You might call it virtuosity …
You might call it shredding …
I call it a big turn off.
Why? Because music is not a sport.
It’s meant to sound good, creating in us a pleasurable emotional response.
When music gets too fast, the melody line becomes unintelligible and the harmonies just blur. It becomes an exhibition of skill, not an artistic performance.
So, while I may be jealous of the mechanical skill, I am not jealous of the overall effect.
Just to be clear, music is definitely NOT a sport!
For the record, Pope John XXII issued a Papal Bull in the middle of the 1300s speaking out against depraved compositions that were ‘pestered with notes of small value’. Clearly, he lost that battle.