedicated in practicing.. then your improvising in that genre is generally very bland and linear.. 

Not to say he isnt good, he has a great foundation so far, but I dont think he'll be anything more than a "oh cool, a 12 year old shredding".. Once hes 18, if he stays in this style, no one will care anymore because theres tons of 18 year olds who can already do that stuff all over youtube. Nick Sterling comes to mind too, the 14 year old "shred wizard kid" who is now pretty much irrelevant when he grew up.

I just really think thats the difference between jazz and metal/shred.. Its not that jazz is more difficult to physically play per say, its how much more mental compacity comes with it, thinking of your chord changes as you improvise, all that junk which really takes years of learning. Shred stuff is hard but not impossible for anyone to learn in a year or two of strict playing, esp when doing covers and stuff because theres one way to play it, thats it.


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## guitareben (Jun 12, 2010)

I hate this guy haha. He is SO AMAZING and i allways get jealos of him. Ah well, good for him for being so good


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## AliceAxe (Jun 12, 2010)

that must one kid who doesnt own any video games!


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## Scar Symmetry (Jun 12, 2010)

Video games are the bane of my guitar playing life.


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## Esp Griffyn (Jun 12, 2010)

NickCormier said:


> yep the only way this kid will progress to the point where he can "make a living" and be a good guitarist in the eyes of many, is if he branches out and becomes more rounded, instead of a one trick pony.
> 
> He needs to get into jazz, learn all the chordal shit involved with it (the true difficult part of guitar).. almost anyone can shred those kinda paul gilbert songs with 2-3 years of practice, because everything is already tabbed out and all you have to do is be dedicated in practicing.. then your improvising in that genre is generally very bland and linear..
> 
> ...



This. When this clicked for me a few years back a lot of metal just seemed like mindless dreck, and I understood why jazz fusion is held in such high esteem. At that point, I put the metronome away and stopped the whole "shred training" regime that I think a lot of young guitarists turn into.

I can't sweep for shit, I can't rip out Gilbert-style ultra speed picking licks, but I think to think that as a musician (player and listener) it was the best thing that ever happened to me.


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## JoshuaLogan (Jun 12, 2010)

News flash: liking fusion doesn't make you more sophisticated.


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## Daggorath (Jun 12, 2010)

What's with the jealousy? Every thread I see on a new talented player showing off incredible technique ends up in criticizing them for not making music. 

Firstly, you know nothing of the actual music he makes. You're making a judgement on a short video of him messing about. The video was clearly posted to show how impressive his technique is for a kid of his age, not to show how era defining his composition is.

Secondly, some people are more than happy with just playing technical exercises. If people get a kick out of it then what makes you so holy as to look down on them for it? People play guitar for many different reasons, not everyone wants to sell a million records.


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## Esp Griffyn (Jun 12, 2010)

JoshuaLogan said:


> News flash: liking fusion doesn't make you more sophisticated.



This just in: No one suggested it did.


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## boni (Jun 12, 2010)

drmosh said:


> And even after all that, the conclusion is?




the conclusion is: 

1) a kid learning to play guitar has a young brain, that learn stuff 10 times better and faster. there's **nothing** special about a kid having a great technique re-playing generic guitar shred songs. it happens all the time, at a fast pace, for reasons stated above, without any particular special thing going on. young brains are bound to have great technique. and great technique happens all the time. If you have ever visited youtube for awhile, you are going to find many bedroom shredders with great technique. So, nothing new here: great technique makes me yawn 


2) Usually, a kid doing art is just a kid. it's just a project of a human being. I listened to his compositions and I'm waiting to be surprised, I see nothing special. If you live in an alternate reality where adults are not making any kind of good artistic expression, then I feel sorry for you. Kids usually don't make art, its rare. Adults, with sensibilities and subjectivity acquired through experience, by growing up, make art; because art usually grows up from life experiences. Is this a rule? No. It has exceptions and IMO this kid is no exception after all these songs I listened from him


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## SnowfaLL (Jun 12, 2010)

the keyword in the post above mine is this *"If you have ever visited youtube for awhile, you are going to find many bedroom shredders with great technique. So, nothing new here"*

Like that guy said, theres TONS of these kinda kids on youtube, all playing the same yngwie or paul gilbert songs. Some are 12 like him even, some get shows out of it, but in the end; Most of them fade into obscurity once they grow up, when no one can say "OMG you are 12 and amazing!".. 

So yea, thats my point. If he was 18, no one here would be talking about him, cause theres 1000s on youtube doing the exact same songs as him, probably even better.


He cant coast on shred for the rest of his life, as anyone who is a "shredder" and tried to audition for something other than shred/metal bands has found out in the past. You get laughed out pretty fast if you cant sightread/adapt to other styles/improvise.


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## YellowMustard (Jun 12, 2010)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> ok, lets see him write a song now. i was bored watching him. not that that it isnt cool for someone so young, but in all honosty, when i listen to music, i dont care what the person looks like or how old they are, but that they have insteresting music, and if thats all that kids learning, hes missing the mark



This right here, is spot fucking on. I could only watch about 30 seconds before i was bored to tears. I've never been impressed by wankery just for the sake of wankery.


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## Excalibur (Jun 13, 2010)

JoshuaLogan said:


> News flash: liking fusion doesn't make you more sophisticated.



Kind of like surrounding yourself with 4chan memes doesn't make you funny.


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## liamh (Jun 13, 2010)

JoshuaLogan said:


> News flash: liking fusion doesn't make you more sophisticated.


Yes it does, actually.


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## Excalibur (Jun 13, 2010)

liamh said:


> Yes it does, actually.



Liar


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## Mindcrime1204 (Jun 13, 2010)

I've been keeping up with this kid for a few years now since I saw him playing Racer X/PG stuff live when he was a little younger. I dont get the hate talk, its kinda like bashing BB king cause he doesnt shred and just bends notes.

Let him be a damn kid, its obvious he has somethin going for him musically since he was invited to NAMM to play for all those people.



YellowMustard said:


> This right here, is spot fucking on. I could only watch about 30 seconds before i was bored to tears. I've never been impressed by wankery just for the sake of wankery.


 
You just joined this month and some of the only posts I've seen by you are negative comments in different threads, which may explain why your first feedbacks on the forum are negative.


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## TheSilentWater (Jun 13, 2010)

That is badass. I wonder how much he practices. In fact, I wonder how long he's been playing for...


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## Scar Symmetry (Jun 13, 2010)

TheSilentWater said:


> That is badass. I wonder how much he practices. In fact, I wonder how long he's been playing for...



This guy's got the right idea.


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## drgordonfreeman (Jun 13, 2010)

HeartCollector said:


> Anton Oparin is really really good. He covers a lot of paganini with ease.
> 
> But don't get discouraged guys. There will always be bigger fish. There will always be some kid who sat in his bedroom longer than you and learned to play way harder shit than you etc. It's all about the music you produce. This kid has only done covers/improv solos from what I've seen. And yeah, he might write his own stuff one day, but it wont be like the stuff you make so don't sweat it.
> 
> I mean when you get to that point it, is pretty much exploiting music theory to make pseudo-classical shred compositions. Which are cool, I'm a huge fan of stuff like that. But those simple riffs from the less talented guys are what make me tingle the most. Like the riff from Crazy train. lol




Yea, I think that's what 7 Strings of Hate was saying earlier, also. I echo this sentiment.

I am highly impressed with his skill. I mean, wow... I can't play like that, and it's both encouraging, as well as discouraging, to see someone so young shame my ability like that.

However, great songs aren't five minutes of sweeping arpeggios and blazing through scales, despite what Malmsteen fans may claim.

I tend to follow what guys like Gene Simmons (I know, I know) and Marty Friedman say. They say, basically, it doesn't matter how many notes you play or how fast you play them. What matters is what notes you play and how you play them. You can have a guitar solo that's only five notes long, but those five notes are so amazing and count so much that you inspire millions of people worldwide.

As HeartCollector says above, it's like the riff in Crazy Train. Simple, yet it will send chills up your spine. How can you not bang your head to that, and what is it, like four notes or something? lol.

Nonetheless, all of this sort of misses the point of what Scar Symmetry is doing here. His point was to show how amazing such a young kid was in hopes of inspiring everyone to not give up and practice that much longer in hopes of reaching higher highs.

Well, this has inspired me in two complimentary ways. First, I feel the need to practice longer and harder than I had before. Second, I feel the need to spend much more time focusing on my phrasing and song writing that I had before.

I think a lot has been accomplished here, from my perspective!

Great video post. Thanks!


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## Scar Symmetry (Jun 13, 2010)

drgordonfreeman said:


> Nonetheless, all of this sort of misses the point of what Scar Symmetry is doing here. His point was to show how amazing such a young kid was in hopes of inspiring everyone to not give up and practice that much longer in hopes of reaching higher highs.
> 
> Well, this has inspired me in two complimentary ways. First, I feel the need to practice longer and harder than I had before. Second, I feel the need to spend much more time focusing on my phrasing and song writing that I had before.
> 
> ...



Excellent, I'm glad that my attempt to help inspire has been picked up by someone, you're very welcome


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## auxioluck (Jun 13, 2010)

After 3 years of being on this forum, I get neg-repped for the first time ever in this thread? Wow. I guess whoever it was didn't bother to read my follow-up about how I actually had respect for the kid, I just wasn't impressed.

Yay!!


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## ddtonfire (Jun 15, 2010)

It's amazing how so many people here are getting so worked up over this and take the opportunity to degrade the guy. What an awesome player! He has a whole life ahead of him to write and play great and difficult music.


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## Thrashmanzac (Jun 15, 2010)

i really dont get all the hate in this thread, the kid fucking slays for his age. good on him, if love to have that sort of skill.


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## Prydogga (Jun 15, 2010)

*Sigh* If he was a member, this talk would be non existent, have respect for the kid.

Oh noes, he can shred, but that must mean.... He can't write music!  No one good at guitar can write music can they? The kid's like 12, this should be a non-issue.


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## Scar Symmetry (Jun 20, 2010)

Prydogga said:


> *Sigh* If he was a member, this talk would be non existent, have respect for the kid.
> 
> Oh noes, he can shred, but that must mean.... He can't write music!  No one good at guitar can write music can they? The kid's like 12, this should be a non-issue.


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## Antimatter (Jun 20, 2010)

So why isn't anyone allowed to have negative criticism?


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## ddtonfire (Jun 20, 2010)

Antimatter said:


> So why isn't anyone allowed to have negative criticism?


Anyone can give negative criticism any time, just people in this thread are watching a random video of a kid doing something he really enjoys and showing his playing prowess, then criticizing him for having excellent chops.


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## Antimatter (Jun 20, 2010)

That's not what they said. They were criticizing him for wankage. Two different things.


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## Warchest1 (Jun 20, 2010)

Fuck that blows me away. The kid must not have gone to school to be that good, especially at EIGHT fuckin years old.


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## Scar Symmetry (Jul 1, 2010)

Just seen the vid from this kid for this year's NAMM:



FUCK.


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## BenInKY (Jul 1, 2010)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> ok, lets see him write a song now. i was bored watching him. not that that it isnt cool for someone so young, but in all honosty, when i listen to music, i dont care what the person looks like or how old they are, but that they have insteresting music, and if thats all that kids learning, hes missing the mark





SweepsAllDay said:


> Anyone saying something bad about this kid is most likely riddled with jealousy. You can't deny how amazing it is to see such technical prowess at such a young age.



^

If he's so bad at "writing" or "riffing" or whatever you're assuming he's deficient in, with no way to actually know, please post videos of your own written material or yourself "riffing" better than you think he is. Otherwise STOP WHINING! You're just obviously jealous and can't deal with somebody being so much better than you that is so much younger than you.


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## youheardme (Jul 5, 2010)

This kid is insane... wow is all i can say


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## Mindcrime1204 (Jul 7, 2010)

That last video above just fucking pwned me. More so the part at the end, the classical piece... thats be some good strang skippin' thurr!


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## Daggorath (Jul 7, 2010)

Mindcrime1204 said:


> That last video above just fucking pwned me. More so the part at the end, the classical piece... thats be some good strang skippin' thurr!



This.

Most young kids who try and play fast have real trouble with noise and timing. This kid is both clean and very conscious of his timing, it's clear he's not trying TOO hard and playing things beyond him. He looks very comfortable whilst playing them.


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