Hi everyone! I debated where to put this. It didn't seem like the woodshedding forum was the right place, and since it's directly related to my song writing I figured I would just ask here.

What is the fastest reasonable tempo to expect a guitarist to play 16th note runs? My song is at 155 bpm and I know a pianist or violinist could play them that fast. I'd never expect a bass to be anything but muddy at that speed, but I have no idea about a guitar. Is it reasonable to expect 16ths out of a guitarist's fingers any faster than 120 bpm? Will the guitar strings support anything faster, or will they get muddy like a bass would?

The MIDI I brought into my song plays the notes clean, sharp, and distinct--but a computer can do a lot of things human fingers cannot. I suspect that maybe a lot of these notes might be bends and slides in the hands of a real guitar player, but there was no way to actually write that into my notation software.

I really appreciate your input on this. It's kinda tough, writing for instruments I don't know how to play.


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