Shred guitar or shred refers to lead electric guitar playing that relies heavily on fast passages; the act of playing fast passages on an electric guitar is termed ‘shredding’. It is not a musical definition but a fairly subjective cultural term used by guitarists and enthusiasts of guitar music. It is usually used with reference to rock and metal guitar playing, more so due to various other associated techniques (such as whammy bar ‘dive-bombs’ and tapping); however, it is sometimes used with reference to playing outside this idiom, particularly country, jazz fusion and blues.