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Metal
Guitar Strumming
Strumming patterns in heavy metal
This
lesson is a great introduction to playing rhythm guitar in heavy metal.
The strumming patterns we're about to learn should be seen as the
foundations you'll later build upon as you learn other metal rhythm
techniques (palm muting, scratch picking etc.).
Throughout this
lesson, I'll be showing you examples of various strumming
patterns and you'll also have some drum tracks to put what you
learn to practice. Enjoy it!
Down
strumming in metal - the basics
The first thing we need to master is down
strumming. As the name suggests, this is simply where you hit the
strings in set downward motions. This technique gives us a punchy
attack, hitting those bass strings with the most force as
your arm/wrist comes down.
In the exercises we're about to look at, we're simply going to use powerchords. I'll tab out the
powerchord riffs for reference as we go but the emphasis will be on you
coming up with your own
riffs over the drum tracks.
First, we're going to play a simple 4/4 downstrum rhythm as follows...
So if I were to use this rhythm over some basic powerchord shapes on the low
E and A strings, it would look and sound something like this...
You'll notice that I actually use very little movement to "strum" the
strings, since we're just hitting two strings at a time. In fact, it's
mostly in the wrist. Keeping your pick sweep tight around the target
strings will help as you
speed up your down strum playing.
Simple enough. Try speeding up this rhythm gradually using a metronome
to guide you. In a moment we'll try something more complex over a
proper drum track.
OK,
let's now try moving around the fretboard with this powerchord shape
whilst maintaining that strict 4/4 rhythm above. You can obviously come
up with your own riffs, but I'm using the one tabbed out below...
As
you change position from a low E string powerchord to an A string
powerchord, you'll obviously need to reposition your downstrum attack
so the
first string you hit is the root note of the powerchord.
Remember, if you can't keep up with that drum track yet, use a metronome
first, to speed up gradually and ensure you're "string targeting" is
accurate.
Let's now move on to some more complex downstrum rhythms.
 Get the complete picture...
What
I show you on this site
only scratches the surface, and for less than the cost of a single
private lesson, you can have everything you need to take your metal
rhythm guitar playing to advanced level. Learn More
Here >
Heavy
metal strumming patterns
You'll
most likely recognise the patterns we're about to look at as they are
used a lot in metal. However, with the drummer adding his/her own beat
and the guitarists writing their own riffs, they will never sound
rehashed. Think of them as fundamental ingredients which you should
build on and twist into your own.
Let's start with this one. First take a listen to the audio for an
example...
Click to hear >
So,
slightly different from before as this time we're grouping our
downstrokes into triplets (with the exception of that opening couple of
strokes).
I find this pattern works well with moderate blast
beats, as a nice alternative to the typical palm muted scratch picking
heard in a lot of thrash. You can certainly hear the hardcore punk
influence in this combination. Try your own riff over the drum track
below (right click and "save as" to download)...
Remember - use a metronome to speed up gradually!
As the tempo of this pattern increases, you may find you need to use
upstrokes - more on this in part 2.
Now
let's try a slower, more lumbering riff, which makes use of much looser
and sparse strumming patterns. If you're a fan of groove metal then
you'll appreciate this style of riffing.
Hear how I space out the downstrums. Take a listen...
Click to hear >
So
there's a bit more space in that riff for the powerchords to ring out.
What's interesting about riffs like this is, when the percussion is
added, the down strums naturally move with the groove of the bass drum.
Take another listen, but this time with the drums...
All
we're essentially doing here is leaving gaps in that constant 4/4
downstrum pattern from earlier. If we filled in those gaps, here's what
we'd get...
Click to hear >
Ideally, you won't be relying too much on the tabs in this lesson,
because I really want you to experiment with your own riffs, and
explore the rhythm techniques we've been looking at.
And finally...
There's one last down strumming pattern we should get to know before we
move on to part 2.
Metal often makes use of sub-rhythms, where a different time signature
will provide a "fill" or an interruption to the main driving rhythm.
Now, the best way to understand what I mean is to hear it! Take a
listen...
Click to hear >
So, we start with a basic driving rhythm from the earlier patterns, but
it's interrupted by a kind of off-beat sub-rhythm. Listen to it again
on its own and clean...
Click to hear >
So, without a tab to show you what to play, try and come up with your
own riff over the drum track below, and see if you can fill those mini
interludes accurately.
Download the drum track >
Building on these foundations...
I
hope this lesson has helped you become more confident with your rhythm
playing in heavy metal. It's now time to move on to more complex and
quicker strumming patterns that involve both up and down strokes.
If
you're really serious about your metal, and you need a more
comprehensive (but low cost) guide to advanced rhythm techniques, I
strongly recommend the Burning
Metal Rhythm course.
Part 2 (coming soon)
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