The Marty Friedman Interview (Full Extended Cut)

It's no secret that my favorite guitarist of all time is Marty Friedman - my approach to playing and how I visualize/conceptualize guitar music is nearly entirely down to him and his super unique philosophies towards the instrument.

So I was obviously insanely stoked to finally get a chance with the legend himself and pick his brain about all things guitar, Megadeth, songwriting, soloing, philosophy and even martial arts!

Sit back, relax and enjoy this full 90 min extended cut especially for Guitar School members 🤘

0:00 Intro
1:14 Guess the song #1 (Cacophony - Concerto)
2:06 Thoughts on modern shred music/bands
5:49 Guess the song #2 (Dragon Mistress)
6:03 Bradley gets ROASTED
6:33 Making your own rules (and breaking them)
9:00 Exotic scales
11:45 Guess the song #3 (Megadeth - Rust In Peace...Polaris)
12:54 Marty's unique approach to guitar
17:45 Visualizing the fretboard as chords instead of scales
20:00 Playing what you hear in your head
24:20 Does Marty have perfect pitch?
25:25 Were the Rust In Peace solos cut together?
27:28 Guess the song #4 (Valley Of Eternity)
28:45 What's Marty's process for writing melodies?
33:08 Guess the song #5 (Ripped)
36:28 What are Marty's influences when it comes to fast/technical playing?
38:10 Guess the song #6 (Viper)
42:30 The importance of keeping the Rock'n'Roll spirit in shred music
43:57 Guess the song #6 (Tsume Tsume Tsume)
45:01 Is Marty still excited by Japanese music?
48:35 Guess the song #7 (Meat Hook)
49:23 How does Marty compose instrumentally vs. with a vocalist?
52:51 Guess the song #8 (Dead Of Winter)
53:42 Chord progressions
58:56 How much music theory does Marty know?
1:05:33 Is it better to be a well-rounded player or specialized player?
1:08:08 Has Marty's picking technique ever held him back?
1:10:24 Guitar School Member questions