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Need help progressing with metal/hard rock


Joeballz

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Ok so ive been playing guitar for around 2 years i feel im not progressing enough. Ive had 2 teachers so far and cant seem to create a connection with either so the search continues. Im looking to play mostly hard rock and metal. Can anyone guide me as to what scales are most commonly used with these genres? Also does anyone have any good websites that would be helpful for me or even videos to buy? Thankyou.

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I think the best thing you could do is get hold of "Transcribe!" here:

 

http://www.seventhstring.com/

 

..and then start learning your favourite songs and solo's note for note. The added benefit being that your ear will improve tremendously which will open other doors for you. Start simple, Sabbath riffs are a great place to start. AC/DC too.

 

Scalewise, the pentatonic Major and minor, plus the natural minor and Dorian mode will cover 95% of hard rock or metal. The Yngwie/Blackmore influenced stuff will also make great use of the harmonic minor scale and phrygian/phrygian dominant modes.

 

In terms of books/dvd's..then I think Troy Stetina's stuff is very good and geared for metal.

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Hey Joeballz...love that name....instantly makes me use my long island mook accent...."Ayyy Joeballz...ha yoo doo win?"

 

And what Mos said.

 

Just remember, that it isn't an instant thing...takes a while....osmosis of information....

 

Harmony, Melody, and Rhythm. Go.

 

And the MI books are gold (Hal Leonard). The best book I have found on modes and scales is the "Encyclopedia of Scales and Modes" by Jody Fisher. It covers it from all the right angles. And a good pared down, metal geared mode book is "Monster Scales and Modes" from Hal Leonard...it might be by Stetina.....good luck.

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I would add that rock/metal/guitar is a derivative of music. How many of you knew that huh? huh? :poke: lulz etc...

 

Broaden your sights and get involved with a good curriculum. Get good teacher. Listen to all kinds of stuff. Set your goals to 5 or ten years and just do it right. Then you can distill your own metal if you like.

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I would add that rock/metal/guitar is a derivative of music. How many of you knew that huh? huh? :poke: lulz etc...


Broaden your sights and get involved with a good curriculum. Get good teacher. Listen to all kinds of stuff. Set your goals to 5 or ten years and just do it right. Then you can distill your own metal if you like.

 

 

I totally agree with this - you never know, you might end up in Paris one day and fall for a tall lady with a deep brunette fringe, long long legs and a passion for Django.

 

Then where would you be :).

 

Seriously.....1001gear has given out some solid advice here. And your musical tastes and aspirations might well change over time, so it's a good idea to be ready for that.

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I certainly agree that broadening horizons is a good thing. But, when you feel the call of the :rawk: (or whatever)..you HAVE to go with it. Pursue every single thing about it that interests you, obsess about it, imagine yourself playing killer metal solos...and then play them. Immerse yourself in it. Listen to ton's of the stuff and absorb everything, the history, the different sub genres.....study all the guys that influenced the guys you like.

 

As a metalhead myself, there was a very clear distinction between the more blues based US rock/metal players, like Frank Marino, EVH (yes, I consider him blues based), Joe Perry etc..and the more classical sounding Euro-metal guys, Blackmore, Uli Roth, Schenker etc..LEARN IT ALL!.

 

Once the LOVE for playing has been nurtured, by playing what YOU want to play...the rest will follow.

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This last weekend I dusted Stenita's "Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar" and started going back through some of the exercises. Great book, but like anything else it won't do you any good without putting in the time.

 

I like Paul Gilbert's "Get Out of My Yard" DVD. He's a great teacher, and I think he's done DVDs to accompany his last couple of solo albums. He walks through each tune and presents an exercised based on each song. Very well done.

 

John Petrucci's "Rock Discipline" is pretty widely liked and I still use some of the exercises to this day. It's kind of hit and miss for me though - there are parts of it I like a lot and parts that I know I'll never do.

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Start simple, Sabbath riffs are a great place to start. AC/DC too.


Scalewise, the pentatonic Major and minor, plus the natural minor and Dorian mode will cover 95% of hard rock or metal. The Yngwie/Blackmore influenced stuff will also make great use of the harmonic minor scale and phrygian/phrygian dominant modes.


 

 

This. And I'd personally skip the method books and learn tabs to some of those sabbath songs instead and practice along with a jam track, to make sure you're in time.

Here's a good site for that: http://www.guitarbackingtrack.com/

 

As for tabs, just google the name of the song you want and add the word "tab" and you'll get plenty. Not much need for books these days. There's no much on the internet.

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