UPDATE: The Guinness Book of World Records no longer judges “fastest musicians” any more.
Officials with Guinness say it has become a controversial category that is too hard to judge because "the quality of music is not good at high speeds."
"We are no longer able to monitor fastest musician records as it has become impossible to judge the quality of the renditions, even when slowed down," Sofía Rocher, public relations coordinator for the Guinness World Records North America. "It is not clear if all notes have been played fully and even musical experts can’t judge the musicality of pieces as they are not intended to be played at such a speed. Because of this, these records now contradict two of our key record assessment criteria as they are no longer measurable or verifiable."
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He was bed ridden for months, but now he could be the world's fastest guitar player and the 14-year-old from Elk Grove is going for the Guinness Book of World Records.
“It’s a dream I have had for a long time,” said Zac David.
David is trying to beat the Guinness book of world records for most notes played in one second. On his latest attempt it appears that he played 41 notes in a second.
His plan is to submit this video to Guinness. If verified by judges he could beat the current record holder Dr. Hot Licks who played 40 notes in one second.
“I really had to work hard because I originally thought the record was 31,” said David.
Zac's fast fingers are somewhat of a phenomenon. About a year ago he fell ill.
“I have an immune disorder.” he said.
He was bed ridden for months. At the time, all he could do was lay on his back and strum a guitar. By the time he recovered he could play 31 notes a second. David sent a video of his record attempt to Guinness last year but it was denied.
"I didn’t really submit things right." said David.
Since then a number of contenders broke the record, but it’s also created a lot of debate among guitar players. It's hard to get a clean count on the number of notes played in one second.
His latest record was recorded by a sound engineer at UC Davis and David will send that to Guinness. Ultimately it is up to the judges to confirm the record.
“Really… I just want to know so it will be over.” said David.
Check out the band he plays in. ZD Gear Headz.