Cracking the Code Episode 4: “Speed Trap” — Eddie Van Halen & Yngwie Malmsteen

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Episode Description:

Over the course of the twentieth century, the wolf DNA of the blues diversified into myriad new forms of musical expression. The essential nature of rock as a vast recombinant conversation became only more apparent as recording media were developed which could capture its subtle evolution for the future.

But modern guitarists, with our rewinding tape decks, still had trouble copping solos note-for-note. The inherent imperfection of deciphering someone else's rapid playing was actually a default source of creativity, as ideas were inadvertently transformed from one ear to the next. So what would happen, then, if you found a way to instantly freeze everything you heard?

[aldoiron]

Troy, you speak the truth.  You break down barriers.  You are cutting edge.  I've never been so absorbed into instruction before in my life.  Thanks 

[dieterschanzer]

Nobel Prize winning stuff...all hail Troy! Fantastic - much appreciated!

[LevitatorMusic]

my problem with slowing things way down and gradually speeding up is always that as I get faster my mechanics start to change, so essentially it's like an entirely different technique.

[tomaslopez]

25k Views? This is so important to watch, it should have 25 million views! Thank you so much for making these, outstanding. Subscribed.

[PrehistoricBeasts]

Brilliantly executed! A marvel to watch!

[sammyp]

You're an animal! you're retracing our steps for how we learned this crazy stuff in the 80s! Brilliant man! 

[TheMedievalBard]

this is so legit i cant believe it only has 52k views

[stephenlwaters]

I feel guilty not having paid to watch this amazing series of videos! Wow! Musical education mixed with entertainment and history from the 80's! This is brilliant my friend... and yes I also learned to play guitar in the 80's but not half as good as you! Bravo.

[shredit_nyc]

Troy, we've met many, many years ago (I'm a personal friend of Josh Levkov). I don't recall exactly how I landed here, but the production quality of these videos are staggeringly good. Kudos for the time spent putting these together and sharing your knowledge. Absolutely sick!

[MrAnyname]

Troy, your series is fantastic! If anything, I think it motivates people to realize that they can do it to, if they are willing to put in the work. Aside, being the same age as you, I actually did things backwards... I had a cheap cassette recorder, upon which I would record  myself playing patterns, and/or lines at a tempo slow enough so that my articulation was perfect. I later discovered that if I held the "play" button down halfway, it would double the playback speed of whatever I had recorded. From there, I learned that "ordinary" patterns sounded great at tempo, and how they combined to create fascinating lines. In essence, the "reward" was revealed to me immediately, because it was,  my own playing after all. Just sped up, lol! I realized that I had  already won half the battle, and it was enough to motivate me to stick with it, and develop the technique, which I still work on today. It never ends, but it's so worth it if that's what you like to do.

[DragisaBoca]

Out of all the the stuff ever to be recorded, your work is what I anticipate the most.
I appreciate the amount of work you put into this so much I wanna cry. 
Please stay true to this, to yourself, and keep delivering. As others in the comment section say, I have no idea how is it even possible you have so little views. 
But I am 150% sure that this will change, because this is quality, this is what we need. 
Keep rocking, and thank you so much! I'll be sure to share it, and keep spreading the vibe!

[espenstoro]

This series is absolute gold! Love the 80's visual aesthetics and shred-ology.

[marksavage]

Had to comment because it's 2018, these videos are still amazing, and they still have so few views. I've been playing for 25 years and within a weekend, these videos have completely changed my playing. Thank you!

[mandiferrer]

Mabuhay from the Philippines!!! ... never before have I encountered such an interesting combination of highly informative & very entertaining video presentation... so relatable. Cheers!!!

[paulmazzola]

There is a zero missing from the number of views on each of these episodes. Or at least there SHOULD be. I've rewatched these several times over the year. Maybe once a year. And I turn on all my students to it (at least those who care enough). This series should play 24/7 at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. It's a genuine historical piece of musical film brilliance.

[x_n_only_jtm_]

And then you learned panama isn't tuned perfectly half-step down

[viruscerbero]

That "giving the right hand a coffee break" part is so funny, man... XD... You are awesome, man... Thank you very much for sharing all of this!

[orbitalchiller]

Damn this series is so creative, thought provoking and inspiring (and cringing as well because i am still a very slow guitarist). Really like the video-games references and the humor. I love this.

[skotrock]

That life-altering moment when you discovered that you could sample fast licks and slow them down- that is the same sort of feeling I had when I discovered your videos and bought the volcano pack. Thanks man!!

[HauteGameFR]

1:56 HAHAHA Good luck for the Beat It Solo :D