Marty Friedman

Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962 in Washington, D.C.) has become recognized worldwide as a guitarist and composer of consummate skill and a style of playing that is instantly recognizable as uniquely his. Marty is a self-taught guitar

Marty Friedman (born December 8, 1962 in Washington, D.C.) has become recognized worldwide as a guitarist and composer of consummate skill and a style of playing that is instantly recognizable as uniquely his. Marty is a self-taught guitarist famous for his natural improvisation abilities and for pioneering the fusion of exotic Eastern musical scales with Western musical styles such as neo-classical, thrash metal and later on into rock, pop, jazz, metal and anything inbetween. Going beyond traditional scales, Marty often arpeggiates the chords he is playing over. His technique is unorthodox, his bends are very distinctive, and his vibrato techniques are rated among the best in the business.

He was the lead guitarist for the thrash metal band Megadeth for a period of eleven years (1989-2000). During this period, perhaps its most successful, Megadeth released a string of gold and platinum albums. At the same time, Megadeth's musical style became less Thrash, and more melodic, which many attribute primarily to Marty's creative influence.