Thrash Metal Guitar Lesson
Thrash picking techniques & speed exercises

This is the lesson where we dramatically reduce the life of our guitar strings! Thrash metal gave birth to the most percussive and grinding rhythm guitar playing techniques known to man. By using techniques we've looked at in the other palm mute lessons (see below links), experimenting with alternate picking rhythms, we can now build on those and work on more complex rhythms.

This lesson should be seen as a physical exercise rather than a lesson in melodic theory! Once you're confident with the physical aspects, you can then get more creative with your own ideas.

First, make sure you've been through the lessons below, as each covers essential elements of palm muting (the technique that made thrash metal 80% what it is)...

This lesson will expand on the guitar lessons above to look at more complex scratch-pick rhythms, using pick groupings, which requires you to be in firm control of the tension release in your picking wrist.

So if you're confident with palm muting and the basic machine gun rhythm playing, then let's now push this a step further...

First, picking rather fast

After going through the lessons above, you should know how to position your picking hand for palm muted riffs. The most common techniques used in thrash metal involve fast alternate picking (sometimes called tremolo picking) whilst palm muting. Most of the time, it's done on just one string at a time, but you can widen your picking "window" over a powerchord (diad) for a chunkier sound.

Below are a couple of speed variations of this muted alternate picking. I've recorded them clean, without distortion so you can really hear the pick strokes. You should make sure, before you move on, that you can at least hold a constant alternate picking rhythm on the lowest/fattest 3 strings on your guitar...

>> Thrash picking - low E string

>> Faster example

As we'll see in this next exercise, this constant flow can be our rhythmic base to build on how we want...

A little thrash metal warm-up to begin with

No overly complex rhythms to start with - let's just hammer out the riff below to warm-up our picking wrist (based on the fast, palm muted, alternate-picking technique from above).

This type of continuous, "wall-of-noise" scratch rhythm is commonly applied on the lowest open string (e.g. the low E string) for that deep chugging undertone. The only downside is, and I say this as an avid listener of thrash metal, this particular application is why a LOT of thrash sounds the same to the casual listener. Use it to support your music, don't just use it because it's the easiest option!

Audio: Slow Example - Faster Example

I always see those non-palm muted powerchord bursts as marker points in between the scratch guitar - this helps to establish an accurate overall rhythm, even if your scratch rhythms in between aren't 100% clean (but naturally you'll work towards getting them that way...won't you!)

Here's an interesting technique to use if you're away from that root E string - use the same, fast alternate picking, and use the area around that fret to inject other notes from the bottom 3 strings (or more if you like). Whilst one finger is used up on that root string, try to use all your remaining fingers around it to find a harmony you like...

Click diagram to hear

Try mixing that second exercise with the first - it's common to hear the second type of pattern used as a kind of interlude, before crashing back down to that low E powerchord, but don't tie yourself to traditional dynamics - experiment and mix shit up!

Try some of your ideas over the drum track below. It's a typical old-school blast beat with a short interlude. At 50 seconds long, it's a good initial test for your alternate picking stamina.

Download the beat here >

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THE key element to creative thrash rhythm guitar - pick groupings

As we looked at in the more advanced palm muting lesson, we can group our alternate picking strokes (down-up-down-up etc.) in different quantities to create short intermittent bursts of rhythmic guitar. This is the foundation of rhythm guitar in thrash metal and requires strict control of the picking wrist to release this burst of tension accurately. So, time for some self-discipline!

Try experimenting and mixing up the rhythms to create more dynamic riffs. It's all about grouping those alternate picking strokes (e.g. in groups of three, four, five picks etc.) - that's what creates the rhythmic intricacies in the music.

The exercises below should help you improve your sense of picking rhythm over time. Listen to the slow examples first, then see how the rhythm relates to the up-down pick diagrams and try to replicate it. A metronome will be essential in building up speed with these!

The black dots indicate where a non-muted powerchord/diad is played in the pattern.

The black squares indicate a fully muted stop. Listen to the audio to get your bearings.

Regular pick groupings

Audio: Slow Example - Faster Example

Audio: Slow Example - Faster Example

Audio: Slow Example - Faster Example

Audio: Slow Example - Faster Example

Audio: Slow Example - Faster Example

Mixed pick groupings

These patterns involve mixing different pick groupings into one repetitive sequence. These ones will need more time to master because your picking hand can't just get into a steady rhythm with these like the ones above.

Audio: Slow Example - Faster Example

Audio: Slow Example - Faster Example

Audio: Slow Example - Faster Example - Even Faster Example

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Non-muted tremolo picking

A lot of thrash is done under palm muted strings, but you get a completely different effect by using the same fast alternate picking but playing unmuted strings as normal. This gets us a chainsawing effect that really cuts through the percussion and lays down a more defined melody :)

What I do is simply move the meaty part of my picking hand (used to "palm" mute) onto the bridge to create a kind of pivot point for support, and then alternate pick from there. You may find you need to experiment a bit with how you hold the pick, as faster alternate picking can become obstructed by holding the pick awkwardly.

Audio: Slow Example - Faster Example

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Injecting mini-lead lines

Thrash guitar doesn't always have to be about thick powerchords and defined melodies, you can add some harmony (tonal or atonal) to the chaos by mixing lead phrases with the powerchords (palm muted or unmuted)...

It's good to get into the habit of using alternate picking in these lead phrases, as this will allow you to eventually speed up more easily whilst keeping pick positioning under control.

The faster example below shows how you can incorporate these mini-lead phrases into a fuller riff, working with the percussion for more rhythmic support.

Audio: Slow Example - Faster Example

 

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So what next?

Now it's time to get inventive! This lesson should have provided you with some good physical picking exercises, that define the brutal nature of thrash metal, that you can now take away and apply your own creativity to.

Like I always say: you should never look for guidance on what to play - that's ultimately what will single your music out from the rest.

Keep practicing and mixing up those picking rhythms with the aid of a trusty metronome, and you'll get to the level of confidence you need very soon!

As always, thanks for your patience and effort, and I'll hopefully see you soon.

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