To be fair, the influence of classical music in rock guitar is nothing new, and is certainly not an artifact of the shred movement. Genesis, King Crimson, and The Beatles were lifting licks from Bach and the boys as early as the 1960’s and, as rock styles proliferated, so did the classical influence. Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Yes, and many others either cut LPs with full orchestral accompaniment, or paid homage to the masters in other ways. Alice Cooper got in on the act by adding the touch to tunes like Only Women Bleed and Desperado. The fever even spread to Discotheque one-hit-wonders like Walter Murphy, with his ridiculous version of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony.

All of this was well and good, but not until 1984, and the rise of Yngwie Malmsteen, did true romantic style virtuosity hit pay dirt in the world of rock guitar. Yngwie Malmsteen was Nicola Paganini, but on electric guitar. His astounding abilities immediately changed the course of lead guitar history. Since Yngwie’s bold entrance, many have perused similar goals, studying baroque, classical, and romantic scores in search of worthy shred vehicles. Though scraps of tunes from Beethoven, Bach, Paganini, Holst, and others have surfaced, one composition above all others is chosen by shredders time and again: Rimsky Korsakov’s famed tone poem, The Flight of the Bumble Bee. Paganini’s Caprice #5 deserves an honorable mention as a close second.

The Flight of the Bumble Bee is a largely chromatic composition which magically conjures the image of the insect in dizzying flight. Its implied harmony is a bit like an A minor blues, with a few twists, such as throwing in an augmented or diminished triad here and there. Due to its chromatic flavor, the main melody is easily quotable, and can be superimposed over just about anything. Try it over Johnny B. Goode for kicks! To learn the entire song, unlike many mere dabblers, requires patience and determination. It spans the bulk of the fretboard and presents a range of intriguing fingering possibilities. Maximum speed is achieved by keeping large chunks of it on one string at a time. To get the whirring sound, which is reminiscent of the bumblebee’s wings, will take lots of patient metronomeing.

Some versions of The Flight of the Bumble Bee to check out include:

• Manowar Kings of Metal 1988
• John Petrucci Once in a Livetime 1988
• Nuno Bettencourt Pornograffitti 1990
• Jennifer Batten Above Below and Beyond 1992
• Tobias Hurwitz The Way of Zen Guitar 2004

If you search, you’ll find too many versions to keep track of, and on guitar9records.com alone, there are quite a few more!