How to Play “Metal” Guitar

If you’re a young, beginner guitarist then this might be something you’re interested in, and if not you’ve at least heard about it. Either way, it’s something that’s been talked and written about again and again (possibly too much?). What caught my attention, though, was this article on www.guitarlearninglesson.com. As I was reading through the article I started to realise something- the subject makes no sense!

Don’t get me wrong, the quality of writing and -to some extent- the factual content are accurate and well presented. So what’s wrong with it? Well, the article title is “How to Play Metal Guitar”, suggesting the question in the readers mind “How do I play Metal Guitar?”. Now, I have a bit of a problem with this, because it almost assumes that playing guitar in a Heavy Metal style is completely different to all other genres (hint: it’s not!).

In fact, I have a better question: not “How do you play heavy metal guitar?”, but more “What is metal guitar?”…just what is “metal”? How is it defined? You see, I was originally going to write this post teaching you how to play metal guitar (hence the title), and I could do that, but first I want us both to be clear on what “heavy metal” is.

What is “Metal”?

Metal is a very wide area of music, and everyone seems to have their own definition of what it is- www.guitarlearninglessons.com included. I’m really not up for bringing the above-mentioned post down (and I don’t feel the need to), so I’m just going to point out where I disagree with their definition, and how this can help you really play “metal” guitar.

How does guitarlearninglessons define metal? Well, simply that it’s usually in a minor key, with a fast tempo (high speed), and uses chugging rhythms. This definition includes all the most popular metal bands today- influenced by Metallica, Iron Maiden etc; essentially metal with a punk influence (thrash, NWOBHM, Motörhead…). I don’t disagree that this counts as metal, but it is metal with a punk influence- you can take away the punk influence (i.e. the speed) and it would still be “metal” in my book. Anyway, what about Black Sabbath? They almost created heavy metal, and there was no punk influence in sight…

Encyclopaedia Metallum

The second source I looked at for a definition of “heavy metal” was the Encyclopaedia Metallum. This certainly looks like a credible source! After searching through their pages I found a set of conditions that a band needs to meet in order to be accepted, along with examples of bands that don’t meet the criteria.

To my shock and surprise listed among the bands that wouldn’t be classed as “Metal” were: Metallica, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple! OK, maybe Deep Purple I can forgive for being labeled “Classic Rock”…but Metallica?! Under the rules that they set down for acceptance, Black Sabbath wouldn’t get in here either (or if it did it would be on “historical importance” only). Although they don’t actually specify what “Metal” is, I can gather by these examples that I’m at least unsure about their definition.

Heavy Metal as a Genre

So what is my definition? Well first, most of the songs are in a minor key, with dark themes and heavy sounds (usually created by the bass). To me, “Heavy” means just that- heavy. Like the sound of a giant, or a heard of elephants- a heavy moving object. This implies lots of bass to me.

Bands that I would consider “Metal”: Black Sabbath (of course!), Metallica (again, no surprise!), Black Label Society, Pantera, St. Vitus, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, and anything by Ozzy Osbourne. All of these bands have what I would call a “Heavy” sound, which I would say is the idea behind “Heavy Metal”. I can see a few heads shaking…

Discuss

The truth is, given the wide and varied definitions for “Metal” I can’t say what exactly it is -I’m not sure anyone can! Do you have the answer? What defines “Metal” for you? Are Metallica still a metal band? What About Motörhead? Or are you as confused by all this as me?

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Rob.
Confused :s

February 16, 2010 at 9:42 pm | How to, Music News and Opinions | 1 comment

One Response to “How to Play “Metal” Guitar”

1. Mozart Piano Sonata No.16 | Chainsaw Guitar Tuition says:

   08/03/2010 at 11:26 pm

   [...] makes something “Metal”? Please read “How to Play ‘Metal’ Guitar” where I attempt to answer this question (I said [...]