German Schauss – Shredding Bach

Shredding Bach

J.S. Bach is one of the greatest composers and most virtuosic musicians of all time. His amazing compositions are technically demanding, which make them the perfect match for heavy metal shred guitar. Shredding Bach introduces you to the unique style of this musical master and stretches your playing to the limits. It shows you all the essential techniques to play Bach’s music on your electric guitar, including sweep picking, tapping, legato, and rapid alternate picking. Every example has been arranged to be as true and accurate to the original compositions as possible, with only minor adjustments made to accommodate the guitar and shred style. The accompanying CD features all of the examples recorded at multiple speeds to help you practice and to get you on your way to mastering Bach’s challenging compostions.

German Schauss’ Shredding Bach does at first glance remind me of some of the Classically Inspired releases of the late 80′s and early 90′s -- the prominent “CD Included” logo, the glossy feel of the cover and of course the subject matter…regardless of era the popularity of Classical and Neoclassical playing hasn’t diminished with time. The similarities however end there as this is a considerably more accomplished and complete release than any previous attempt to encapsulate the classical approach on electric guitar which I can remember.

German Schauss himself is a well known figure in some qaurters -- he was included in the list of “Top 50 Fastest Guitarists”, teaches at both Berklee College of Music and the Los Angeles Music Academy, writes articles for Mel Bay and Germany’s most popular Guitar Magazine “Gitarre & Bass”, has recieved the ASCAP Plu$ Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (no less than 5 times) and last, but very clearly not least is  endorsed by Parker Guitars, Bogner Amplifiers, DiMarzio, DR Strings, Maxon, Guyatone, Pedaltrain, Rocktron, Godlyke, Jim Dunlop, PreSonus, Native Instruments and Morley.

German’s musical ability and knowledge are quite evident upon opening the book which is compiled with a great attention to detail -- each Study is preceeded by a comprehensive musical analysis of the work in question which covers any pertinent technical or theoretical approaches which are contained, and the accompanying CD provides examples of the piece in full as well as backing tracks at both full tempo as well as a little slower for use while honing your ability.

By way of an example the first piece to be studied is the Invention No’8 in F Major. Every technical aspect of the work is explained along with a musical example to fully illustrate the principles involved, so there are (albeit brief) sections on Scalar Sequences, Alternate Picking, Pedal Tones and Arpeggios, as well as an explanation of the modulations involved (from F Major to C Major, the Dominant Key and thence to D minor, the Relative minor of F Major) as well as an introduction to cadences and chord inversions.

This format is repeated throughout the book and in time all manner of subjects are covered; Sweep Picking, String Skipping, Tapping, Cadential 6/4, The Picardy 3rd…Shredding Bach is not only an engaging study of Bach’s works but in many ways goes beyond that to provide  a much-needed glimpse of Classical Compositional techniques and Technical Approaches which should be of interest to many aspiring guitarists of the Neoclassical school.

German’s playing throughout is, as you might expect, of the highest standard and indeed it’s not until you start to learn these pieces that you realise he is in fact making some deceptively difficult passages sound quite effortless -- some of the technical approaches involved in a recitation at the correct musical tempo would certainly present the utmost difficulty for novice players and as such I would agree that the intended audience for this book is intermediate/advanced guitarists.

This is an exceptional first educational release by a talented musician and given it’s very high quality (as you might expect from Alfred Publishing and a guitarist of this high standard) I would have no hesitation in not only recommending this book, but in also purchasing his next work which is already in progress.

Rating:

1. Invention #8
2. Double in B Minor
3. Presto in G Minor
4. Invention #4
5. Prelude in C Minor
6. Badinerie
7. Prelude in C Major
8. Jeus, Joy of Man’s Desiring
9. Air
10. Tocatta and Fuge

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