Guitar: Metal: An Open Learning Guide

Metal is a genre of music that stemmed from rock in the late 70's. Today, there are many sub-genres of heavy metal that share similarities and differences. Guitars in heavy metal are almost always distorted and are often downtuned.

A major element of heavy metal is the use of power chords. Standard tuning of a guitar is (from the thickest string to the thinnest) E,A,D,G,b,e Power chords in this tuning can be performed as follows:

e|----------------| A power chord consists of a root note, its higher octave, and the lower note's fifth.

Not always, however, does a power chord have to have an octave. It may be simply the root and fifth.

In dropped tunings, such as dropped D (D,A,D,G,b,e), power chords are more easily played by lowering the bottom (thickest) string two semi-tones. In dropped D, this note is a D. The same riff, transposed and played in dropped D follows:

Playing in this tuning makes it possible to use only one finger to fret all three strings, allowing faster and more complex riffing.

Also, in metal, palm muting plays a large role, although it is also used in other genres. Palm muting is placing the side of your palm, while playing, close to or on the bridge, and lightly muting the strings. This, combined with heavy distortion, creates a thick, "chug" sound. Just one example of this occurs in DevilDriver's "I Dreamed I Died."

Used in lots of kinds of metal, but more in death metal or extreme metal, pinch harmonics create a "screaming" or "squealing" sound. They are sometimes referred to as "Squealies," and mostly are played on the higher strings of the guitar. To perform a pinch harmonic usually requires the use of a plectrum, or pick. The technique involves holding the pick between the thumb and index, lower on the thumb than normal. By doing this, the bottom of the thumb is closer to the strings, and when a note is hit, the thumb should barely touch the vibrating string.

D|3-2-3-2-3-2-3*--| Often, pinch harmonics are shown by placing an asterisk next to the note that is a harmonic.

e|--------------------------------| Remember to start slowly and build up speed once you understand the riff.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Guitar/Metal by Wikibooks contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. This adapted text is shared under the same licence. Contributor history.