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Heavy Metal Guitar Scales
I've specifically called this lesson "metal guitar scales", but of
course you can play any damn scale you want, whether it be pentatonic,
major, minor, whatever! What I'll do is go through some of the more exotic scales used in heavy metal, scales that really compliment the dark
power chord melodies.
They're pretty easy to play in their basic "boxed" positions and I'll give you some backing tracks to try them over.
The great thing about the more extreme forms of metal (thrash, black, death etc.) is that you can be atonal with your lead guitar, because including some off-key notes often adds to the atmosphere of the music.
The following heavy metal guitar scales are the most commonly used -
I'm not pigeon holing at all, but it's true that minor, exotic and
"ethereal" scales tend to fit the intense nature of this style of
music.
Note that more than one scale can be played over each of the backing tracks in this lesson - these are just for example!
Most popular heavy metal guitar scales and modes
We'll start with the most commonly used metal guitar
scales first and then move on to some weirder ones. Just before we
start though, some things to keep in mind (although they may be obvious
to some...)
1) These scales are "boxed" and
movable, meaning you can slide the scale patterns up and down the
fretboard to change key (we'll look at expanding out of these boxes
another time).
2) When 'chords change in a riff,
some notes in the more exotic, tense scales will become out-of-key, so
when playing you need to use your best judgement on which notes
compliment which part of the particular backing riff you're playing
over.
OK!
Natural minor
/ Aeolian
The natural minor scale also falls as the 6th mode in western music
(Aeolian).
Look at the diagram below - we're in the key of F# because the root notes of the scale lie on... F#
(for example, that's fret 2 on the fat E string, and also an octave
higher at fret 14). This is the key the backing track will be in.
The fingering is only a suggestion - you should play it how you feel comfortable.
Click the diagram to hear it being played
The red box indicates the notes that you should be careful of when soloing over the tonic (root) chord/power chord. These are the flat 6th tones of the scale and, like in this example, if we play over an F#
power chord, the flat 6th will sound pretty unharmonious if emphasised
for more than just a second or two (try it!). Think of it as a passing
note in the scale.
The natural minor scale is used a lot in heavy metal - some people get
bored of it because it lacks the tension found in more exotic scales.
However, others use it religiously and can make it sound fresh every solo.
Before you try accompanying the backing track below, get up to speed and confident with this scale by using a metronome.
Also, don't just play it down at the 2nd fret - get to know it an
octave higher, and in this case, for the key of F#, up at fret 14.
Although we're just looking at the boxed scale shapes at the moment,
try to skip around the scale and find your own little hooks over the
backing tracks. This means holding on some notes for longer (we'll get
to bends and vibratos another lesson...) and skipping strings to
construct a musical phrasing.
When you're ready, >> Click to download the backing track
Remember you can also use minor pentatonic over ANY minor key riff, so most of the backing tracks in this lesson will be compatible.
Harmonic minor
The harmonic minor scale is almost the same as natural minor, but with a major/sharp 7th (if you don't know what that means, don't worry - it's all in the theory section). This means its related chord is minor sharp 7.
As metal uses
power chords which are neither major nor minor, using this scale will
give it the flavour of the "min#7" chord type, which has a dark and
unsettling sound.
Again, click the diagram to hear it
It has a kind of exotic feel. It also has that flattened 6th which is red boxed above. Like with the natural minor scale, watch out for this note when playing over the tonic 'chord.
Again, use a metronome to build up speed and confidence with jumping around this scale.
------------Side note for all scales in this lesson---------
You have to use your best judgement when choosing
which notes in the scale to play over which chords/power chords in the
backing riff. Some might not "fit" when the 'chord or key changes, so
just experiment till you find a hook - that's how I learned. You don't need to be told what to play!
----------------------------------------------------------
So, using the key from the diagram (starting at fret 5 on the fat E
string which is the key of A) try playing harmonic minor over the
backing track below...
>> Click to download the backing track
Remember that more than one scale can be used over the backing tracks in this lesson! I personally think the Spanish scale
(further down the page) also sounds good over parts of this backing track (in
fact, playing the Spanish scale in the key of E is effectively playing harmonic
minor in A! Try it once you've learned the Spanish scale).
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Phrygian
Phrygian is another of the commonly used metal
guitar scales. It's the 3rd mode in western music and as a scale it has
a Spanish flavour because of the flattened 2nd tone, red boxed - like
the flattened 6th, be careful with this note over the tonic chord, as
usual.
Also watch out for that blue boxed flat 6th, although with a Phrygian based
power chord progression, it becomes compatible with quite a few
movements. You'll see which if you investigate the scale over the D
Phrygian backing track.
Like I said before with the side note; some notes will
become dissonant, unharmonious if the 'chord or key changes - you know
what sounds good when you play the scale over a progression.
The good thing about metal is that these harsher tensions won't
necessarily fuck up the song if used a little too liberally because
metal often feeds off atonal melody... in moderation!
>> Click to download the backing track
Lydian
This one's a major scale, but also lies as
the 4th mode in western music. Its "flavour" is characterised by the
sharpened 4th which gives it an ethereal sort of quality. Lydian is
definitely one of my favourites for slow paced and down-tuned metal.
The great thing about Lydian is you can hold on its tension note for as long as you want over the tonic chord/power chord
- it sounds tense, but unlike Phrygian's tension note it doesn't become
uncomfortable to the ears if emphasised, for example, as a long,
constant starting or finishing note.
>> Click to download the backing track
------Side note---------------------
Remember, with any of the backing tracks
in this lesson, if the riff is compatible with a minor scale, you can
also use good old minor pentatonic. Try mixing it with the more complex
scale. Also, if the riff is compatible with major scales, you can use
major pentatonic.
-------------------------------------
OK, let's move on to some more exotic heavy metal guitar scales...
Spanish Gypsy / Jewish Scale
The Spanish scale is a great alternative to Phrygian in
metal because it really emphasises that Spanish flamenco sound. Even
though it's major dominant, it compliments heavy metal music in an
elaborate way.
Again, just like Phrygian, those flat 2nd (red boxes) and flattened 6th (blue boxes) are tones to watch out for when soloing over the tonic - as for the rest of the riff, a lot of metal's
power chord riffs borrow from the Spanish scale and use these tones so try and pick them out through the progression.
TIP: The backing track below starts in the key shown in the diagram (A) but changes to the key of E
in the middle. Playing the scale in the key of A will still work if you
emphasise the "right" notes, but you could try changing along with the
riff into the key of E (playing the scale at the 12th fret)...
>> Click to download the backing track
Byzantine scale
This is quite a memorable scale pattern to learn in its boxed shape because of the way it steps up towards the high E string.
The Byzantine scale is pretty tense because it
includes that flattened 2nd tone again (out come the red boxes again!)
but also uses a flattened 6th tone
(blue boxes - so also keep your ears on these). Also, keeping the 7th
tone in its natural major scale position means there are three tones
within the space of a whole step (3 fret spaces).
Creepy, but definitely fun to play. Have a try...
>> Click to download the backing track
Romanian scale
I love this one. It's a minor scale and uses a
sharpened 4th tension and flattened (dominant) 7th to create a
distinctly ominous atmosphere.
There's
no real tempo or style of metal this really lends itself to
particularly, but the backing track below should let you try out some
ideas...
When playing over a melody you have to experiment and
find which tones of the scale you're playing are best played at certain
points of the riff. E.g. You may be able to hold one of the scale's
notes over one chord, but when the chord changes, you might find it no
longer "fits", so you need to change the note there and then.
>> Click to download the backing track
So there's just a few of the most commonly used heavy metal guitar
scales. If
you like, you can go back and experiment with each scale over a
different backing track. The main thing is that you spend time writing
some of your own solos.
Learn to respect chord changes and how they affect what notes you play
from a scale - experiment with different notes in its place to see
which one has the desired effect you're after.
Building small phrases within the solo is a good way to trap in those more effective notes.
It's all about time, practice and experimentation. This lesson just got you on your feet :o)
Thanks for your time and effort and I hope you enjoyed using the backing tracks. Happy (or should I say "miserable") soloing!
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