lesson: 20

title: heavy metal guitar, lesson i: the basics

level: beginner
style: heavy metal
instructor: kevin marcus

why? when i first bought my guitar, all i wanted to do was play heavy metal
licks, and after playing the intro to enter sandman ten thousand times,
i got sick of my guitar because i didn't know where to go from there! so,
i thought that if there was a compendium that had a list of common
techniques that are used in heavy metal, that maybe it'd be helpful, and
so that is what these should do.

intro: what is heavy metal? that is a really tough question, but to sum it
up in a nutshell, i would say it's pretty fast music that has a lot of harsh
sound to it, often comprised of a few chord formations posed at different
spots on the fretboard.

this lesson should introduce you to some of the more common chords used in
heavy metal guitar. fingers will be referred to by numbers, meaning:

1 = index finger
2 = middle finger
3 = ring finger
4 = pinky (finger)

future lessons will cover techniques used for both common rhythms, and good
ways to break the palm muted open 6th string e sound that most people find
monotonous in heavy metal. maybe some ballad techniques, etc...

power chords: i don't want to get into technical definitions of anything

if it's possible, because:
a) they're usually confusing.
b) someone always wants to argue. that is fine, but argue with someone
else, eh?
c) i am aware three frets are needed for a chord, but that's what it's
called, okay?

the primary chord used in heavy metal is called the "power chord". this is
basically done in the following way:

e --- this chord would be called an "f power chord". this means that the
--- note that you'll hear is an f, but there will be a harsh dragging
--- sound, created by the c (3rd fret, 5th string) added with it.
d --- this basic chord formation can be moved almost anywhere on the
a -3- fretboard to allow for a variety of notes at different octaves to
e -1- be produced. these can be slightly expanded to contain another
string, by placing fretting the 3rd fret on the "d" string, as
illustrated above. this sound is slightly more throaty.

fingering for this chord can be done in two ways. i prefer to use finger 1
at the root of the chord (the lower octave note - the string that will be
deeper sounding), and use finger 3 on the other string. some people
(for example, james hetfield, of metallica) choose to use finger 4. both
have advantages -> the first method leaves your pinky to move to a fret
closer to the body of the guitar, and you can probably go up or down a
string, as well. the second way does not allow this, but instead allows you
to fret notes in between the two up or down strings much easier.
 the root of this formation of chord can be placed anywhere on the top three
strings (strings 4-6). on the two bottom strings, the chord sounds little
odd. (you can't make it on the 1st string!)

try practicing these riffs (if you have the album, then by all means, listen
to the song and try to play it at the same speed!)

(by the way, 'v' means down strummed, '^' means up strummed. down strummed
means the pick strikes these going downward. up strummed is the reverse;
these strings are struck while the pick is moving upwards)

anthrax: milk

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v
e ---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
a -4---5---4-----2--4---5---4-----4---5---4-----2--4---5---7---5-
e -2---3---2-----0--2---3---2-----2---3---2-----0--2---3---5---3-

once you have got that down, try this for a little bit more difficulty.

slayer: face the slayer/metalstorm

sl.
v ^ v ^ v ^ v v v ^ v ^ v ^ v v
e ------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------
--7-7-7-7-7-7/10-10-9-------------------5-
a --5-5-5-5-5-5/8--8--7---5-5-5-5-5-5/7-7-3-
e ------------------------3-3-3-3-3-3/5-5---

inverted power chords: these chords are similar to the aforementioned chord,
except that these chords switch aruond the ordering.

e --- this chord formation is the opposite of the one above (look). this
--- is also not an f; it is a g. (3rd fret, 6th string). i prefer to
--- use the same fingering as above, but, also inverted, meaning finger
--- 3 would go on the higher string, and finger 1 on the string below.
a -1- it is still possible to use finger 4 instead of 3, of course, with
e -3- the same commentary as before.

these chords are not at all as common as the regular power chord. however,
these chords definately offer a break to the power chord sound. it ruffles
the sound quite a bit; it almost doesn't sound like anything except randomly
fretted notes.

i can't think of any riff off the top of my head that is only comprised of
these chords, so here is a quick primer...

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v
e ------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------1--3--1----------------------
----0-----------3--3--5--3--5--3--5--3--3-----------0-
a -1--2--0--1--3--5--5--7-----------7--5--5--3--1--0--2-
e -3-----2--3--5-----------------------------5--3--2----

repeat that, and go progressively faster, of course. these formations are

quite weird, and don't get too used to them, but, once again, they are easy
to use to break away from the regular power chord monotony.

another type of chord, follows this formation, and is very easy to remember:

e --- this chord produces a somewhat deathly sound, and is very throaty.
--- as it looks, it is very simple to create. there are really two ways.
--- the first is to lay finger 1 across the two desired frets, and mute
--- the others. the other way involvs using two fingers; usually 1 and 2.
a -3- this is sometimes better in situations when you might want to chnage
e -3- to another similar chord quickly by moving one of the fingers one fret
in the desired direction (the next formation is one of these...)

this chord is probably more common than the inverted power chord, and is
quite useful for breaking away from that infamous power chord sound.
megadeth seems to use these chords quite a bit. (note: to those with tab
to "the thing that should not be" [metallica/master of puppets], the chords
may be formed this way, but the sixth string is tuned down, so it does not
resonateas if it were this type of chord.) let's take a look at some
megadeth riffs to get an idea of these chords and their use and sound.

megadeth: go to hell (bill-n-ted's!)

pm----- pm----- pm----- pm-----

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v
e ---------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------
---------2-----------3-----------0-----------5-4-3-
a ---------2-----------3-----------0-----------5-4-3-
e -0-0-0-0-----0-0-0-0-----0-0-0-0-----0-0-0-0-------

megadeth: symphony of destruction

pm pm pm pm
v v v v v v v v
e ---------------------
---------------------
---------------------
---7---6---5---5h7p5-
a ---7---6---5---------
e -0---0---0---0-------

the last chord that we will discuss is rather odd. i've seen it in a few
difference songs, but it appears most prominent in metallica (their newer
albums, to say the least...) it's general form is:

e --- this chord can be most easily formed with two fingers. use finger
--- 1 and 2. some people use 1 and 3, but there is really no point; it
--- will just make finger 2 less easy to move somewhere fast; giving you
-6- only one finger to move somewhere after the chords been strummed.
a -7- at first, this will seem like your guitar is out of tune, but it
e --- is really supposed to sound that way. it'll seem normal after awhile,
but if you're used to power chords, this will be a heartbreaker!
 as aforementioned, metallica seems to enjoy using this chord, rather than
power chords. lets take a look at the opening riff to ...and justice for
all. remember, this starts out acoustic!

metallica: ...and justice for all

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v
e ---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
-6-7-9---7-6h7p6-4-5-5-4-7-4-2-3-5---3-2h3p2-0-2-2-0-2-0-
a -7-----7---------5-----5---5-3-----3---------2-----2---2-
e -0-------------------------------------------------------

synopsis: now you have learned a few basic chords that a good quantity of
mainstream metal is made up of. try mixing them together, see what sounds
good. don't feel obligated to make your riffs use them all, a lot of riffs
are comprised solely of just a few power chords, twined together.
nonetheless, try playing this a few times to get used to switching between
the various chords and listen to the differences in each chord! for
simplicity, i won't throw in any slides and all. remember, you just want
to work your ear to pick up various chords and bounce between them quickly.

pm--- pm--- pm pm---

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v
e -------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
-------5-3-------4-2---5-5-5-5-7---------5-7-5---
a -------3-3-------2-2---6-6-6-7-5-------5-5-7-7-3-
e -0-0-0-----0-0-0-----0-----------0-0-0-3-------5-

that's all for now. if you have any questions or comments, feel free to
contact me: tck@bend.ucsd.edu

-=+> kevin marcus, virus researcher. author: tscan, re-xxx, michex, stonext
datadec@ucrengr.ucr.edu (619)/457-1836, 3-2400 baud, 24 hours.
comp. sci. major, university of california, riverside.