I think this is what they mean by sweep.
Sorry for being a party-pooper here but stuff like this puts me off. Is it technically well done? Yep - the guy is really talented. But it is more of a conceptual exercise than art - “hey, can I take on Pachelbel in shredder mode? Yes I can!” It is chocked full of masturbatory shredder goodness, but seems much more to me to be like a mental exercise - say, like a chef who challenges him- or herself to make a meal out of a few random ingredients - a good exercise for the person trying to practice their craft, but not art, per se.
When I hear this type of ambient classical piece re-interpreted with a current rhythm track and a lead instrument voice exactly the opposite of what the melody call for - a soft timbre, an articulate but gentle attack on the notes, etc. - again, it is an interesting technical exercise, but not much more and it certainly rejects some of the fundamental intentions of the piece as it was written.
I know - this is all indulgent critic-speak, (“dude, can’t you just say he played some mean guitar and be done with it?”) but when I first saw it, I was immediately hit with “oh - yuck” and am using this post to try to figure out why I had that impression…
My $.02
I’ve been composing for nearly 30 years and never dreamed you could do that with a Ukelele – wow! really, just Wow!
- a huge 1 - that guy is amazing - his tasteful, articulate voicings and intricate fingerwork puts the other interpretation to shame.
That is pretty much it. Ususally when playing arpeggios you pick each individual note. When you sweep you just drag the pick up or down across the strings. You also use hammer ons and pull offs when sweeping. I learned to sweep pick fairly well in about a week. I still have problems alternate picking some arpeggios and have been doing that for years. IMHO, sweeping is not as clean as picking.
Here is an example of some serious arpeggio work by a guy who picks every note. Watch his pick hand. If you watch carefully you will also notice that on top of picking he is changing pickups and the volume while picking all that stuff. There are some mistakes, but I’ve seen him pull it off perfectly live. Heck, I saw him at a clinic and he nailed very note on that piece about 5 feet in front of me.
Slee
Definitely the superior of the two. Not only is he doing something difficult for solo work on any instrument, he’s doing it on a ukulele, signficantly limited by fewer strings and fewer frets (though the musician’s uke clearly has upwards of 18-20 frets on it), is absolutely astounding.
I’ve made up an arrangement for classical guitar of P.'s Canon, which is actually not too tough to play, given it’s in D, highly repetitive in its progression, with no changes in tempo and no weird chords or chromatic runs that throw hacks like me off. A lot of the melody fits in comfortably while fingering the harmonies, and though my bass line is pretty lame, it works.
I’m annoyed to say giving it the Satriani treatment never even occurred to me. That looks like fun.
Obivously the OP guy is really good (certainly better’n’me); obviously Jake Shimabukuro is much better. A discussion on the nature of virtuosity could probably invite GD-level argument, but the guy in the OP is certainly at the lower end of it.
I hate to be picking nits and indulge in critic-speak (like WordMan) but let me explain why the guy in the OP doesn’t get any love from guitar players.
- There are obvious technical short-cuts at play. The sweeping is pretty obvious. I would add tapping, the numerous hammer-on/pull-off runs, and artificial and forced harmonics. I guess it is kind of a congruence of factors in metal and speedmetal – the distortion and highly compressed guitar sound of metal allows tapping, harmonics, and hammer-on/pull-offs, and metal players have taken advantage of it, making it “their sound.” As others have mentioned, these techniques are not particularly complicated. For instance, the blistering Kirk Hammett solo in “One.” I learned the fast bit, which is tapped out, after I had been playing guitar for 6 months.
So for most guitar players who watch that, they say, yeah the guy has chops and is good. But they can imagine themselves, with a bit of practice or maybe only a hair more talent, pulling the same thing off. Jake Shimabukuro, Charlie Hunter, Jimi, John McLaughlin, some of those guys – nah, it is like they are on a whole other planet.
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There are a few mistakes. Nothing serious, but certainly marks out the amateur. Besides the obvious one pointed out above, I would say it also sounded like he was tuned a little flat the whole time.
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I found it “cute” because it was so opposite the original piece, in the nature of the Gourds doing “Gin n Juice” or Pat Boone singing “Crazy Train.” But it certainly lacked the artistry that a true virtuoso would add…
Any way, my two cents.
Hah. We had opposite reactions, here. My thought was “well he’s clearly talented… too bad it sounds like ass” whereas usually I love Pachabel’s Canon.
I just am not that into the whole screechy electric guitar thing.
As I understood it, the version on the white album was done by Eric Clapton. It hear how George played it, you have to get the anthology album
Sorry, you misunderstood me - I was referring to the guitarist’s interpretation of Pachelbel…
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My (7-year-old) daughter was looking over my shoulder while I was watching some of the lick links here. She said “only boys can play guitar.” I’m not finding any instances of women playing–could somebody find such an example for me? Thanks!
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Try Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi and Nancy Wilson of Heart for starters.
I like the version done by the Japanese guy better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxV4CFJM4vw&search=pachelbel%20canon
Add Deborah Coleman, too.
There are plenty of women guitar players in my collection–I need videos to convince a 7-year-old that it actually IS a woman playing. 
And to return to the discussion, another entry in the Pachabel’s Canon sweepstakes.
I’ve never seen anything like that technique. How does he get any volume out of the guitar without picking or strumming?
Hey, those are honey bees, not bumble bees…