Learn to Play Heavy Metal Guitar | Heavy Metal Guitar Lessons

There are many factors that go into making a piece of heavy metal music aggressive, raw and at times... melodic. It is easy to take for granted that metal guitarists seem to be able to churn out head banging music on stage easily.

Despite the chaos that you may see on stage, playing heavy metal guitar actually requires a controlled and calculated guitar playing.

When everything is moving at a high pace, it is easy for the music to turn out "crappy" if the band does not have a tight timing and good coordination between instruments.

So what are the crucial elements to playing heavy metal guitar? I would say it depends on the genre of heavy metal that you are interested in. Different genres such as death metal, black metal, thrash metal, speed metal all emphasize on different techniques.

As more and more underground bands churn out heavy metal music, the lines between genres have blurred and it is not uncommon for new sub genres to be created. I had seen more and more different techniques being applied to cross-genres and it would be difficult for me to pinpoint any particular areas for guitarist to focus on.

With that said, learning to play metal or heavy metal on the electric guitar is not rocket-science. In fact, it can be easy and fun. I am writing this to encourage you, there are some great resources out there that were not available to me when I began learn guitar, and you can be playing heavy metal guitar quickly and skilfully by taking advantage of them.

Heavy metal guitar playing requires a fair bit of technical skills and this genre of music is generally picked up by guitarists after they have mastered the basics of guitar playing. If you are a beginner guitar player, I would advise you to check out the beginner guitar lessons section and guitar techniques section prior to going more in-depth into learning heavy metal.

By arming yourself with a variety of guitar techniques first, you can draw on them to express your creativity when you want to. This is my golden rule for fast progress with the guitar. Once you are comfortable with your guitar skills to learn more advanced stuff, it's time to learn to play heavy metal guitar at GuitarPlayerWorld.com with the lessons below. Rock on~

Learn to Play Heavy Metal Guitar | Heavy Metal Guitar Lessons:

Speed Playing Guitar Lessons at Jamplay
Learning to play speed metal is a step towards advanced technical guitar skills. Speed guitar playing is often used in metal genres and is a staple for death defying guitar licks and solos. It is important to note that speed is nothing without control.
Heavy Metal Rhythm Guitar Essentials
This article is about how to play firm and heavy metal rhythm guitar riffs. By referring to 'metal', we immediately get associated to palm muting, kickass slow riffs with rests, fast picking and heavy-sounding chords, right?
Heavy Metal Guitar Rhythm (cont)
This article is basically about chords you can use and implement in heavy metal guitar rhythms. Oooooh how I love heavy metal. You can play the worst possible sounding chord and it can still sound kickass if you know where to play it. And there are tons of worst possible sounding chords. ;)
Learn Heavy Metal Guitar Rhythm
Learn how to play heavy metal guitar rhythm and be the best heavy metal rhythm guitarist in your band. These are tips and tricks for heavy metal guitar playing. Exercises (riffs and guitar pro files) in metal guitar playing as well as licks.
Heavy Metal Power Chords
A power chord consists of a root and a fifth, as well as an octave of the root. The fact that it is devoid of a third makes it somewhat of an abomination in the world of chords.
Fast Palm Muting Rhythm Playing
To have fast palm muting you first need to build stamina in your picking hand. Face it; without endurance a runner is little more than a speed walker, and without sufficient stamina your palm mutes will be little more than a garbled mess
Alternative Tunings in Heavy Metal
There are dozens of ways to tune your guitar, and in heavy metal, you are free to choose whichever one you please. Today we will discuss some of the most popular alternative tunings used in heavy metal today, and also go over the pros and cons to each.
Heavy Metal Riffing
The riff is a powerful thing. In heavy metal, riffs are the difference between a standstill audience full of yawns and jittery legs, and a head banging, crowd surfing, mosh pitting, idolizing audience. So what goes into heavy metal riffing?
Drop D Tuning in Heavy Metal
Whether you are tired of power chords or you just want a lower note to give your music more of a growl, drop D tuning is a great tuning for modern heavy metal.
Melodic Ideas to Use Over Metal Progressions
In heavy metal, the melody comes to the forefront. Leads and melodic passages are used to draw our attention, whether they are aggressive or passive. But how exactly do we come up with these melodies?
Heavy Metal Scales
The best place to start learning heavy metal, if you are serious about your instrument, is by learning scales. Scales are seven note structures that outline the foundations of all music. So what are the heavy metal scales?
How to Use the Metronome to Increase Playing Speed
If you want to play faster, and you bought a metronome, you are on the right track. The only problem is, metronomes, while simple, don’t come with a how to play faster manual.
Whammy Bar String Bending
Whammy bars are invaluable in rock and roll. Epic dives, screeching high harmonics, bouncing notes; those are only a few things that a whammy bar can do for your playing.
How to Create the Heavy Metal Guitar Tone
So you’ve put in your hours, practiced hard, repeated your licks a dozen and one times, yet somehow you still aren’t satisfied with your playing? Believe it or not, the problem could simply be your tone. As we develop as guitarists, our ears change