Left Hand Overload Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (00:33) Introduction to Lesson 5 Get comfortable, JamPlayers! Dennis is about to unleash the Left Hand Overload! This lesson has one single purpose: improvement of left hand technique. Exercises designed to improve finger strength, accuracy, dexterity, speed, endurance, and flexibility are all included here. These exercises are the key to shredding lightning fast solos.

Dennis covers a wide range of information in this lesson. Take your time and work through these exercises slowly. Always remember that playing music is not a competition or a race. In the long run, you'll be glad that you took the time to perfect these exercises.

Beware!

If you ever experience any pain or discomfort of any sort while practicing any of the exercises presented in this lesson, immediately take a break. To begin with, practice these exercises for roughly twenty minutes a day as part of your warm-up routine. As your hands get stronger, and if time permits, gradually add more exercises to your practice routine.
Chapter 2: (05:38) Scramble Exercise Overview

This exercise is a variation on an exercise taught in Metal lesson 1. The exercise from lesson 1 followed a strict 1, 2, 3, 4 left-hand finger pattern. The current exercise switches up the order of these left-hand fingerings. Such exercises help develop left-hand finger control and independence. Matt Brown taught this same exercise in his Phase 2 Rock series. Many guitar instructors argue that this is the single best warm-up exercise. It sufficiently warms up each left-hand finger equally and slowly. The exercise accomplishes all of this while simultaneously warming up the right hand.

Instructions

1. Even though this is purely a technical exercise, make it sound as musical as possible. Try adding some dynamics.

2. Keep all left-hand knuckles arched at all times.

3. Keep the thumb positioned perpendicular to the back of the neck. Keep the right-hand palm tilted slightly away from the neck. Watch Dennis carefully for a clear demonstration.

4. Move the pattern up a fret each time once you have ascended and descended the pattern.

5. Play as legato as possible.

6. Keep the fingers as close to the neck as possible at all times.

7. Focus on control and accuracy.

Mirror Form

Once you have completed all of the combinations Dennis has demonstrated, play each pattern backwards. For example, 1, 3, 2, 4 becomes 4, 2, 3,1. Chapter 3: (09:14) Spider Walking Exercise Dennis presents a very common classical guitar exercise for the left-hand in this scene. Similar exercises can be found in Lee Ryan's technique anthology as well as Pumping Nylon by Brian Head. This exercise is commonly referred to as "spider walking," because the left hand resembles a crawling spider.

The exercise is designed to improve finger independence and flexibility. It may take a few weeks before you can play this exercise all the way to the low sixth string. Most beginners can only perform the pattern down to the fourth string. However, after practicing this exercise for a few weeks, you will begin to notice significant improvement.

Keep in mind that this was originally written for classical guitar. Classical guitars have a much wider fretboard. Consequently, the strings are farther apart compared to a steel string guitar. Practice this exercise on a classical guitar to receive the maximum benefit of this exercise. Also, the exercise was originally written in second position. Once you have mastered spider walking in fifth position, gradually shift the pattern down a fret at a time to maximize your reach ability.

Instructions

1. Play as legato as possible.

2. Do not lift up one finger until the next finger is down. This will ensure that each note rings into the next. This creates the effect of two interwoven melodic lines.

3. Keep wrist and forearm movement to a minimum. Make all stretches with the fingers. It may take some time to develop this ability. Be patient with this exercise. Do not force an uncomfortable stretch! If you experience any pain, immediately stop what you are doing.

Note: It may be difficult to grasp exactly what is happening in this exercise from the lesson video alone. Refer to the supplemental content section for complete notation of this exercise.

Alternating the Pattern

The finger pattern in the exercise can be alternated for additional practice. Watch Dennis closely for a demonstration of this process. Chapter 4: (07:09) Spider Riffing Exercise Rhythm guitarists such as James Hetfield and Dave Mustaine popularized a technique referred to as spider riffing. Mustaine recently taught a complete lesson regarding this topic in Guitar World magazine. Essentially, this technique allows you to shift rapidly between power chords without changing the position of the left hand. It also eliminates annoying string squeaks that occur when changing fretboard positions.

Spider riffing is usually applied to two power chords that are one fret apart. For example, you could apply this technique to a progression moving from B5 to C5 on the low sixth string. For B5, use fingers 1 and 3 like you normally would. Then use fingers 2 and 4 respectively for the C5 chord.

Spider Riffing with "Open" Power Chords

Alternate fingerings are often used when an "open" power chord occurs in a progression or riff. "Open" E5 to F5 is a very common movement in the metal genre. These chords typically imply a dark Phrygian tonality. When changing between these chords, use finger 2 for the note B in the E5 chord. Then, use fingers 1 and 3 for F5.

E5 to G5 is also a very common chord movement in metal. In this situation, use finger 1 for the B note in the E5 power chord. Use fingers 2 and 4 respectively for a G5 power chord.

Spider Riffing Exercise

Note: Tablature to this exercise is listed under "Spider Walking Part Two" in the "Supplemental Content" section.

Dennis begins this exercise in 7th position. Make sure that you practice this exercise in all of the lower positions as well.

Also, practice the exercise with hammer-ons and pull-offs. Strum the first chord, then hammer-on to the second chord. Then, pull-off back to the first chord. Finally, hammer to the second chord once more. This creates a short trill between two power chords. Chapter 5: (10:26) Octave Riffs Guitarists have used octaves since the instrument was invented. However, jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery realized the full potential of playing octaves of the guitar. Wes frequently played an entire solo section or melody line with octaves.

What Is an Octave?

By now, you have probably learned that the upper octave of each open string is located at the 12th fret. For example, take a look at the lowest string. When played open, this string produces the pitch called "E." When this string is fretted at the 12th fret, it also produces the note "E." This note is said to be one octave higher than its open string counterpart.

Typically, octaves are played simultaneously on two separate strings. These octaves are not located on adjacent strings like power chords. Rather, a muted string occurs between the two notes that comprise the octave. For example, an octave shape can be played on the 6th and 4th strings. In this situation, the fifth string is muted.

Octave Technique

Most players prefer to use fingers one and three when playing octaves. Some guitarists such as Kirk Hammett, Dave Navarro, and JamPlay's Matt Brown prefer to use fingers 1 and 4 when fretting an octave shape. This allows you to sneak the third finger onto the middle string for a thickly voiced, three-string power chord shape. Both fingerings are perfectly acceptable. Spend a significant amount of time experimenting with both fingerings to determine which one you are more comfortable with. Regardless of which fingering you feel more comfortable with, the first finger always mutes the middle string in the octave shape. Lightly touch the middle string with the first finger to ensure that it remains muted.

Octave Practice

This exercise will get you acquainted with shifting octaves around the neck. Play this exercise with a clean tone to ensure maximum clarity and accuracy. This exercise is played on all possible string sets. Notice how the fingering for octave shapes changes once the D and B strings are reached.

When playing octaves on higher string sets, mute the lower strings that are not included in the octave shape with the middle finger. This will prevent the lower strings from ringing in case you accidentally strum improperly. This technique also allows you to tremolo strum octaves much faster. Like Dennis demonstrates, it is more difficult to strum rapidly when the picking hand's range of movement is limited. Chapter 6: (06:40) Kirk Hammett Warm-up Exercise This exercise is designed to synchronize the picking and fretting hands while making string crossings.

Instructions

1. This exercise is not designed for speed building.
2. Rather, strive for clarity and rhythmic accuracy at all times.
3. Play this exercise as legato as possible, but don't let the notes ring over one another.
4. Only allow the notes to ring once you have perfected the exercise in the aforementioned manner. Anytime you can be creative with your practicing and exercises, go for it! This will help you improve your understanding of the guitar much faster and will also develop the connection between your brain and hands.

Visually, this exercise can be quite confusing at first. Follow Dennis' explanation closely and study the tablature to memorize the exercise. Chapter 7: (09:13) Exercise to Improve Flexibility This exercise originally appeared in Petrucci's former Guitar World column. This exercise and many others like it can be found in Petrucci's technique book, Rock Discipline.

Instructions

1. Once you feel comfortable playing the exercise in the position that Dennis demonstrates, gradually move the pattern to lower positions on the fretboard. The wider frets will help improve your fret-hand reach.

2. Practice this pattern on all six strings.

4. Play as slow and evenly as possible. Don't even attempt to play this fast. You might injure yourself.

5. Keep the previous finger held down when ascending and descending. This will help with synchronization. This will also help you produce a legato sound.

6. You may need to start this exercise even higher on the neck to start out with. However, always make sure that you are challenging yourself. If it feels too easy, slide the exercise back a fret towards the nut.
Chapter 8: (04:13) Practice Riff #1 Throughout the next several scenes, Dennis teaches some metal riffs that contain the essential techniques taught in the "Essential Techniques" and "Left-Hand Overload" lessons.

Riff #1

This riff features a slow, sludgy groove reminiscent of Black Sabbath or Morbid Angel.

Dennis plays the riff in the key of E minor. It features the b5 blues note of this key (Bb). The minor blues scale is a favorite scale choice of many metal guitarists when composing riffs. The minor blues scale is often combined with other minor scales such as the natural, harmonic, and Phrygian scales within a single riff.

Notice how the F# note in bar two is bent up a half step up. The bend occurs on beat three and is then released on beat four. Essentially every other pitch in this measure is the note "G." Beats two and four should sound as F#.
Chapter 9: (03:38) Practice Riff #2 This riff combines a low palm muted pedal tone played on the low E string. A pedal tone is a note that remains static over changing harmony. Pedal tones are frequently played on the low string in conjunction with changing power chords. The low pedal notes can be played using all downstrokes. This will make the riff sound as heavy as possible. However, as you speed up the riff, you may need to switch to alternate picking. Chapter 10: (03:59) Practice Riff #3 Riff #3 features some wide stretches on the low E string. This riff also gives you a great opportunity to work on tremolo picking.

When tremolo picking the rhythm must remain perfectly even. Begin by playing eighth notes at this tempo. Once you feel comfortable, gradually move the metronome up a notch at a time. Then, return to the original tempo and tremolo pick in triplets. Next, repeat the process with sixteenth notes then sextuplets.
Chapter 11: (01:40) Practice Riff #4 The final riff in this lesson is a Dave Mustaine-esque riff that focuses on spider riffing. Make sure that you adhere strictly to the left-hand fingerings Dennis indicates in the lesson video.

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