Paul Gilbert playing Bach

Paul Gilbert at Guitar Center in Kansas City 7/18/2010

[gtrman]

Fun Fact: Bach intended for this to be played on electric guitar but because it wasn't invented yet he figured someone would get to it later on.

[ForViewingOnly]

VERY hard to play like this. There is no letting up in the constant stream of notes, no chance to rest, think or even breath! Respect to Paul Gilbert.

[James-]

Every classical guitar teacher: "Would you like to put the pick away and play it correctly now?"

[raindropcleaners]

Once you hear this, there's no going bach.

[SirhanAbraqi]

Perfect playing. Well balanced tone, the tempo is just nice, controlled fingering. And try to be human, he throws in some 'mistake' just to make us mortal feel better.

[parkerlarose]

“I never get this right”
*proceeds to play it perfectly*

[EvaSlash]

look up in youtube "J. S. Bach: Partita in d minor, 4. (Itzhak Perlman)" ..that is what he is playing

[luizh.m.]

OMG, Bach is not from this world. If a great guitar player like Mr. Gilbert decides to record a CD with 60 minuts of Bach transcriptions, this will be the best guitar instrumental of all time.

[markus]

It's refreshing to hear Bach played on an electric guitar: it's so rich in melody and creativity instead of just another pentatonic sequence or run.

[peters]

Holy crap!..it's videos like this that make me want to give up guitar playing altogether. He's got perfect timing, and amazing fluidity. He's a freakin genius.

[dhika]

he nailed all the notes nice and clear in clean channel

[jonathansera]

yessss, my favourite movement from the Violin Partita in D minor!! I tried to learn this for classical guitar 2 years ago, I gave up halfway because it requires so much endurance and memorization. Crazy piece.

[dierotewand]

wow there's an actual guitarist at guitar center.

[hollymccormick]

amazing been sitting here wrapping presents and listening to him ...awesome performance

[ohmzen]

Paul is great! But what I find AMAZING is, how did BACH write one note melodies with NO bass and NO Chords behind it.. Yet..it STILL sounds like Angels are singing? Bach FTW!!

[mantlepicture]

Exactly. People don't seem to realize that those "masters" often spend YEARS focusing on classical guitar specifically, and playing these pieces HUNDREDS of times. Paul, on the other hand, is a metal player. Metal is equally demanding, but it's a completely different approach. So the fact that he is still able to do both genres with such a high level of skill. Paul is a true guitar nerd, and he definitely earned his props. People just look insecure when they trash him, frankly.

[arturoalvarez_music]

God, I love Bach and I'm thankful with the people who plays his work.

[Halen]

The thing that amazes me about Paul, is his memorization and knowledge of so many pieces of music. It seems like he can just recall a song at a moment's notice and play it well. It's obvious that this piece is not something he's sat down and rehearsed hundreds of times before this performance, yet he pulls it off, and you can see him actually feel the music as he plays it. This is why I think those who dismiss this performance and try to give us examples of a "real master of bach" are silly.

[robonez]

BRILLIANT ! ! ! Paul Gilbert is an amazing player, and always seems to be able to balance the shred, soul and melody perfectly! \m/

[Tailfin]

I'm not a metal fan per se, but I am a huge Paul Gilbert fan and admirer. Ferocious chops, incredibly musical, awesome sense of humor, and amazing generosity of spirit in the way he shares knowledge. I love watching his youtube clips!