Female Guitar Shredders: The Great Kat, Orianthi, Shredmistress Reynata et al
Ranked #727 in Music, #18,119 overall
Male shredders, rule no more...
Shredding is a term given to describe a style of electric guitar playing that is characterized by speed, aggressiveness and technical precision. Though speed has been in music for generations which saw musicians speed playing and dueling on many instruments, shredding is limited only to playing the electric guitar.
This can be debated but shredding has its roots in the mid '60s when Jimi Hendrix introduced different and extreme, fast paced guitar techniques. This style of playing was pushed further by guitarists Alvin Lee, Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore and Jimmy Page.
More experimenting and development into this new technique by guitarists John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Allan Holdsworth, Robert Fripp and Carlos Santana paved the way for an entire new breed of super-fast guitarists, among which are Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhodes and Yngwei Malmsteen.
Shredding was born and immediately became popular with the newer, younger heavy metal rock fans who hadn't been exposed to this guitar style in the past.
Until recently, shredders, an unofficial term given to guitarists who played with this new style, were all males. But that monopoly ended when female guitarists the likes of Jennifer Batten and Katherine Thomas a.ka. The Great Kat jumped unto the bandwagon. The number of female shredders is small but they have made quite an impact on the music scene.
Here they are - the top female shredders. They are not in ranking order but you get to choose who's the best later.
There may be more out there waiting to be discovered but so far I have only come across these five fantastic females. If you know of any that's not here let me know :) ...and don't forget to vote in the poll.
Happy reading
This can be debated but shredding has its roots in the mid '60s when Jimi Hendrix introduced different and extreme, fast paced guitar techniques. This style of playing was pushed further by guitarists Alvin Lee, Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore and Jimmy Page.
More experimenting and development into this new technique by guitarists John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Allan Holdsworth, Robert Fripp and Carlos Santana paved the way for an entire new breed of super-fast guitarists, among which are Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhodes and Yngwei Malmsteen.
Shredding was born and immediately became popular with the newer, younger heavy metal rock fans who hadn't been exposed to this guitar style in the past.
Until recently, shredders, an unofficial term given to guitarists who played with this new style, were all males. But that monopoly ended when female guitarists the likes of Jennifer Batten and Katherine Thomas a.ka. The Great Kat jumped unto the bandwagon. The number of female shredders is small but they have made quite an impact on the music scene.
Here they are - the top female shredders. They are not in ranking order but you get to choose who's the best later.
There may be more out there waiting to be discovered but so far I have only come across these five fantastic females. If you know of any that's not here let me know :) ...and don't forget to vote in the poll.
Happy reading
Contents at a Glance
Juliette Valduriez
Not much is known (yet) about this young, budding French musician except that her YouTube videos have been linked to in several websites, and her photos are splashed all over the net. In most of her videos she does covers for Ozzy Osbourne, Pink Floyd, The Beatles and Jim Hendrix.She has been featured in several music blogs and is on Facebook. Why not cheek her out?
curated content from YouTube
Jacqueline Mannering
This charming British lass was born on July 4, 1992. She began playing guitar at age 11, starting with the acoustic guitar then moving on to electric. She self-taught herself shredding techniques by listening to heavy metal guitarists and by age 15, she made it to the Top 50 in "Dean Guitars Shredder Search".The following year she began taking guitar lessons at the Guitar Institute in London.
Jacqueline is left handed, however, plays right handed.
She owns several guitars but her favorite is a custom USA candy apple red Fender Stratocaster.
Her new single "Raining" is now available on Amazon and iTunes.
Raining - Jacqueline Mannering
curated content from YouTube
Shredmistress Rynata
Rynata grew up in Duesseldorf, Germany where she learned guitar at the age of 15. Her father was a classical music conductor and violinist. Naturally Rynata followed in his footsteps but later on she decided to go into rock'n roll.After immigrating to the US, Rynata immersed herself in her guitar studies, played in numerous bands across the country, was on two record labels, started her guitar teaching practice, and won two awards for best female guitarist in Los Angeles, California where she now resides.
She was a big part of the San Francisco Metal scene in the 90's, notably with her band Glamazon, that garnered her and the band a solid reputation for massive guitar shredding.
Her music ranges from heavy metal to blues, jazz and rock. Her website says her students come from all over the world.
Her support of all women guitarists led her to found FemMuse, a network dedicated to provide a place for female musicians or woman bands to showcase, share ideas and support each other.
curated content from YouTube
Orianthi
Her music style includes rock, pop rock, blues rock and glam metal, she plays the guitar, drums and piano. She writes songs and sings and of course, she shreds.She has jammed with Santana, opened for Steve Vai and played at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival, and with Carrie Underwood at the Grammys. She was going to be the guitarist for Michael Jackson's This Is It tour. She is Orianthi.
Orianthi Panagaris was born in Adelaide, South Australia. She started learning piano and playing at the age of three, and moving to acoustic guitar at the age of six. She learned to play the acoustic guitar at six, started electric when she was eleven. At the age of 15, she turned her focus to writing songs and so began her professional career.
To know more about her, and find out what this "badass female guitarist" has in mind for the future, visit her official website.
She also gives guitar lessons which you can watch on YouTube.
Click picture to enter Orianthi's Official Website
Jennifer Batten
Rising from the guitar underground in the late 1980's Jennifer Batten is arguably one of the most visible female guitarist on the scene today. Setting her apart from her peers at the beginning of her career was her absolute mastery of the two handed tapping style made popular by Eddie Van Halen. Her outrageous shredding caught the attention of Michael Jackson, who called on her to play Eddie Van Halen's "Beat It" guitar solo on his Bad, Dangerous, and HIStory tours, as well as in his 1993 Super Bowl half-time performance.In 1998 Jennifer was asked by none other than Jeff Beck to join his touring band. She appeared on Beck's latest release "Who Else," contributing song ideas, guitar and guitar synthesizer. As part of Jeff Beck's band she toured Europe, Japan, South America and twice in the United States. In 2010 she recorded a solo for the song "Bad Girls" for a Polish singer Doda.
Find out more about this female shredder with the platinum spike locks on her website.
curated content from YouTube
The Great Kat
And now, the fastest of them all.Of all the female shredders listed here Juilliard-trained violinist the Great Kat is the most mind-bogglingly fast. But that's my personal view.
The Great Kat is the stage name of Katherine Thomas an English-born, New York-raised, musician best known for her thrash metal interpretations of well-known pieces of classical music. Most feature her using the electric guitar, but some have her on violin.
Guitar One magazine listed her as one of the "Top Shredders of All Time", and many media reviews of her work have praised the speed and clarity of her playing. Her classical background, technical skills and self-promotion are sometimes compared to Yngwie Malmsteen. [See Wikipedia]
For mow recent news of The Great Kat visit her official website.
curated content from YouTube
Great stuff on Amazon
Who's the fastest of them all?
Loading poll. Please Wait...
Great Guitar Design T-Shirts
Featured Lenses
More From Amazon
Thank you for visiting. Comments are much appreciated.
-
-
nata86
May 27, 2012 @ 6:54 am | delete
- I like the video clip Orianthi, while playing with steve vai.
nice lens, thanks for share
-
-
-
blongfi520
Mar 21, 2012 @ 10:23 am | delete
- One female guitarist stands out above the rest....Sarah Longfield (misssmiles4u on youtube and facebook). Her guitar performance, song writing skills and production quality make her the next generation of guitar performance. She does it all....no one else is even close...The future is here
-
-
-
non_sequitur
Mar 21, 2012 @ 10:41 am | delete
- Thank you for visiting and for the info. Naturally, over time more and more talents will spring out. Best of luck to Longfield :)
-
-
-
Inkhand
Jan 20, 2012 @ 6:33 pm | delete
- A fascinating lens, I like Orianthi the best.
-
-
-
jadehorseshoe
Nov 27, 2011 @ 8:38 pm | delete
- Ori Forever!
-
- Load More
by non_sequitur
Hi everyone.. I'm new in Squidoo and I'm already enjoying it - with all those great lenses you guys have created. I'm encouraged to make a few of my o... more »
Feeling creative?
Create a Lens!
Explore related pages
- Skull T-shirts n Gifts Skull T-shirts n Gifts
- Top Guitar Songs Top Guitar Songs
- Ultimate Rock Music Poll 2012 Ultimate Rock Music Poll 2012
- How To Play One By Metallica How To Play One By Metallica
- Upcoming Star - Jacqueline Mannering Upcoming Star - Jacqueline Mannering
- VOX MINI3 Modeling Guitar Amplifier VOX MINI3 Modeling Guitar Amplifier
