Video: World's Fastest Guitarist Plays "Flight of the Bumblebee" at 600 BPM

By Damian Fanelli
published

Hey, all. Here's a ridiculous video of guitarist John Taylor of Colorado playing Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" at 600 BPM.

According to RecordSetter.com, it's a new world record.

He starts off at 170 BPM and works his way up to 600 BPM.

"Flight of the Bumblebee" is an orchestral interlude from Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "The Tale of Tsar Saltan," which he wrote in 1899 through 1900. The piece closes Act III, Tableau 1, of course! Thank you, Wikipedia!

People are attempting to break this record all the time. To check the current status of the category, visit RecordSetter's Fastest Guitar Player page.

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Damian Fanelli
Damian Fanelli
Editor-in-Chief, Guitar World

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.