Hello Beginning Metal Heads or novice Metal Heads looking for missed ideas and techniques. This is a lesson not to show you riffs and licks to play but how to make your own easier (but some TABS will be in this lesson). Also this may be a little short but I'm trying to make it short and sweet lets get started.
Ok, First things first you will need a decent amp, guitar, and some effect pedals for better sound. In order to get the most out of your playing make sure your volume on you amp is somewhat loud in order to keep the sustain that you will need. Make sure your volume on your guitar is at or close to max. P.S sorry for grammar and spelling I know there is some.
I'm going to start with some of my favorite band's material to play PanterA. If you don't like them this lesson will probably show you some stuff you didn't know about them and their playing style.
Dimebag Darrell Guitarist for pantera (you would be suprised how many people do not know that) He included a style that is common now and makes playing Metal a whole lot easier. He tuned his guitar usually dropped in some sort of way. Which basically means he took the low E string and tuned it down a whole step <-- One Note Lower Than Usual--> Which makes playing power cords<-- A chord consisting of two or three notes notes --> a whole lot easier.
The string notes being D-A-D-G-B-E. Or dropped C which all the notes except the low E string are dropped one whole step remember <--note--> very common term in music. And the low E string dropped 2 whole steps. The string notes being C-G-C-F-A-D
The good thing about dropped D and C is that you can use your index finger and press and hold the first 4 strings or just the wound bass strings I usually do the 4 strings because it sounds better and I have freakishly long mutant fingers.
--------1--------1------1-----1-----1-----1---------------------------------
--------1--------1------1-----1-----1-----1---------------------------------
--------1---__---1------1-----1-----1-----1---------------------------------
--------1--1--1--1------1-----1-----1-----1---------------------------------
--------1--1--1--1------1-----1-----1-----1---------------------------------
--------1--1--1--1------1-----1-----1-----1---------------------------------
^index finger layed across the strings
^5th fret
^4th fret
^3rd fret
^2nd fret
^1st fretFinally here is a tab
"A New Level" *P.M <--palm mute means to take the fatty meat part of your palm and rest it near the bridge of your guitar.
-------------------------------[--]-----------[--]-----(---)--1 ]
-------------------------------[--]-----------[--]-----(---)--l ]< bridge
-------------------------------[--]-----------[--]-----(---)--l ]where the
-------------------------------[--]-----------[--]-----(---)--l ]strings lay
-------------------------------[--]-----------[--]-----(---)--l ]across and
-------------------------------[--]-----------[--]-----(---)--l ]meet the guitar
^
Meat part of
^ ^ palm
Mid pickup Treble or high pickupThat is a basic illustration of palm muting sorry, hard to draw using symbols
------------------------------------------------}
------------------------------------------------} TEMPO 72 BPM Beats per
------------------------------------------------}minute
------------------------------------------------}
--0--1--2--0--1--2--3--0--1--2--3--4--6--6--6--6}
--0--1--2--0--1--2--3--0--1--2--3--4--6--6--6--6}
What I like about this song it's cool to play real loud and it's simple to play it only involves 6 frets very comfortable reach for a beginner. So try it and see you might need to check out the video on Youtube A new level by pantera not to see what there doing but that will help but to get the rhythm right. Also check out the covers and any song you get the tab for it will help you get the rythmn right and see how they done it plus the usually focus the camera on the neck which shows you in real time how to play and what to do on the songs.
But you don't have to use the one finger style while in dropped D. Like this for example.
I'm Broken by PanterA <-- probably the coolest Pantera song ever!
------------------------------------- x4 play four times
------------------------------------- if you are wondering the H's stand for
------------------------------------- Hammer on and the P's stand for pull
------------------------------------- A hammer on is when you play a note
------------------------------------- and the quickly but powerfully press
-3h5-3h5-3p0---------0--------------- down and pull off the string A pull
--------------5p3p0--0--------------- is done by when playing a certain part of a song you hold the note and the proceeding note(s) and lift each finger quickly with only picking the string once. Kinda like playing a diagonal part in Guitar Hero ya know where you hold two buttons and release the other finger to make the other note play when there close together same technique but no buttons or strum bar.
Yes there is more to the song but it may be to complicated for some players.
After you get the grasp of this style make your own riffs like start out at the 2nd fret and strum the 3rd a couple times then go to the 5th fret strum that once and that's a simple riff out of my head without picking up my guitar their are many rhythmn patterns in this style but I use this one most commonly 11122244444444 this means I strum the 1st fret 3times the 2nd fret 3times as well the first and strum the 4th fret 8 times because I'm so dangerous like that. But as you progress you can use that and many of your own styles and rythmn patterns.
The drop C style is the same but different tuning note if you tune down whole steps and half steps <-- half of a note A# or Bb -->
Another way is in standard tunning but in power cords remember ( a chord consisting of two or three notes )
like this riff by Dio
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
----5-------5-------5-7-8--5-------5--------8-----3-------------
----3-3-3-3-5-3-3-3-5-5-6--3-3-3-3-3--3-3-3-6-----1-------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
This is all just down strokes and is another simple riff that is a little faster but you will get it.
This power chord style is used alot in metal like Mother by Danzid Paranoid By Sabbath As well as Iron Man Iron Maiden used power chords in a gallop pattern which is sorta like doing the rhythmn pattern above but keeping only one rhythmn pattern and applying it to more then 1 power chord like
--------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-----5-5-5-5-5-5-5----
---5-5-5-5-5-5-5-----3-3-3-3-3-3-3----
--------------------------------------
Something like this try it if you wont too.
Tips/Advice
I'm no seasoned player that has been playing guitar for 15 years but I know some helpful tips advice and products...
'First thing Tone Chem-pak makes this product called finger ease it shouldn't be much maybe around $5.00 U.S price but you apply it to your fretboard and it slickins the strings allowing you to play faster without much drag noise of pain when making chords and it does not ruin your guitar it actually helps protect the fretboard.
'Another thing is baby powder I use it for my fingers because wherever I'm playing it's not always air conditioned to the temperature I like it and my fingers sweat and sweat easily rust strings except treated strings like Elixir and Cleartone. It doesnt't get all over my guitar either I just put some in my right hand and dip my fingers in the pile and then rub them together to coat it evenly to prevent sweat because honestly who wants to pay 10.00 reguarly to solve a problem that can be easily fixed
'Get a rag or cut up old t-shirts and use them as a rag to wipe your strings down after playing even with powder and a air conditioned room some sweat will still get on the strings and eventually turn them a rough blackish color and makes them really really fragile.
'Get a string winder! It's obvious what it does but some do not know how to use it. What I do is a put about a inch and a half or 4 centimeters of slack in the string and then cut the excess off. Then with slack still present use your hand to crimp the string and the wind it to it's somewhat tight but don't power turn it or it will break and you will be very very upset because more than likely you just got back and didn't get a 2nd pack trust me it sucks. But this will keep the string from coming out the hole and slipping which I've done numerous times.
'Get a 2nd pair of strings. I use DR titefights 11-52 which are a heavy set for a great metal sound and I recommend them greatly their better then the Ernie Ball strings if you have used them but I only recommend this to caloused fingered players only you know the hard tipped fingers like take your opposite hand and push the tip top of it down it should sink then push you other hands fingers you playing hand that is and push atleast your index and middle finger and they shouldn't go down very far and feel a lot harder then the other fingers. But what I use to do before I learned all this I would buy Ernie Ball 9-42 I believe the pink pack when I played for the first 4months and the the 10-46 string set the yellow green pack after about 10 months then I got the Dr strings and I'm stopping here I love them their excellent for my style. But like I said I got the ernie strings and the bout a cheap pack of ghs strings or Paul Reed Smith and got them for short cutting a string or premature breakage. But here is the trick put them in the freezer why you ask it elimnates air exposure a little bit and it alters the sound a little bit and makes them last longer just a little bit but the play so much better try it you will feel and hear the difference.
'Change different picks and strings like the story above that's how I find out about the dr don't be afraid to you might find something better. I also stared using tortise shell celluloid Fender medium picks. But I got a pack of Dunlop Tortex.73 medium the yellow and the worked 120% better then the fender picks do a experiment get a regular celluloid tortise shell pick and a tortex and do a pick scrape by holding the pick horiziontly and draging it or "raking" sometimes called a pick rake across the strings towards the headstock and feel the edge the when I did it my fender pick looke like this ~~~~ and the tortex was (""") smooth.a thick pick a.73 is the basic, is used for speed picking better known as tremolo picking and alternate picking which both are rapidly moving the pick up and down on one string. The red orange .60 tortex is used for power chords and basic rock playing. The dark red .50 tortex is good for chord and acoustic playing.
This is all I have to say I hope you liked the lesson this is my first lesson so don't be to hard, But give me suggestions on to make better lessons in the future and give me a topic or two you would like to be covered or better explained and I will do my best. Thanks
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