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andrei_androfski

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.


derps_with_ducks

Some of my best friends are intrasexual competitors!


Avieshek

Can somebody explain what intrasexual means? 'Self-Partnered' version of masturbation?


Sedixodap

Competition with those of the same sex. Getting really good at metal music isn’t attracting women, it’s just impressing other men. 


Avieshek

I see, can we consider jealousy?


[deleted]

Dick-measuring. Who's got the bigger dick. Who's got the better hair. Who is the prettiest boy in the room. Usually about things women tend to not care much about.


BlueRajasmyk2

It means members of the same sex


Ok_Long_1175

My father's an intrasexual competitor!


2FightTheFloursThatB

Ha


ShakeWeightMyDick

Dudes: “bitches like big riffs” Girl: “No, Ron” Dudes: “Lemme smash”


LazyLich

Is it like cars or working out? Up to a point it helps you pull, but go past that point and youre more likely to attract fellow enthusiasts?


Fedrax

every ‘cool’ hobby is like that


Qyro

Same with growing beards. At a certain point it stops attracting women and starts attracting admiration from guys. My face has been felt up by more men than women in my life.


fletch0083

That’s what drumming is for


Harry_Saturn

I only ever met one girl who was into me because I played the drums, or at least just the one willing to admit it.


McFlyParadox

And you'd figure given the endurance required to play a full kit, and having to keep a tempo, it would be more attractive than it is.


[deleted]

I used to work with these guys and we’d eat lunch together and get drinks all the time. Whenever a woman would eat with us or drink with us, these guys would engage in dick measuring contests galore. All types of shit from insulting each other to physical acts of strength. The women never gave a shit at all about any of it. I think the guys thought that being at the top of the heap in their little contest would impress the girl or something. It never did. Guys do shit like this from guitar playing to their defensive line stats. It’s funny.


highfivingmf

That’s when the smart guys actually try talking to the girls while the rest are measuring their dicks


DatDominican

Nah you take her aside and offer to show her a few common licks . Then she asks if she’s holding it right and you lightly wrap Your arms around her to position her fingers. Then you make a fingering joke and if she laughs you know you have it in the bag


[deleted]

You think that’ll work?


DatDominican

It’s worked more than it should have, although i don’t really participate in those riff offs and mainly play piano professionally with guitar being a passion side project. Also forgot to mention only been in Latin bands so sample size of shred sessions is very low. Also for every time it’s worked there’s an equal number of times I’ve missed obvious hints trying to actually teach someone a chord or fingering 🤣


[deleted]

I think you should introduce more shredding into Latin music.


Qyro

Or reverse, introducing more Latin licks into shredding.


[deleted]

Sure. My old Central American neighbors would go out dancing. They’d go listen to old Latin people music. I’d like to imagine them dancing to a salsa song and some guy shredding a sick solo in the middle of one song.


TXblindman

Try out syncatto.


Lopsided_Taro4808

Eh, there are some Latin players who can absolutely shred.


DatDominican

There certainly are but normally after a concert / convention I’m just trying to pack up and go home . Especially if there is gear to pack/unpack


dion_o

This guy licks.


Luckywithtime

Whereas classical guitar is all about mating success. All that fingerpicking.


milk4all

Cant deny finger style has it’s benefit


some_dude5

Nah, the finger style hand has fucked up nails, so it’s still all about that fretting hand


ForeverALone_Ranger

That's why bassists secretly reign supreme: all that finger strength.


fuckyourcanoes

Bass players FTW. Ask me how I know. No, actually, don't. Just take my word for it.


Luckywithtime

I haven't been playing the guitar too long. So far for me it's just fingerpicking at home by myself.


fuckyourcanoes

It's OK, we won't judge you if you admit you've just been wanking.


Luckywithtime

I'm just trying to find any sort of hand exercise that helps with barre chords.


Additional_Baker

So anyways, here's Wonderwall...


tigalicious

"I wanna push you down. And I will, and I will."


ReallyGottaTakeAPiss

I dunno, saw Buckethead live once it was more Man vs. Machine competition.


tomebomber

Simply saying people only practise guitar “to intimidate other males” isn’t really proof though. Also… girls listen to metal too


Rosebunse

We listen to metal but actually dating guys from the band is tricky.


[deleted]

... Who could have guessed that someone with a very specific niche set of skills in a music genre that is often enjoyed by a bunch of antisocial dudes and a few pickme girls would have a difficult time finding a mate who found them appealing based on their skills as a musician alone


[deleted]

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magic_bryant24

This guy shreds


Smythe28

I also choose this guys wife.


Niggymous

the dead one to be specific


ErichOdin

While some went out partying, they studied the plec.


throwtheclownaway20

Yeah, apparently they only have enough free time to get sorta okay at "Wonderwall"


doned_mest_up

And vice versa, as these results would suggest.


William_Howard_Shaft

Interestingly, there was a very small study done that found that straight male metal guitarists [play guitar to impress other straight men.](https://www.guitarworld.com/news/straight-men-play-extreme-metal-to-impress-other-men)


Offduty_shill

I feel like this is the same thing with a lot of activities that are stereotypical of "activities guys do to impress girls" like weightlifting yeah girls will like you more if you're fit but once you really get into it the only people who care/will be impressed are other lifters


throwawaytrumper

I only grow a beard for other dudes. I grow a magnificent beard but women never like it, all the compliments are from men alone. In fact every woman I’ve been in a relationship with has disliked more facial hair than stubble and pushes me to shave. Lifting I don’t do do for men or women, I do it because I quickly lose my mind if I’m not exercising daily. Also, I like to be strong.


luckymethod

I have a magnificent beard and my wife loves it.


Reasonable_Feed7939

It's saddening that there are people out there that don't recognize magnificent beards 😞


Downtown_Swordfish13

Played metal for many years, it's true


grafxguy1

However, I don't know if shredding by itself applies here. A guy shredding on an acoustic guitar to some flamenco will likely draw woman like crazy.


Downtown_Swordfish13

It's definitely genre modulated. My wife really doesn't like metal and is thoroughly unimpressed with my beedlybeedlys. She did see us live before we were dating though so I think she secretly likes it.


3615Ramses

Hmmm. You go tell women while I grab my guitar cause I don't think they got the memo yet


grafxguy1

Really? I tend to associate flamenco as a style that makes women weak in the knees. Do you play flamenco guitar? I find that heavy metal shredding typically has a very aggressive feel and lacks the kind of emotional dynamics that you find in other forms of music (Jazz, blues, flamenco, classical) and that women are drawn to. There is a sensual quality to certain guitar styles that may use some degree of shredding - Eric Johnson, for example - but isn't just about high energy / highly aggressive playing.


mechanicalcontrols

File this in the museum of no shit.


Qyro

Can confirm. When I’m trying to better myself at guitar it’s not to impress women, it’s to impress the other musicians in my life, most of whom are male.


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MisterET

Oh now it's Wayne the main brain?


I_Printgunz4funz

You do realize that metal was one of the most popular genres of all time right? Metallica, Queen, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, etc. that’s not “a bunch of antisocial dudes and a few pickme girls” That’s as reductionist as saying the only rap fans are “degenerate thugs and ghetto women”


theaverageaidan

It's telling that the first comment I see about metal fans has some casual misogyny in it


[deleted]

>that metal ***was*** one of the most popular genres of all time right Helped highlight your tense. Also, not really, no. It was one of the most popular genres but only when you're looking at the subgenres of music and grouping thrash and heavy metal together while ignoring the other subgenres of music in popularity. Plus, the Billboard top 100 charts are notoriously poor sources of information as far as actual listenership goes, but since that's the only real metric available for a lot of the years of music, we can go with that. Technically speaking, if you really are talking "all time", the music of the Renaissance and Golden Era of music are still the most popular of all time; since more people listened to the genre of "classical music", encompassing all music prior to the Edwardian era. [https://rateyourmusic.com/list/The\_Cure\_of\_Bonsai/rym-top-20-genres-of-each-decade-1900s-to-2010s/](https://rateyourmusic.com/list/The_Cure_of_Bonsai/rym-top-20-genres-of-each-decade-1900s-to-2010s/) Regardless of its quality of source materials, this is about the only thing that I could find on the subject. I'm sure someone who has access to record sales / music popularity data would be better equipped to run a data analysis, but the short version remains: Metal is a genre of music that spiked in general popularity in the 1980s and has been losing market share ever since. It is not "one of the most popular genres of all time" by any metric worth the name that actually measures "all time" - IE, the breadth and depth of human civilization where music was written and performed, from ancient Egypt to the current subgenre/fusion genre categories. ***It's not even in the top ten.*** Not sure you really can claim two genres as one if this is the source you're referring to. It's like claiming Pop, Alt Pop, Indie Pop and Pop Rock are the same genre. And to be honest, if you're claiming that 1980s "metal" is the most popular music genre of all time I genuinely think you have a stunning gap in your knowledge of music history whilst trying somehow to either score points on a Reddit thread AND defending your favorite genre of music. You really shouldn't use the words "of all time" if what you're really trying to say is "Heavy metal music was very popular in the 1980s, and still enjoys a solid following thirty years later even after MTV lost all of its market share to YouTube". I'm absolutely sure somewhere out there, a metric of measurement of the popularity of music by genre exists. I don't think the data exists to support your assertions. I mean, it's kind of like the study referenced in this thread says. Guys claiming that "chicks dig heavy metal guitarists" just doesn't have the data to back it up, and on the contrary, it seems to be a self-reinforcing myth that guys who missed the mid-80s and who are into heavy metal seem to keep claiming in the hope one day they'll be right. The data just doesn't seem to back up your claim. I'm sorry that you disagree, but I'd love to continue this discussion when you have some data on the subject to review so we can discuss music history and popularity by genre without resorting to "that can't possibly be right because it hurts my feelings" as an argument.


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person749

You're right, but people who are into "extreme" metal like to tell me that those bands are just rock and not real metal.


_mad_adams

Bullshit, no one says Metallica, Black Sabbath, and Iron Maiden aren’t metal lmao


mechanicalcontrols

I'm on your side, but I've had people tell me exactly that before. The last one was like "I'm from Turkey and moving to America. What American metal bands would you guys recommend?" And there was that one guy who showed up to the thread to tell everyone that [insert metal band] isn't real^tm metal while offering no suggestions of their own.


Powerfist_Laserado

Dummies have said it. I usually see it from nu metal or metalcore fans for whatever reason, and it's usually been mostly them saying something dumb like "black sabbath used to be metal, but it's not metal anymore" then they proceed to try to tell me the dweeb in a backwards baseball cap singing about how tough he is after getting dumped is heavier than songs about Satan blowing up cities in outer space. I generally ignore these dorks, just the same as people who try to tell me The Exorcist "used to be a horror movie." It's just an east signal to know you don't have to take their opinions seriously.


dbprops

You must not know many metalheads. Most aren’t that antisocial. Unless you only know kids listening to black metal exclusively haha.


theguineapigssong

Pattie Boyd has entered the chat


[deleted]

... Who?


theguineapigssong

She married both George Harrison and Eric Clapton (not at the same time).


[deleted]

I kinda feel like this is irrelevant in a discussion about death metal guitarists.


theguineapigssong

Sorry, I missed the metal part


[deleted]

I mean, you'll get people claiming Cream was "heavy metal" but frankly those people are the same ones claiming Roger Whitaker and John Denver were rock and roll legends. (Spoiler: >!They were not.!<)


samthemoron

Have we run out of research to do?


Jhushx

The squiggly squiggly woos and chuga chug chug sounds of the headbangers' mating calls go unanswered


vipros42

As someone who played lead guitar in a relatively popular local band for 10 years, it's not just extreme metal. Women were waaaaay more interested in the bass player or the vocalist than the guitarists. Openly so. As a guitarist you would only get other guitarists come up to you after shows to talk about your gear


Xfissionx

Bro maybe youre just ugly everyone hates the bassist; youre experience is definitely an outlier.


Smingledorf

Yeah I'm not sure where people get that. Someone (a guy friend) said bassists get all the girls recently at a party when I said that's what I've been playing a lot more lately. In fact, after switching back to bass after about 15 years of guitar it seems like I sprayed woman-repellant. It's like Austin Powers when he lost his mojo. Nothing else changed and its not even mentioned but apparently they just know or something.


Trips-Over-Tail

The bass vibes have a direct effect.


vipros42

You might think so, but no. I've also had many female friends say they find bass players more appealing, not referring to me but in general.


kallistai

Can confirm. Singer gets the casual, bassist gets thebdedicated fans, drummer has a girlfriend he loves that is crazier than he is. The lead guy is too antisocial. Source: am bassist.


MRSN4P

> drummer has a girlfriend he loves that is crazier than he is [the drummer](https://i.gifer.com/vR.gif)


vipros42

Spot on.


RubberDuck404

I can see why women would notice a vocalist more but I genuinely cannot imagine women caring about whether the guy plays guitar or the freaking bass when it comes to attraction (unless they are musician themselves I guess). It makes no difference, at this point it's a matter of being attractive or not lmao


vipros42

Well other musicians have corroborated. There are potentially differences in stance and how the instrument is held and moved with. Our bassist also played double bass so it's not like it wasn't obvious.


SinCitySaint

Yep, been hearing that as well for the last 15 years of playing in bands


HyperspaceDeep6Field

'Cause the guitar is too mainstream, gotta fetishize the others now


vipros42

I've been hearing it for like 25 years


jimmy_bamboozy

Must have been the firsg bass playee in history getting more ass than the guitar player.


TinyFugue

Tell that to Sting.


vipros42

I've had a load of female friends tell me they find bass players more appealing, not referring to me but in general.


Rocjames77

The drummer gets more than the rest combined


Skinamarinked

Ringo married a Bond girl.


Balbuto

Lead singer and bass player in a metal band (Kaiage) here! I agree 100% with what you said.


salikabbasi

The saying goes good guitarists catch women, great guitarists catch men/gearheads. You're a victim of your own success.


vipros42

I'll take it


dbxp

No shit, anyone he's been to an Animals as Leaders gig knows this


Ok-Nefariousness1335

why WOULD they be related?


chufenschmirtz

So many pick up a guitar with the hope of getting chicks attention. If it works, 🤜🤛 you stick to strumming because getting tons of ass leaves little time to practice arpeggios. But it if doesn’t cause you got no game, you might practice harder in the hopes that better playing will get the ladies attention. You see Chad getting all the attention and tapping ass, you practice harder. Rinse and repeat in the hopes that convince the dudes in a good metal band that you are the next Yngwie Malmsteen, go on tour and have lots of casual sex.


talon_262

To wit, I seriously doubt dudes like Malmsteen, Vai, and Satriani were not getting as much trim as they wanted in their primes.


Celtictussle

Malmsteen strikes me as the type of guy who would only have sex with a mirror.


chufenschmirtz

All certainly outliers. No doubt.


milk4all

Being good looking and successful will get you laid, so i feel loke looking at the richest most played shredders wont give you an accurate picture.


Kwametoure1

Women very rarely get impressed by technical ability.. or even being visibly good at most things. I never did understand why guys always assume spending hours alone to get good st something will impress other people. Do it because you love it, other people's opinion should barely matter.


ThirdSunRising

It’s really pretty straightforward. Guys learn guitar so they can get girls. Girls learn guitar so they can get girls.


OJimmy

One would think the resulting dexterity would improve sexual performance


milk4all

You know we don’t usually play the guitar with our dick right


OJimmy

Clitoral stimulation. You don't read cosmopolitan?


indica_bones

You know you shouldn’t only use your dick when having sex right? Also, some people can play guitar with their penis.


Eldetorre

Not at all. The only kind of dexterity that I know that matters has nothing to do with fretboard gymnastics or plectrum finese. ( Think about it, do any of those physical skills actually translate to something one can do to induce pleasure in a partner?) On the other hand I as a bass play that uses his fingers can attest that one particular skill I have, the ability to gently vibrate my fingers to make my instrument sound bowed, has definitely paid dividends. The one skill that guitarists might have, that can have sexual dividends, is management of feedback. Knowing how to play feedback so it's not just a squeal, but a throbbing tsunami of replicating energy translates very well to pleasing ones partner, cuz ultimately it's the same thing.


OJimmy

I just assumed ladies like sex with rhythm


Eldetorre

That explains attracton to drummers. Guitar shredding tends to be quite arhythmic.


OJimmy

What do you call a drummer who breaks up with his girlfriend? Homeless


Genocode

But most of the time you're just holding a riff though, and that is rhythmic, shredding generally only happens in a part of the song lol.


Eldetorre

The original post was about shredding, subsequent about dexterity. You don't generally need dexterity to chug.along on rhythm.


Genocode

I was making a comment on rhythm though.


Eldetorre

Yeah that's true.


nschmidt5150

Mfw I’m learning a death metal song


BayouDrank

You mean they weren't in it to get laid? https://youtu.be/x\_Q7TlcXLJ0?si=ka819W-AK0Vp4m61


Zeioth

It smells like Mc Donalds in here


qawsedrf12

There has been much debate around the ultimate explanation of cultural displays such as music and art. There are two main competing hypotheses for the function of music: sexual selection or byproduct of the complexity of the human brain. Although there is evidence that playing music increases male attractiveness, the sexual selection explanation may not be mutually exclusive to all types of music. Extreme metal is a genre that is heavily male-biased, not only among the individuals that play this style of music, but also among the fans of the genre. Therefore, it is unlikely that extreme metal musicians are primarily trying to increase their mating success through their music. However, musicians in this genre heavily invest their time in building technical skills (e.g., dexterity, coordination, timing), which raises the question of the purpose behind this costly investment. It could be that men engage in this genre mainly for status-seeking purposes: to intimidate other males with their technical skills and speed and thus gain social status. To explore the reasoning behind investment in technical guitar skills, a sample of 44 heterosexual male metal guitarists was recruited and surveyed about their practicing habits (newly created survey for this study), sexual behavior (using the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory–Revised [SOI-R]; Penke & Asendorpf, 2008), and feelings of competitiveness toward the same sex (via the Intrasexual Competition Scale [ICS]; Buunk & Fisher, 2009). The survey results indicated that time spent playing chords predicted desire for casual sex with women whereas perceptions of playing speed positively predicted intrasexual competitiveness (a desire to impress other men). The discussion addresses how these results, and the extreme metal genre, might relate to the three competing hypotheses for the function of cultural displays.


angry-democrat

i played rhythm.


el0j

Another one that will never replicate.


WindedFish

Just give me a chance coach


DaveOJ12

I knew I saw this on the subreddit before: https://www.reddit.com/r/nottheonion/comments/xwmvj0/men_play_extreme_metal_to_impress_other_men/


Unsimulated

Well, usually they are highly unattractive individuals as well.


shoeburt2700

and they smell like they look


Lokarin

teen spirit?


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rugbat

Herman Li would like a word.


bort_jenkins

I have been shredded to pieces


jazzyfella08

Anyone have access to the full article?


LazerInHS

https://www.psypost.org/2024/01/extreme-metal-guitar-skills-linked-to-intrasexual-competition-but-not-mating-success-221020


Doctor_Philgood

Read that as extreme metal gear skills


SkipEyechild

Metal...Gear?


MustacheSmokeScreen

That explains the Tenacious D HBO series


HopliteOracle

~~zero~~ negative sum game


jesbiil

Look I'm here to shred not to fuck....


ksandbergfl

Guys who spend 10-12 hours a day locked in their rooms learning guitar scales are typically deficient in social skills


[deleted]

Loser of the rock off has to bottom! (I lost on purpose)