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From: Sam S.

Well Sam I should be able to help and get you started off on the right foot at least.

I'm not sure of your current skill level and what you do or do not know. So to make sure I leave nothing out for you or anyone else out there we'll start with:

• Distortion: Every great metal band and metal guitarist owe a lot to some great crunchy distortion. I recommend a good distortion pedal ( such as the DOD Death Metal Pedal) if your amp's distortion/overdrive (if it has any) is a little too warm and fuzzy for your liking. Click HERE for more about distortion and effects pedals.

• Power Chords: Easy to play but in metal more often than not it's how fast, how loud and how distorted can we get. As a guitar instructor, however, I feel I need to say a few words that'll hopefully help you not get the sh*t kicked out of you by deafened, ear-raped , drunken band members at your next gig/jam session. It pains me to hear nothing but a loud brick wall of distortion that covers everything in it's wake (i.e. everyone else in the band/jam session). It makes my ears puke. Plus it just ruins the song. Good Idea: Be loud, be raunchy, just use common sense. Because despite what you've been told, there is such a thing as too much distortion ( but it is fun to see just how much damage you can cause to those celestion 12's). Click HERE to learn power chords.

• Palm Muting: You wouldn't get very far in the world of metal without this little black-pearl of knowledge. When it comes to metal/hard rock palm muting is almost always a must. For those of you unsure of what this is: Palm muting is a technique of muting the strings while you play/pick them thus creating (when distortion is used) a very crunchy low-end sound. Click HERE for more on Palm Muting.

• The Minor Pentatonic Scale: A staple in metal soloing the pentatonic scale is a very popular scale widely used in many musical styles including hard rock/metal. This 5 note scale (penta = 5) can be very effective in producing some full-on bawls-out solos. If you haven't already, I recommend getting familiar with this scale as it is very effective in virtually all musical styles. Keep in mind, the pentatonic scales are merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to soloing. To check out the minor pentatonic scale click HERE.

• Harmonics: Ever wonder how you can make your guitar "squeal" like Zakk Wylde, Steve Vai and most any other metal guitarist. Click HERE to learn more about harmonics and how to play them.

• Alternate Picking: For true speed and precision alternate picking is a MUST. It doesn't matter if you're into country or speed metal (although in metal it is almost a necessity) alternate picking will make all of the difference in the world when it comes to your guitar playing. Click HERE to jump to the lesson for alternate picking.

• Sweep Picking: Want a flurry of notes to give you that fast adrenaline pumping effect in your solos. Click HERE to check out the basic technique of sweep picking.

• Sweep Arpeggios: Arpeggios are simply playing the notes of a chord individually instead of strumming them all at once. Now, you can technically play an arpeggio by individually playing each note of a chord you already know, however, to get a better tonal quality - arpeggios (at least when it comes to rock/metal solos) are generally played a little differently because most notes in a chord are too close in tone to sound good. Check out the sweep arpeggios HERE.

This should get you well on your way to some head-bangin', mosh-forming music. But, if you need to feed your "appetite for destruction" even further and want to "drag the water some more" click HERE and check out a lesson that covers many aspects of music theory that will, at the very least, open up the doorway to endless possibilities that you may have never known existed.

Well Sam, I really hope this lesson helps you out. I am truly here to help any fellow guitarists who are in need. So if you or anyone else out there need anything more, please feel free to request a lesson or just ask a question that you can't seem to find an answer too by going HERE.

Until Next Time.

JM Brown - instructor/site admin

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