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How to Play Metalcore on Guitar
And Getting Familiar with the Genre
A Matura Paper by Yannic Kuna, 2013/2014
In collaboration with Beat Hüppin
www.metalcoreonguitar.wordpress.com
Contents
1.
Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................................... 3
2.
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3
3.
What is Metalcore? .............................................................................................................................. 5
4.
August 2010 (about the author)................................................................................................... 7
5.
Before it starts ....................................................................................................................................... 8
5.1 Guitar ............................................................................................................................................................ 8
5.2 Pick (Plectrum) ...................................................................................................................................... 10
5.3 Metronome .............................................................................................................................................. 10
5.4 Tuning ........................................................................................................................................................ 11
5.5 Tabulature................................................................................................................................................ 12
6.
Techniques ........................................................................................................................................... 14
6.1 Power chords .......................................................................................................................................... 14
6.2 Palm Muting (+chugs) ......................................................................................................................... 16
6.3 Hammer-on and pull-offs ................................................................................................................... 17
6.4 Bending ..................................................................................................................................................... 18
6.5 Chewy Riffs .............................................................................................................................................. 18
6.6 Pinch Harmonics ................................................................................................................................... 20
6.7 Tremolo Picking ..................................................................................................................................... 20
6.8 Solos ........................................................................................................................................................... 21
6.8.1 How to Write a Guitar Solo ............................................................................................................ 21
6.8.2 Tips .......................................................................................................................................................... 21
6.9 Tapping ..................................................................................................................................................... 23
6.10 Sweep Picking ...................................................................................................................................... 24
7.
How to get better? ............................................................................................................................. 26
8.
Avoiding common mistakes ........................................................................................................ 28
9.
Interview with the guitarists of "Save Your Last Breath" ............................................ 30
10. Final Words .......................................................................................................................................... 34
11. References ............................................................................................................................................ 35
2
1. Acknowledgement
There are a few people, without whose help this project would not have become what it
is now. Special thanks go to:
 Beat Hüppin, my guitar teacher, for supervising me throughout the process of
writing and graciously contributing his time, energy and ideas;
 The guitarists of "Save Your Last Breath", for participating in the interview;
 The YouTuber from "My boring Channel"1, for showing me the magnificence of
having a Wordpress-website;
 Patrick Ralston, for fine-tuning and proofreading this document;
 And you, the reader of "How to Play Metalcore on Guitar"!
2. Introduction
Whether successfully advising my little sister on how to tie her shoelaces or getting my
classmates to understand that really difficult math problem; seeing someone improve in
a certain discipline due to the fact that I assisted them, is what really keeps me going and
makes me happy. In my opinion there is so much beauty in that procedure, which is why
creating study material or even becoming a school teacher doesn't seem unreasonable
to me. These are two goals I would really like to achieve. I am delighted at already having reached the first one of these.
Absolutely no doubts came up when I was playing with the idea of creating a teaching
aid regarding the content. Playing Metalcore on guitar has had a huge impact on my life
and always gives me much pleasure. Logically, I chose that.
I feel that the best teachers are the ones that love their subject from the bottom of their
hearts and I'm definitely provided with that.
What you are about to read is the pure result of my appreciation of Metalcore and the
art of teaching. As part of a major high school project I wanted to turn that combination
in reality.
1
http://www.youtube.com/user/mreae?feature=watch
3
German is my native tongue and therefore many of my peers were frowning regarding
the language I chose for this paper. I do have to admit that it is rather risky and has some
downsides such as having a slower working progress or not getting on the same level of
professional language. However, in my opinion, the advantages are way more dominant;
English is the fourth most spoken language in the world while German is only the tenth.2
So, addressing as many readers as possible and spreading my work more easily over the
globe are the main reasons for my decision.
At this point I also want to make you aware that there is no such thing as the best pick,
the best way to learn new techniques or the best guitarist. Everything is, when it comes
to music, a matter of taste and preference and that’s good. It keeps things interesting
and makes people come up with new ideas because if there was, let us say a best music
genre; we would’ve already found and stuck to it.
What I am trying to say is the following: This book represents my attempt at making you
acquainted with how I see this type of music and how I play guitar. Essentially, that is all
I can do.
HAVE FUN
And whenever you have a question just ask me on the "Questions and Feedback" section
on my website and I’ll try to respond as soon as I can.
2
http://www.vistawide.com/languages/top_30_languages.htm
4
3. What is Metalcore?
Metalcore is a music-fusion genre that incorporates elements of heavy metal and hardcore punk.
Elements
 Energetic Vocals
 Loud and distorted
Guitar
 Provoking and/or
political lyrics
 Suppressed lead guitar
All the mentioned
elements plus:
 Breakdown
 Dense Bass and
melodies and empha-
 Dissonance
Drum Sound
size rhythm to achieve
 Double Bass
 Instrumental Cast:
2 guitars, a bass and
drums
the "in-your-face" kind
of sound
 Greater use of the bass
Drumming
 Religious lyrics
(Christianity)
 Loud, hard and fast
Notable Bands
 Black Sabbath
 The Sex Pistols
 Trivium
 Judas Priest
 NOFX
 Underoath
 Iron Maiden
 Billy Talent
 Killswitch
Engage
5
It’s extremely hard to find one band that lays the foundation for the genre because the
band itself was also influenced by other bands, moving the start further back in time.
Therefore drawing a line and saying "in this year with this band Metalcore started" is
really difficult and individual. Here is my view on this. I am going to divide the history
into two groups:

In about 1985-2000 Bands like As I Lay Dying or Slipknot started using characteristics that denote the genre.

With the beginning of the new Millennium Metalcore also had its very special
turning point. From that point in time onwards, this type of music was
brought to the masses. People started wearing band shirts and going to shows
more often. One could say it became "Mainstream". Bullet for my Valentine,
Asking Alexandria or The Devil Wears Prada were some the initiators of the
genres commercial success.
[Image 1] Mick Thompson and James Root
from Slipknot
[Image 3]Chris Rubey from the Devil
Wears Prada
[Image 2] Tim Lambesis and Nick Hipa from
As I Lay Dying
6
4. August 2010 (about the author)
As the sun was rising I was already widely awake. Few sunrays were shining directly in
my eyes. While blinking I started smiling because of the sudden realization of what was
going to happen today.
"You forgot to brush your teeth and you didn’t bring out the garbage… and ouh, you’re
also wearing two different kinds of socks." my mom said. "Yes, that’s true. I’m sorry" I
didn’t want to argue with her because I was happy that she took the time to get up at
7.30 on a Saturday in the most beautiful month of the year and drive me to the nearest
music store. "Are you sure you want to do this? 700 bucks is a lot of money." she asked.
"Yes, I am." I calmly replied. Never had I been more confident about an action.
Already knowing where to find the object of my desire, determined, I walked to the right
side of the store. A Fender Stratocaster sunburst was looking at me with huge eyes. I
picked it up and started playing a vague version of the intro to "Scar Tissue" by Red Hot
Chili Peppers that I had been practicing on my godfather’s western guitar in the last
couple of weeks. The employee grinned at me with an arch yet optimistic tone that kind
of made me lose my confidence, buy the guitar and leave this store as fast as I could. And
that was exactly what I did.
After unpacking the guitar and the amp at home I found
myself again. By skipping dinner I had even more time
to play some old Blink-182 songs. At first I really struggled playing guitar though. I had so many questions.
How am I supposed to hold my pick? How should I use
the metronome? What does "tapping" mean? All of these problems lead me into an insecure thinking and loss
of patience. Also because of all the hours I spent searching on the web for certain issues. It would have been
way more productive if I had actually improved my gui[Image 4]
tar skills instead of wasting time on the web.
My goal is to make sure you don’t have to deal with the same problems I had when
starting off. I see this lesson as "booster" in view of skipping all the unnecessary hours
and enhance your knowledge and abilities the fastest way possible by giving you a basic
feeling of playing this genre on guitar, decorated with useful tips.
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5. Before it starts
5.1 Guitar
For the sake of clarity it is appropriate to know the components of an electric guitar and
their relevance.
[Image 5]
Even though every guitar looks different because of various designs and configurations
of the bridge or pickups, the composition, as far as the three parts of the guitar go, is always the same.
8
Every electric guitar has a:
Headstock with tuning pegs
This where you tune your guitar and find the name of the company that produced your
instrument. The headstock also contains the nut which is responsible for holding and
supporting the strings.
Neck
The neck is where your fretting hand is located when playing. The guitarist has usually
got 21 to 24 frets to choose from. The double-point marks the twelfth fret, which is a
very useful guidance when playing. The higher the number of the fret, the higher is the
note.
Body
The body contains a selector switch to set your preferred pickup. The pickup can capture the sound you’re making with the strings. There is a big difference in sound between using the neck and the bridge pickup. A thicker, juicier tone can be achieved with
the neck pickup, whilst using the bridge pick up a thinner "in-your-face kind of sound is
transmitted. I recommend changing the pickup every once-in-a-while to really feel the
difference and find out what’s best for each part.
Guitars have bridges to connect them with the body. Your instrument will have either a
loose vibrato bridge with a whammy bar (Tremolo) or a fixed non-vibrato bridge.
"Tremolo" comes from the Italian and means tremble, which describes the motion of this
device when used very well. The guitarist grasps his whammy bar and gently goes up
and down at a forced rate. That gives it the characteristic, vibrating sound. Since this
process barely arises in Metalcore I will not digress into further explanation. Nonetheless, check out this video if you would like to find out more about that subject:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB_-DcmAmOc
The output jack is the socket into which you plug the cable to connect to the amp and
by mooring your belt to the strap-pin the option to stand while playing results.
9
5.2 Pick (Plectrum)
Picks come in all different shapes and thicknesses. At the beginning I recommend using
Fender medium picks. Of course it doesn’t have to be a Fender pick but in my opinion
they’re the easiest to use and give every beginner a good, basic feeling for playing with a
pick.
Most guitarists hold their pick like this:
The plectrum is placed between index finger
and thumb creating a 90° angle to the guitar.
[Image 6]
This is JB Brubaker, lead guitarist of a band
called August Burns Red and arguably the
most brilliant and creative head Metalcore
has seen to this date.
Now, if you take a closer look at his picking
hand, one can see that JB places his plectrum
between middle (not index) finger and
thumb creating a weird looking fist.
What I’m trying to show is the following:
Playing guitar is all about comfort. As long as
it works for you and doesn’t hurt, it is per[Image 7]
fectly fine.
5.3 Metronome
I cannot stress enough how important using a metronome is. Especially when performing with a band, knowing how to play to a click is crucial.
10
On one hand the metronome sets the mood as the faster the clicking noise is, the quicker
the song. Once a song is polished, the metronome is no longer necessary as the drummer
takes over this role by hitting either the cymbal or the hi-hat to indicate the tempo of the
tune.
On the other hand the metronome is a device that helps you play in time and is a great
aid in building up your speed. We’ll talk about this later.
One can play a note for every click which would be quarter notes; 2 per click would resemble eighth and so on. The metronome is set in beats per minute (bpm).
If you don’t own a metronome, just google "online metronome" and you’ll find tons of
good sites equally as good as a physical device.
5.4 Tuning
The term "tuning" refers to the tonal relation of each string to the others.
When buying your first guitar it will most likely come with standard tuning and that’s
fine. However, playing Metalcore with standard tuning is like eating with a fork in Japan;
theoretically possible but extremely uncommon. Simply because it is not low enough.
Following are the most common tunings:
(#=a half step higher)
Standard: EADGBe
(Lowest String is an E and the highest, thinnest string is an e- two octaves higher)
Tune the lowest string (E) one step down (so it matches with your other D-string)
Drop D: DADGBE
Tune all the strings a half step down
 Drop C#: C#G#C#F#A#D#
Tune all the strings a half step down
 Drop C: CGCFAD
Tune all the strings a half step down
Drop B: BF#BEG#C#
11
Tune all the strings a half step down
Drop A#: A#FA#D#GC
Tune all the strings a half step down
Drop A: AEADF#B
Each of the above instructions refers to the tuning above it.
E.g. If your guitar is tuned to Drop D and desire your instrument to be in drop B, you’d
have to tune all the strings down one and a half (1.5) steps.
The most common tuning for a seven-string is Drop G or Drop F
Drop G: GDGCFAD
Tune all the strings a half step down
Drop F: FCFA#D#GC
5.5 Tabulature
Before moving on to discuss the various playing techniques I would like to familiarize
you with the tabulature-system in order to make further explanation easier and more
natural to follow.
Tabulature is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering. For convenience, modern guitarists like to use the shortened form "tab".
The example tabulator below makes it really simple to see how this little drop D riff is
played.
[Image 8]
12
The tabulature is read from left to right. So, you'd have to play the two 0s first then the 3
and 5 on the A string and so on. The very first two notes are written one above the other
(vertically), which means that they are played at the same time.
The top line of a tab represents the string highest in pitch yet closest to the ground (here
an E) while the bottom line represents the string lowest in pitch yet furthest from the
ground (here a D). If you were to lie your guitar down with the tuning pegs pointing towards you, the order of the strings would match the lines of the tab.
Each number refers to the respective fret on the fretboard.
E.g. a “3” on the A string means you need to press the string down on the third fret (also
counted from the left). When there's no number you don't have to play anything.
Don’t worry about the symbols like the small bow or the b. We’ll be talking about this in
the “Techniques” chapter.
Be aware of the fact that you can’t stick to the tabulator as your only way of learning
new music since this notation is only intended to assist with fingering and has no means
of representing other aspects such as rhythm. You would either have to listen to the
original song to get the tempo or learn to read sheet music.
I would also like to make you aware that, finding out which note should be played with
which finger and in which direction the last chord should be strummed (up or down)
can't be recognized from the tab either.
The tabs to all of your favourite songs can be found on: www.ultimate-guitar.com
13
6. Techniques
The following techniques are typical of the genre and build the foundation for playing
Metalcore on guitar, which means that once you master all of these, you should be able
to play every Metalcore song written to this date. It's like learning to read; once you
grasp it, you can read every book. Of course, it needs time and patience to understand
the specific book (song) and you're limited to the language in which you learnt to read
(genre), but that's no different to playing music.
For every technique a little example to play along to can be found on my website in the
"tabs" section. I strongly suggest you learn them in order to get used to them faster.
6.1 Power chords
The power chord forms the basic shape of playing guitar in any style of rock and metal
and is therefore essential to learn. Fortunately, it is really easy.
[Image 9] Most common power chords represented on a standard tuning (EADGBe) tabulature system
If you take a look at the tabulature the same pattern is recognizable for all the power
chords. They are always held with one finger on the E or A string and the two frets on
the strings below which are located two frets further away from the root note.
There are guitarists, who hold their power chords with the index finger, middle and
pinky [Image 11] and some that only use index and ring finger, whereas the ring finger
needs to hold down two notes [Image 12]. Try to find out what best suits you.
The root note can be on every single fret, making the power chord extremely versatile.
However, when starting to form the power chord I recommend doing it on the higher
frets since they’re closer together. The smaller distance makes it easier for you to form
the chords, because the fingers don't need stretching as much.
14
Be aware that every power chord has an equivalent open chord that’s the same note.
Therefore you can either play a "577" power chord on the A-string or do a normal D
chord.
One of the great advantages of using drop tunings is that power chords, which require
the lowest string, need only one finger to be held down. [Image 13]
Let’s say we want to perform an Eb in the shape of a power chord on a drop C tuning. In
the tabulature above we see that in a standard tuning we’d have to hit the first fret on
the low E string to do so. However, now with the dropped tuning, making the lowest
string one step lower the third fret is necessary. This way we achieve the easier “333”formation instead of the “133”.
[Image 10] Most common power chords represented on a drop C (CGCFAD) tabulature system
[Image 11] 355-power chord
[Image 12] 355-power chord
[Image 13] 333-power chord
15
The following variation is also quite common. This is a normal power chord, where the
middle note on the D-string is replaced by an "x", indicating you should dampen the
string (make it silent) by resting the flat of your index finger over the string while, at the
same time, using the tip of that finger to hit the root note on the high A-string. Now
you'll only have a two-note-power-chord with a very sharp and characteristic sound
that's often used in choruses.
[Image 14] Chorus from "Not the American average" by Asking Alexandria
6.2 Palm Muting (+chugs)
Every single note can be played either open or palm
muted. Most relevant is where you place your palm.
When not touching the strings at all while picking a
note, it is open and when touching the strings slightly with your palm the note is being palm muted.
You can try for yourself to find the best location in
which to place your palm in order to get the best
palm muted sound. “The further away from the
fretboard” is a little rule of mine to get the heaviest
sound.
[Image 15]
As you probably know, the "breakdown" is one of the idiosyncratic characteristics of the
genre. They are basically palm muted power chords with the form “00”. That means,
usually only the open top two strings are played when doing a breakdown. Alternate
picking is also here advisable. Try it out and I’m sure you will recognize the striking
sound.
16
If you feel comfortable playing a power chord and palm muting, you can already play a
couple of Metalcore songs. "Alerion" by Asking Alexandria is, in my opinion, a really
good choice to get started. Listen to the song a couple of times then look up the tabs and
try to play along. As soon as covering this track feels like a piece of cake I'd advise you to
move on and pick up some more cool techniques.
Original Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPNYVijoE4E
Tabs: http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/a/asking_alexandria/alerion_tab.htm
6.3 Hammer-on and pull-offs
The little bow you have already noticed in the tabs above stands for a hammer-on (from
the third to the fourth fret on the low E string) and can also be represented by an "h" or
a "p". It basically means that you play two notes while only picking the string once. This
sounds a lot harder than it is. Just play any note and then, without using your picking
hand, place a finger on any fret on the same string that’s got a higher fret number than
the one you pressed down in the first place. There you go; you just did a hammer-on.
Doing it the other way round, from a higher to a lower fret number will get you a pulloff.
Of course you can use these procedures more than once (E.G. 5h7h8) and even combine
the two techniques (E.G. 5h8p7)
The goal would be to make every note sound equally loud. In the beginning the root note
will probably be louder than the following one(s); in which case you’d have to press a
little harder. However, only apply the amount of pressure that is needed. Pushing too
hard will lead to a cramped and tense playing.
“The slide”, which you have all probably heard in various songs, is simply a long pull-off
over the entire fretboard. To get the idea, check out August Burns Red’s song “redemption”. A really slow slide can easily be heard in the very beginning, for which they use a
pick.
17
6.4 Bending
Who hasn’t heard the wonderful bendings
during the introduction of Iron Maiden’s
song "Run to the Hills"? (Go check it out if
you have not already done so!)
They are simply done by stretching the
string in order to get a higher sounding note.
On four of the six strings it is up to you
whether you are pulling the string down or
up. However, the lowest string has to be
[Image 16]
stretched downwards in order to prevent it
from going over the fret board. Similarly, in the case of the highest string, it needs to be
pulled upwards. The strings are almost always bent either a half or a full step. This
knowledge builds the basis of a great exercise to improve the accuracy of your bendings.
Try the following: chose any fret (preferably one in the middle of the neck, since these
are easier to bend) and flex the string just enough that it sounds equal to one fret higher
for a half step and two frets higher for a whole step.
(E.g. a bend on the ninth fret to the tenth fret resembles a half step and from the ninth to
the eleventh fret an entire step.)
A bending is usually displayed by a "b" in the tabs.
6.5 Chewy Riffs
Since "chewy riff" is a term I came up with I recommend you to go listen to the Miss May
I track whose tabs you can see below, to make sure we're talking about the same thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RQzomsa1IY
At 1:10 this technique gets started.
It doesn't matter whether you play technical bands like Erra or simple Metalcore like
Asking Alexandria; there are two things you'll surely encounter; the breakdown and
"chewy riffs". Let's talk about the second one.
18
They are a very popular verse riff and look like this as a tab:
[Image 17] Verse Riff from "Forgive and Forget" by Miss May I
You can see that the riff kicks off with two palm-muted notes, which are indicated by the
stars. Since the notes on the G-string are not palm muted (no stars), your palm needs to
lie only on the low C-string whilst the G-string is kept open. I would suggest not alternating (using up and down strokes) these two notes because then, after you hit the second
note, your pick is on the way up. Your right hand would then have to make greater effort
to reach back to the G string in order to play the eighth fret. You'll have this problem
with every even amount of successive notes. However playing six or even just four
down-strokes in this tempo is way to tiring.
Remember: Always play so you need as little power as possible. It’s a great way to prevent a stiff wrist or even cramps.
A rough rule is to alternate the palm-muted bass notes in chewy riffs when there are
three or more in a row.
This riff is played with sixteenth notes at 120bpm. Try going down to perhaps 80bpm
and pick it up. It's a really great riff to get the idea. Once you get that you'll be able to
play so much more cool stuff.
19
6.6 Pinch Harmonics
This technique is not really characteristic of
Metalcore. It appears in almost every genre in which
electric guitars are used.
To achieve this high pitched sound you would have
to touch the string quickly with the thumb of your
picking hand just after you hit a note. Bending the
string after that will help you maintain the sound.
[Image 18]
6.7 Tremolo Picking
Before we get started just do yourself a favor and go check out this little excerpt from
"Man Made Disaster" and pay particular attention to the guitars.
-
At 1:40 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ykuf11YkmHo
Sounds awesome, doesn't it!
What you just heard is a technique called tremolo picking. It is very fast picking that
comes mostly from the wrist. You're going to want a non-tiring motion that you can keep
up for a long time without getting cramps or similar.
The best way to practice is (once again) with a metronome. Set it to any bpm you feel
comfortable with, and then try playing along with it. If you practice this every evening
for two minutes and every once in a while increase the tempo (not to fast though; perhaps 10bpm every two days - not more) I will promise that your picking hand will improve tremendously and you'll be able to play that catchy part from "Man Made Disaster" very soon.
20
6.8 Solos
Aren't Metal guitarists perceived as the ultimate shredders?- Unfortunately, not all of
them.
One of the main reasons Metalcore has been criticized by some guitar fanatics is the lack
of lead melodies and solos and the emphasis on rhythm, for which the breakdown is
most responsible.
For what it's worth, the lack of solos in Metalcore is a bummer. Only a few bands play
them on a regular basis and there are even Metalcore guitarists, who have contributed in
many albums without playing a single solo. I want to encourage you to try writing a solo,
because they can be extremely slick when placed correctly in a song. To this end I will
provide you the necessary steps to becoming a lead guitarist.
Keep in mind, one could write an entire book on this subject alone; I am only going to
scratch the surface.
6.8.1 How to Write a Guitar Solo
1) Learn the scales: A scale is a sequence of notes that give you something to hold
on to when trying to come up with a solo. They can help you find comfort zones
by giving you a rough idea or feeling in the form of a framework. It's easy to get
lost, because there are tons of different scales. I recommend you should take a
look at the pentatonic scales first since they're the easiest and many-sided scales
to learn. Check out the tabs section of my website to learn the very common "A
minor pentatonic" scale.
2) Practice: Try playing the scale to a metronome. The solo will sound much less
impressive if not played in rhythm. Start off very slowly so you can play it perfectly then gradually build up your speed.
6.8.2 Tips
Learn some solos from your favorite artists. Analyzing solos that inspire you is really
important. "Bullet for my Valentine" would be an excellent address here as they have a
really wide variety of kick-ass solos. If you are a beginner guitarist, look up "Say Goodnight" from the same band.
21
The opening lead-work is so well done and one of my personal highlights in the entire
history of Metalcore. It's slow, melodic and really emotional, matching the song perfectly, which brings me to my next tip.
Speed and shredding are secondary when playing a solo. "Say Goodnight" is a really
good way to demonstrate that the top priority when playing a solo, or even when playing guitar in general, should be to convey what you feel to the listener. The feeling is all
that really counts. I mean, as far as speed and shredding concerned, a machine could
easily play the craziest solos. However, I bet everyone would prefer three notes that really mean something coming from Bullet for my Valentine's lead guitarist than an entire
mechanical solo. Sometimes the fewest notes and the slowest pace can sound best and
mean the most. Finding a balance between these two elements will make your solo
sound amazing.
Mix your solo up with cool techniques. Bending, pinch harmonics or even simply palm
muting a note every once in a while keeps the solo interesting and maintains the listener's interest.
Learn the chords on which your solo is based. That helps your brain structure the
solo. It is also easier to find new notes to continue with when figuring out a lead section.
Try your ideas out. Only working from scales can limit you so branch out. If a note
sounds right, it is right. Express yourself.
Fool around. Improvising solos to songs where there's not actually one is a great way to
obtain that special "solo-feeling". I still do that, because I think it is a great exercise.
Record your solo. You can then give your full attention to it because you're not playing
and so, more easily find stuff you think doesn’t sound that awesome and you'd like to
change. It doesn't have to be in great quality. This can be done simply with a cell phone.
22
6.9 Tapping
Finger-tapping (or often shortened to simply "tapping") is itself a pretty simple technique, but needs a lot of practice because it's so far removed from the "traditional" way
of playing guitar. The main difference is that both of your hands are located on the fretboard. The fingers of your picking-hand hammer on the string producing the desired
note. The hammer-on can either be achieved with your index- or, middle-finger or with
your pick. The following video is an example is tapping with a pick:
(At 1:49: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tajPROM8wk)
[Image 19]
Even though, in my opinion, tapping with your pick is a lot more tedious and needs more
effort, you should try it out because it brings advantages such as having a clearer tone.
Find out what suits you best.
This technique can add an enormous amount of energy and speed to the song and is definitely worth giving a shot.
Here are some things you should definitely take a closer look at and keep in mind:
Proper hammer-on and pull-offs: These two techniques build the basic structure of
your tapping and therefore need to sound absolutely tight. It is advisable to start fairly
slow. However, the motion of the finger itself needs to be a quick and accurate movement rather than calmly resting your finger on the fret board. Try imagining squashing
an insect with every hammer-on you perform, that's what helped me at first.
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Picking hand position: For comfort of playing your hand should not be placed parallel
to the fret-board. By turning your hand slightly upwards, a more pleasant position will
follow automatically.
Palm muting: To achieve your preferred sound that only involves the notes you want to
be heard, the disturbing noise coming from the other unused strings needs to be dampened. The best way to do so is by palm-muting all the strings not in use. Both of your
hands are involved in that procedure.
The fretting hand needs to slightly touch the string above with the tip of the finger that
is being used to play the note. Logically, you can only mute one string with that.
Instead of your fingers, the palm of your picking hand is required to mute every other
string that may produce any undesired or undesirable sounds. This will give your tapping a much clearer and undisguised sound.
As I have already said, tapping is a really simple technique because you already basically
know all there is to know. Now you just need practice. Going to my website or learning
the tapping solo from "My apocalypse" by Escape the Fate would resemble two proficient possibilities of doing so.
6.10 Sweep Picking
Ok, now we're getting technical! Sweep picking is one of the most prestigious things to
play on a guitar. Even though it may also be one of the coolest sounding techniques in
the genre, I'd strongly advise you not to start learning it before you manage to play the
other basic techniques perfectly. Since sweep picking requires a different style of picking, there's a risk in confusing it with normal alternate picking.
The basic premise is to simply pick a chord in a fluent motion without changing the picking direction (as opposed to alternate picking).
General
Speed: As you seek to appropriate something completely new (regarding the picking),
starting off slowly and carefully is absolutely vital; as is using a metronome.
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Effects: If you are in the process of familiarizing yourself with sweep picking, turn off
any amp-effects, especially distortion and delay. They are like an "audio-Photoshop" that
will dishonestly flatter your playing. However, in the beginning, all you want is an honest representation of your playing to see what needs improving or requires more attention to accuracy. Aim for a clean and unforgiving sound at first. Obviously, when you can
perform a riff tightly, adding some cool effects is totally fine.
Picking hand
Holding the pick: Grasping your pick at a slight angle, as opposed to holding it parallel
to the strings, will make it easier to glide through the strings in a fluent motion. Holding
the pick rather loosely will strengthen the effect. You don't want to have a stiff hand and
beat the strings up; what you want is to achieve the smoothest feeling possible.
Picking from the elbow or the wrist? Frankly, both are possible and even common.
Try out both options and decide for yourself. As soon as you feel any sort of pain or especially cramps, changing to the other version is essential.
Palm-muting: Similar to tapping, making all the disturbing strings that are not being
used silent works best with your palm.
Fretting hand
The main task of your fretting hand is to play the notes as closely as possible without
overlapping them. Overlapping them will give you a bad and unclean sound. Your fingers
should switch from one note to the other like butter. In addition, make sure you don't
use too much force when a note was being used to pull your finger away, which will give
your sweeping riff the undesirable sound of pull-offs. Just gently loosen your finger: that
way you also save some energy.
I think actually seeing someone use this technique also helps you to understand the concept of sweep picking. So, here would be a link to do so:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6XX-7f_-N8
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7. How to get better?
Practice is the key word here. The more you play, the better you get: it really is that simple. Nonetheless, finding something to play can be really tough sometimes.
Write your own songs or start covering some. Especially when starting off, writing your
own songs can be really difficult though. Just go to "ultimate-guitar.com" and pick some
of the tunes you really like. I would suggest to cover entire songs not only parts of it. It is
so much fun to learn your favorite songs on guitar. Here's a list with some of my favorite
recordings that are a lot of fun to play along to:
Band
Album
Tuning
Difficulty
Asking Alexandria
Stand up and Scream
Drop D
1
Underoath
They’re Only Chasing Safety
Drop D
2
Underoath
Define The Great Line
Drop D
2
Adept
Another Year of Disaster
Drop D
2
The Devil Wears
Prada
Blessthefall
Plagues
Drop D
1
Witness
Drop D
2
The Amity Affliction
Youngbloods
Drop C#
2
Of Mice & Men
Of Mice & Men (Self Titled)
Drop C#
1
Of Mice & Men
The Flood
Drop C
1
Texas In July
One Reality
Drop C
3
While She Sleeps
This Is The Six
Drop C
3
August Burns Red
Messengers
Drop C
3
August Burns Red
Constellations
Drop C
4
August Burns Red
Leveler
Drop C
4
I the Breather
These Are My Sins
Drop C
3
Miss May I
Apologies Are for the Weak
Drop C
3
Oh, Sleeper
Children of Fire
Drop C
4
The Word Alive
Deceiver
Drop C
3
The Air I Breathe
Great Faith In Fools
Drop C
5
The Devil Wears
Prada
Bury Tomorrow
Zombie EP
Drop B
3
The Union Of Crowns
Drop B
3
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Band
Album
Tuning
Difficulty
Parkway Drive
Killing With A Smile
Drop B
3
Parkway Drive
Horizons
Drop B
3
Parkway Drive
Deep Blue
Drop B
3
Like Moths To Flames
When We Don’t Exist
Drop A#
2
Breakdown of Sanity
Mirrors
Drop A
4
Breakdown of Sanity
Perception
Drop A
4
Northlane
Singularity
Drop F
3
Difficulty: Obviously the numbers are a pretty vague declaration. Not every song is as
hard is every other one on the record. However, they give you an idea of what you can
expect from the piece. Just start off with the low numbers and build your way up to
"Great Faith in Fools", which represents ultimate and almost unplayable shredding
throughout every single song.
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8. Avoiding common mistakes
Listed here are some notorious traps, as well as possible ways of fixing them.
Pushing too hard: Reducing fretting-hand tension is a very good way of saving energy.
Just press as softly as possible to achieve a sound.
Try touching a string and start pressing it down very slowly while picking the string.
You’ll be surprised by how little pressure is required.
Finding the balance between pressing too hard and too soft will make your guitar playing much smoother and more fluent.
Speed-issues: If you can't seem to build up speed, the metronome is your key to success. Tilting your pick, especially when trying to familiar yourself with tremolo picking,
is really helpful too.
"Noodling": This means that, during your lead sections, you constantly shred without
letting the music take a breath. For instance, playing five dozen sixteenth-notes that are
all equal in is considered noodling. Knowing the difference between noodling and soloing makes your guitar playing much more powerful. Always let your music breathe.
Playing too much and/or too fast can be suffocating for the listener; holding a note gives
them time to appreciate the guitar-playing even more.
Only play sitting down: Even today, I still have a pretty hard time playing guitar when
standing up. I really have to eke out a living when practicing with my band where not
being able to sit down for 3 hours isn't unusual. I'm just not used to performing when
standing up and possibly never will. All due to the fact that I was too lazy to ever get up
to play. So do yourself a favor and stand up every once-in-a-while to get used to that
feeling. You never know if you're going to join a band, when this may be vital.
Only focusing on one genre: To become a really versatile and well-balanced guitarist, I
recommend that once in a while you leave out the breakdown and pick up your acoustic
guitar.
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Concentrating too much on certain fingers: I have seen way too many guitarists neglecting their pinky-finger which seems unreasonable to me. Using all fingers will make
a lot of riffs more playable on the grounds that you have more fingers to choose from.
That leads to a smoother playing. So, finger independence should definitely be trained.
Slowly improving progress: I know that it is pretty tempting and a lot of fun to play
guitar while watching TV. The problem is that you're not really improving your skills.
This applies to any significant distractions.
Here's my tip: set yourself a fixed time to practice and then comply with that schedule.
Remember that practicing guitar is not that different from studying (yet with the huge
difference that it is actually fun) because it doesn't matter whether you're learning
French vocabulary or that really confusing breakdown; a 20-minutes-a-day practice is
far more efficient than a 2-hour Sunday practice. Also, put your phone away and focus
your entire concentration on the instrument you're holding. Discipline, patience, dedication and persistence are the keys to success.
Not being used to dealing with frustration: Playing guitar needs a lot of patience because when learning something new you'll not be able to get it done in the first 15
minutes. That's totally normal. If you lose your nerves or have sore fingers, just go for a
walk and try again later.
Overstrain your memory: Writing things down really encourages your memory. Especially when trying to learn a new breakdown, having the structure visible on a piece of
paper makes it easier to memorize.
Playing guitar while singing: is obviously not wrong but often approached incorrectly.
Many musicians with a great voice and superb guitar skills just can't seem to coordinate
these two tasks. The trick is to initially learn both parts separately. When you feel absolutely secure you can slowly start humming or speaking along the song. Eventually you'll
get to sing the parts.
Not warming up: playing a few chill-tunes to warm up is really important. Otherwise
you're going to hurt yourself.
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9. Interview with the guitarists of "Save Your Last Breath"
Formed in 2011, the Metalcore band "Save Your Last Breath" has already made a name
for itself in the Swiss local scene. They are a prime example of what heavy music is all
about and are definitely worth checking out. In my opinion you can learn a lot from
them, which is the main reason for this little discussion.
Take a look at their band page on Facebook for more information:
https://www.facebook.com/SaveYourLastBreath?fref=ts
[Image 20] Save Your Last Breath playing a gig in Hinwil
Moritz and Dominik
1. When did you start playing guitar and why did you pick it up?
I started to play guitar when I was eight years old. There are no rules and you can be
very creative. You can play whatever you like when you like and where you like. It's fascinating how different guitarists let their feelings speak through their instrument.
I started with six or seven years. I had always fun with music, and one good thing about
the guitar is that you can take it with you wherever you go. My dad showed me the first
couple chords and I started to take guitar lessons.
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2. What fascinates you about playing the heavier kind of music?
It is tricky to play and in my opinion there is so much more energy in heavy riffs.
I like it, because it’s not that easy to play and you have heavy but also very calm parts.
You can also mix a lot of genres in Metalcore, that’s also why there are so many different
styles of core.
3. Who are some guitarists you look up to and why?
Firstly, there is Joe Cocchi from the band "Within the Ruins" because he is really technical and has his very own and unique style to play.
Then there is Jack White because he is a working class hero that made it. He reached so
much and he is a very inspiring person. I love how you can recognize his feelings
through his guitar.
Two big influences to me are also Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy page, in my opinion they are
the most genius guitarists ever. There is so much creativity in their songs. Since I play
electric guitar I play their music and I never get tired of it!
One of my favourite guitarists is John Mayer. He’s not just an excellent guitarist; he’s also
a great singer and songwriter. I love his songs and guitar solos, they’re not fast but he
puts a lot of emotions in them, which you can really hear.
4. What guitar is your weapon of choice?
The Jim Root signature fender telecaster, because fender telecaster is a guitar with history and her sound is amazing. It's perfect to play and the clean sound is beautiful. You
can hear the typical warm fender sound.
My choice would be the Ibanez MTM1 and the ARZ700. They have both a very warm
clean sound and have a lot pressure if you play heavy stuff.
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5. What tuning does SYLB play in? What are the (dis-)advantages of this?
We play in drop C. I can't really say what the advantages are. I don’t care much about
tunings, for me it is fine.
We’re playing in drop C. I like it, because it’s heavy but the open chords aren’t that deep.
6. What’s something crucial for you when playing guitar?
I need enough space; I hate to play in my bedroom. I prefer it when there is enough
room around me.
I like to play with the Dunlop Ultex 1.14 picks and it’s always a good training to play with
a metronome.
7. How do you record your guitar?
I don’t really record much, just some riff ideas and I do this with garage band.
For simple and short ideas, I use garage band, because it’s very simple and fast. For
more serious stuff, I use FL studio.
8. Where do you think the genres headed? What are some of the trends
you’ve noticed and what is your feeling about them?
I think there is lot of cool stuff with synthesizers and bass-drops and things like that.
However, I don’t like this electro and trance core genres with over-auto tuned clean
voices.
I think there will be a more crossovers and it gets a lot heavier, because everyone wants
to make heavier stuff than other bands do.
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9. Can you read sheet music? Would you recommend upcoming guitarists
to invest time in learning this?
I used to but nowadays I can't read them anymore. If you want to study music or something like that then I would. But if you just want to have fun with your instrument then
tabs are enough.
Yes, I can. I need it for the classical stuff I play. Hmm, if you just want to play Metalcore, I
think you don’t need it. But as soon as you want to play for example classical or jazz music I’d recommend it.
10. Any tips for the beginner guitarists reading this?
Yes, you should start a band! My motivation is so much higher ever since I play in this
band. You also need to invest time and patience to practise.
You should definitely start a band or find some other people to play and practice together. You can learn a lot from each other and you’ll get a lot of motivation. I would also
recommend you to try out other genres, not just core, because you’ll develop your own
core style with your influences and it never gets boring.
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10. Final Words
Even though this task has cost me a lot of patience, sweat and especially nerves, I have to
admit that it was absolutely worth it. It has greatly expanded my knowledge of
Metalcore, of managing my own website as well as working professionally with Microsoft Word. This process has even contributed significantly to the improvement of my
English. All in all, I have learnt so many new things and I hope you have too.
One of the main goals of this high school project is to encourage the student to think for
himself and develop maturity. I think that this is exactly the impact this task has had on
me.
By the end of this document you should be provided with a comprehensive overview of
playing Metalcore on guitar. With this I have built you a house; now it is up to you to
decorate it. Do not make it too plain. Stay creative and do not stick only to the guidelines; or as Moritz already said in the interview "there are no rules when playing guitar".
Keep the genre moving!
I have already mentioned in the introduction the possibility of asking me questions on
my website, and I really want you to take this to heart. In this guide, I have only covered
the most important aspects, without getting too lost in detail. Now you can build your
own branches. Therefore, don't hesitate to act when you're stuck building these branches or misunderstanding anything in this paper. It takes five seconds type your question
in the box on my webpage and I would be more than happy to help you out.
Thank you so much for reading!
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11. References
All the illustrations mentioned below are not mine; they were found in on the following
websites:
[Cover photo]
https://pictureofthewind.wordpress.com/page/6/
[Image 1]
http://www.wallsave.com/wallpaper/1024x768/jim-root-mick-thompson-james460725.html
[Image 2]
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:As_I_Lay_Dying-8331.jpg
[Image 3]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/harry_manback/4014268461/
[Image 4]
http://www.igdb.co.uk/pages/beginners/names_of_the_parts_on_a_guitar.htm
[Image 6]
http://pbguitars.co.uk/holding-a-guitar-plectrum-or-pick/
[Image 7]
http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5169609
[Image 8]
http://www.guitarchalk.com/2012/08/utilizing-drop-d-quick-riff-focusing-on.html
[Image 9] + [Image 10]
http://www.guitarnoise.com/lessons/drop-c-tuning/
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[Image 14]
http://tabs.ultimateguitar.com/a/asking_alexandria/not_the_american_average_tab.htm
[Image 17]
http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/m/miss_may_i/forgive_and_forget_ver5_tab.htm
[Image 20]
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=673838562666824&set=a.330791676971
516.97403.197246116992740&type=1&theater
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