Drop A Metal Guitar Riff

Here is a metal guitar riff in Drop A tuning A E A D F# B. This lick has a kind of exotic sound that reminds me a bit of the phyrgian mode but I haven't analyzed the notes in terms of a particular scale this just sounded interesting to me. The video demonstrates the lick alone and over a drum backing track. There is also a right hand view and a slower speed demonstration. The bulk of the lick is made up of symmetrical legato patterns.

12 Bar Blues Guitar Lick and Improv Jam

Were are using the same backing track as yesterday's post for this guitar lick. Used with permission of www.freejamtracks.com. Again we are tuned down a half step so playing in the B position but sounding in Bb. We are using the same pentatonic scale form as yesterday which is the fourth form. The guitar lick begins in similar fashion to the last lick but then we revert to the first pentatonic form to finish the lick with a common variation on blues phrasing.

Bb 12 Bar Blues Lick

Here is another 12 bar blues guitar lick over the backing track from the last post. Used with permission of www.freejamtracks.com

This guitar lick is based around the 4th shape of the minor pentatonic scale for a more advanced use of this position you can hear Eric Clapton use this a lot in his later blues material. We are in the key of Bb but playing in the B position because the guitar is tuned down a half step. If you don't want to tune down you can play everything on fret lower on the guitar and still accompany the backing track.

Blues Guitar Tapping Lick

This is a blues guitar lick that uses the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale ( I'm tuned down a half step so I play in the seventh position). It's a tapping lick that to my ears sounds best over the turnaround section in the following 12 bar blues backing track #51 Bb Rocket Blues.Backing track from www.freejamtracks.com used with permission.Guitar tuned down a half step.

Metal Guitar Riff Drop B Tuning

This is the last in our series of guitar licks and riffs in Drop B tuning. This mini guitar lesson looks at a metal riff played at two speeds that uses heavy palm muting. For the slower tempo example I recommend using all downstrokes and then when you want to increase the speed for the faster example use alternate picking.
I hope you've enjoyed some of the heavier licks and riffs. Next week we are going to check out some additional tapping guitar licks. I've also been planning a few licks demonstrating some double stop techniques as requested by a viewer. If you have any requests or suggestions please let me know. You can find my email on the main web site or message me on youtube. Have a great music filled weekend.

Drop B Guitar Riff

I've been meaning to get back to a few tapped guitar licks but I've grown to really dig the drop b tuning I've been using over the last few posts so I thought I'd finish out the week with a few more licks in that tuning from low to high B,Gb,B,E,Ab,Db

Try altering the phrasing and speed of this riff and come up with variations of your own.

Guitar Lesson Epistaxis Solo Part 2

This is part two of a scratch solo over the rhythm guitar track we have been looking at. Again the guitar is tuned to a modified Drop B tuning. The video demonstrates the lead guitar part first them breaks down the second part in slower segments. If you missed the first part please check yesterday's post. Hope you dig it.

Guitar Lesson Epistaxis Solo Part 1

Today we are going to look at a "scratch" guitar solo I did over the riff from the song Epistaxis. The tuning is the same as the last posts a modified Drop B. The riff we are using is the riff from yesterdays post. The video presents the whole guitar solo and then breaks down part one into slower demonstrations. Part 2 is up tomorrow.

I didn't sit down and work this solo out I just played over the backing track and this is what I came up with. Theory wise I'm hearing mainly E Phyrgian Mode but there are chromatic moments in there as well. Try improvising your own solos over this progression and determine what works and sounds good to your ears.

Guitar Lesson - Epistaxis Riff

Here is a rhythm part to the song epistaxis we have been looking at. We are still using the Drop B Tuning as discussed in the last couple of posts. After writing this riff it kinda reminds me a bit of Orion by Metallica which I thought was pretty cool. This is a great riff to practice your 16th note riffing if your new to this style of playing. Hope you enjoy it. The next couple of posts will look at some solo lead guitar over this riff.

Guitar Lesson - Epistaxis Intro Part 2

Here is part 2 to the guitar intro to the song Epistaxis. Were are still in the Drop B tuning discussed in the last two posts. The guitar here is playing a modified version of the first intro part but here the chord forms are being played with a more elaborate picking sequence. I've broken the video down to include a right hand view and slower tempo so you can pick up what's going on in conjunction with you study of the tab and standard notation. Any questions, comments let me know. Cheers.

Guitar Lesson - Epistaxis Intro Riff

We are still in the same Drop B tuning discussed in the last post. This is the clean intro part to the song Epistaxis. There can be a bit of a stretch to this so practice slowly and warmup first. Stop if you feel any pain or discomfort. If you feel the stretch is too big lift your fingers more instead of letting the notes ring out as much.

Guitar Lesson "Epistaxis"

This is a guitar lesson demonstrating a riff to a song I'm writing called "Epistaxis". The guitar is in the same tuning as yesterday's lick from low to high Drop B down a step and a half - B,Gb,B,E,Ab,Db. I hope you dig it - I just came up with the riff so it needs some tweaking but I think it has potential. I did not notate in the tab where the pinch harmonics occur. I basically threw them in on the slower notes along the A string when I felt like it.

The next couple of days we will check out guitar licks for variations on the chord progression from the songs intro. Which involves a cleaner tone and slower rhythm.

Drop B Metal Lick

This guitar lick uses a tuning Tommi Iommi from Black Sabbath made famous except here we drop the 6th string to a B. The tuning is B, Gb, B, E, Ab, Db. This really fattens up the guitar sounds and can make ordinary sounding riffs a lot heavier. I've got pretty light gauge strings on so you can hear a bit of extraneous noise. To tighten up the sound and make it even heavier I'd recommend a thicker set of strings if you play to make regular use of this tuning.

Drop C Metal Guitar Riff

I had planned to do a few more tapping licks before some metal guitar riffs but listening to some of the new Metallica tracks has put me in more of a metal mood. So here is a Drop C down a whole step metal guitar riff to check out. It's a fair tempo so I demonstrated the right and left hands at slow speed. This is a pretty straight forward rhythm and fairly basic as metal riffs go. For some more advanced material you can't go wrong with Metallica, Pantera or Black Label Society in my book. I'm showing my age a bit but for "newer" bands I like what I've heard from Lamb of God and Trivium and the new Slipkot album sounds awesome. If this video is too easy or you didn't like it let me know. Feedback really helps me improve the content. Cheers.

Guitar Lesson Tapping Etude Part 5

Here is the fifth and final guitar lesson that wraps up our look into the instrumental solo guitar tapped introduction to "Ascending". This is the most difficult guitar part of the composition and require more movement from both the fretting hand and tapping hand. The notes are outlined in the first two bars of this part and then in the final bars the same notes are played in a different sequence with quicker transition between musical phrases than before.

I hope you enjoy practicing this and that it provided an introduction for those guitar players who were not familiar with basic tapping for guitar. There are a few more tapped licks slated for next week then by request we'll revisit some heavier material in drop D and C tuning.

Guitar Lesson Tapping Etude Part 4

Today's guitar lick is part 4 of a guitar lesson looking at a rock guitar instrumental I'm working on. If you have progressed through the composition this far this part of the lesson should be pretty straight forward. We begin with a tapping sequence on the 20th fret where the tapped note stays fixed and the hammer on and pull offs from the fretting hand ascend. The sequence finishes with a longer sequence of notes which begins on the 19th fret. Guitar is tuned down a half step if you want to play along. The next lesson gets a bit harder but should be manageable if you have got the first four parts down.

Guitar Lesson Tapping Etude Part 3

Today's guitar lick of the day looks at part 3 of our guitar lesson on the tapping étude "Ascending". Part three relies a lot on repetition and a variation of a tapped sequence. Even within a short musical introduction like this the use of repetition and variation can help a listener focus in on a piece and gain their attention. Classical music frequently employs this technique as does many modern rock guitar solos and songs.

Guitar Lesson Tapping etude part 2

Here is the second part of a solo rock guitar lesson on the instrumental I'm working on called "Ascending". This example as with the first guitar lick is played with legato technique using tapping and hammer on and pull offs on the fourth string. There is no picking involved. The guitar example in the video is tuned down a half step so if you want to play along you'll need to tune down.

Guitar Lesson - Tapping Etude Part 1

Here is part one of a guitar lesson looking at a rock guitar tapping étude I'm working on called "Ascending". The video will present you with the complete first section of the piece then over the week each segment will be broken down and presented so you can focus on 5 guitar licks within the song.

Part one focuses on the first guitar lick in the song. It is played entirely on the fourth string. Technique wise you will be using tapping and hammer on and pull offs as the piece is played with legato technique. There is no picking during the song. I prefer to use my index finger to tap the guitar fretboard but guitar players also use their ring finger and sometimes their pick as well - experiment and see what works best for you.