Essential Techniques 1 Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (00:30) Lesson Overview This is the first installment of a two-part lesson dealing with essential techniques in the metal genre.

These techniques include palm-muting, finger slides, and chord slides. You will also learn the rules concerning sharps and flats. Dennis presents this material in the context of some fun, metal exercises.
Chapter 2: (06:31) Note Review, Sharps and Flats Review Time

At this point, you must have the locations of all the natural notes on the fretboard memorized. If you do not, take this time to review this information. It can be found in the lesson 1 video and accompanying lesson information section. As the lessons in this series progress, Dennis will refer to notes by their letter names instead of their fret/string location. If you don't know the names of all the notes, you will get lost quite easily!

Dennis begins his review of natural notes with the open B string. Starting with B, determine the remaining natural note names and their locations on this string. The next note in the musical alphabet is C. If you remember where the half steps occur in the musical scale, you know that C is a half step above B. Consequently, the note C is located one fret above B. The next half step occurs between E and F at the 5th and 6th frets.

Sharps and Flats

The first sharp/flat on the B string occurs at the second fret. This is due to the whole step interval between the first and third frets. This note can be labeled as either C# or Db. It is labeled as C# in notation when it follows a C natural. It is written as Db when it follows a D natural. These rules are applied simply to make a notated piece of music as easy to read as possible.

Follow along with Dennis as he explores the remaining sharp notes on the fretboard. Once again, keep in mind where the half steps occur in the scale. There are no sharp notes between two notes that are a half step apart.

Dennis repeats the same process with flat note names. This time however, he starts at the 12th of the B string where the upper octave of the note "B" is located. The note Bb is located one fret lower at the 11th fret. Remember that flats are used in descending lines, and that sharps are used in ascending lines. Watch as Dennis locates the remaining flat notes on the B string. These notes are in the same locations as the sharps you found earlier.

Practice!

At this point, repeat the process Dennis demonstrated with the remaining strings. Say each note aloud as you play it. This will help you learn and memorize the fretboard in a much more efficient manner. Add this to your daily warm-up exercises. Chapter 3: (06:13) Palm Muting an Individual String Palm muting is arguably the most important technique in the metal genre. Palm muting produces the low, chugging guitar sound in your favorite metal songs.

The Mechanics of Palm Muting

The key to successful palm muting technique is proper positioning of the picking hand. The thumb muscle and palm area must rest slightly off the bridge towards the pickups. If you rest your palm on the bridge, the string will continue to ring normally. If you move your palm too far towards the neck, the string produces a choked, dead sound. It may take some experimentation in order to find the perfect palm position. Remember to let your ears guide you when learning when learning a new technique. Listen to your favorite players, and imitate the sounds you hear. If it what you are doing sounds bad, make some adjustments and try again. Like Dennis mentions, the vibration produced by the string is not muted altogether. Rather the tone is slightly muffled to create a chunkier, more aggressive sound.

Exercise 1

This exercise contains a measure of open quarter notes played on the low E string followed by a measure of palm muted quarter notes. Begin the first measure with your palm wresting on the bridge. Immediately after picking the last quarter note in this measure, move your palm into position for the second measure. Practice this exercise as slowly as necessary. Your first priority is to keep the rhythm steady at all times. Also, strive for the best tone possible at all times. Play this exercise with distortion as well as a clean tone. Also, repeat this exercise on the open A and D strings. You may have to adjust your hand slightly when palm muting these strings.

Exercise 2

Many metal riffs feature a single muted string punctuated by power chords. Diamond Head's "Am I Evil?" is a prime example. Metallica's "Creeping Death" is another. Exercise 2 will get you acquainted with this style of metal rhythm playing. Once again, play this exercise as slowly as necessary. Keep the rhythm clear and concise at all times.
Chapter 4: (07:42) Palm Muting Chords In addition to playing single strings while palm muting, many riffs also feature muted power chords. When palm muting two strings simultaneously, no readjustment of the right hand position is necessary. As Dennis points out, it is almost impossible to mute just one string with the edge of your palm. However, you may need to grip your pick more tightly when strumming through two palm-muted strings.

Riffs 1 and 2

Both of the riffs demonstrated in this scene are designed to get you acquainted with playing muted power chords. Almost every song in the metal repertoire features this technique. Consequently, significant time should be spent developing these abilities. Play each riff slowly with a metronome. As you feel more comfortable, gradually increase the speed of the metronome. Chapter 5: (09:24) Individual String slides Slides are one type of "slur" that can be played on the guitar. Slurring is a musical technique that produces a legato feel. Legato means that each note in a phrase rings for its full value. Each note rings directly into the next, resulting in a smooth and connected sound. The remaining forms of slurs, including hammer-ons, pull-offs, and bends are discussed in the following lesson.

Proper Slide Technique

To properly perform a slide, the sliding finger must firmly depress the string against the frets during the entire duration of the slide. The sliding motion must be quick and deliberate as well. If you release pressure from this finger, the string will cease to vibrate. However, you don't want to put too much pressure on the string. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting hung up on one of the frets.

Slide Exercise 1

This exercise involves sliding up and down the fretboard a half step at a time. Longer slides are slightly more difficult to perform.

When practicing through this exercise, you must make sure that both notes under the curved slur line are rhythmically identical in value. Most beginners have the tendency to cut the first note short. Also, make sure that both notes are equal in volume. Finally, adhere strictly to the left hand fingering that Dennis demonstrates.

Slide Exercise 2

Unlike Exercise 1, all of the slides in this exercise are comprised of a whole step (two frets). Also, you must change strings throughout the course of the exercise. Make sure that the picked note and the target note are the only notes heard. If you hear the F# note when sliding between F and G, then you are sliding too slowly. Once again, stick to fingering indicated in the exercise tablature. If you follow the same sliding guidelines listed under Exercise 1, you will master this exercise in no time. Chapter 6: (06:54) Chord Slides Sliding power chords or octaves up and down the neck is a favorite rhythm guitar technique of many metal guitarists. Some prime examples of this technique are Pantera's "Slaughtered," "Mouth for War," and "Shedding Skin." White Zombie guitarist J Yuenger used this technique to great effect in the song "Electric Head Pt. 2 (The Ecstasy)."

Chord Slide Exercise

Like Dennis mentions, the most important component of sliding chords is keeping your fingers in the proper formation throughout the entire slide. Most beginners tend to let their third finger collapse inward when sliding a power chord or octave shape. As a result, the third finger ends up coming short by a fret.

This exercise features chord slides of different intervals. The first measure is comprised of two power chords that are one half step apart. Dennis has chosen to start this exercise with a B5 chord at the second fret. Practice sliding power chords up and down in half steps in other areas of the fretboard as well. If you are having problems with the half step slide at the second fret, you may find it easier at around the tenth fret. Do not proceed to the next measure until you have completely mastered the current measure. Each measure gets successively harder as a result of increasing the slide length. Chapter 7: (00:31) Outro and Lesson 4 Preview This concludes the first segment of Essential Metal Techniques. In the next lesson, Dennis discusses techniques such as bending, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and pinch harmonics. In the meantime, keep practicing your slides and palm muting!

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