It’s always interesting hearing a classic song played on instruments you’d not normally associate with the source material. We’ve had AC/DC on bagpipes and cello and banjo, Slayer by an orchestra, Iron Maiden on the harp…
Now we have Metallica on the guzheng. Which many of you won’t have heard of, but may have seen or heard in films. It’s a Chinese instrument (also used in Vietnam), often played whilst seated and by plucking its many strings. Imagine a harp lying on the floor, or someone opening a grand piano up and taking a handful of banjo picks to the strings. Kinda.
Anyway, one Michelle Kwan from Canada takes requests on her YouTube channel (specifically via these instructions) and one she leapt to have a go at was Metallica’s “One”. With that clean-picked intro, it lends itself well to something like the guzheng, though Michelle’s gone that extra step and used effects pedals to crank stuff up for the faster-paced section towards the end!
