This 9-year-old kid’s 240bpm sweep picking will probably make you quit guitar forever
Just when we think we’re getting somewhere with our lead playing, along comes Maituo, a nine-year-old Chinese child prodigy who can sweep pick better than most can with a lifetime of practice.
At the time of writing, Maituo boasts 164,000 followers on Instagram – with good reason – where he has been sharing his jaw-dropping guitar skills for the world to see.
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It’s his latest video, though, that has set the internet ablaze. In a clip that boasts well over half a million likes and 10 million plays, Maituo sets himself up with a 4/4 metronome set to 240 bpm, and begins by playing quarter open notes on the low string.
But then come the real fretboard fireworks. He proceeds to launch into a face-melting arpeggiated sweep picking exercise spanning the entire length of the fretboard, composed of, we assess, at least, a string of eighth note triplets. Which at 240 bpm for 15 seconds or so is… You know what, we’re not even going to try and calculate how many notes that is. It’s a lot.
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A post shared by Junxi Lu (@maituoguitarlujunxi)
As you’d probably expect, the clip’s comment section is filled with guitar players lamenting their feeble skills in comparison.
“I’m sorry for living,” writes one. “I’m sorry for ever touching a guitar,” writes another. The video has even attracted the attention of some famous guitarists, including Sebastian Danzig, who simply writes: “I quit.”
“I’ve been playing guitar longer than he’s been alive and he’s 20x more skilled than me… I’ma quit bruh,” says another.
For now, we’re sure Maituo is quite content sharing his enviable guitar chops with the world via social media. But when he’s a little older, we won’t be in the least bit surprised to hear he’s tearing up stages the globe over.
To see more, check out Maituo’s Instagram page.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net