Metal guitar
Metal means tight palm-muted riffs on the low strings, precise rhythm and high speed. Below are the chords, scale, techniques and a riff you can hear, slow down and practise.
1970s100–200 BPMpalm mutinggallop
What is metal
Metal grew out of hard rock in the late 1960s and early 1970s: heavy slow riffs, a dark sound and powerful distortion. Later the genre split into dozens of styles - from classic heavy metal to fast thrash and groove metal with heavy swaying riffs.
The core of the guitar part is a riff on the low strings. The open sixth string sounds muted and rhythmic, and power chords appear between the hits, often with half-step chromatic moves. The picking hand matters more than the fretting hand: everything rests on an even, precise stroke.
Signature chords
As in rock, the main chord is the power chord. A typical move is E5, C5, D5, E5: natural minor with the sixth and seventh degrees. Half-step moves and a chord a tritone above the root - for example A#5 after E5 - add the dark sound.
Scale for soloing
The basic scale is E natural minor. Below it is shown near the nut with open strings. The solo on this page is played higher up the neck, but it uses the same notes.
Techniques
Palm muting
The edge of your picking hand rests on the strings near the bridge, making the sound short and growling. The muted open sixth string is metal’s main rhythmic sound. Press harder and it gets duller; lighter and the note starts to ring.
Gallop
An eighth note and two sixteenths: da-daga, da-daga. It sounds like a galloping horse - hence the name. Play it down-down-up and keep all three hits equally loud. You can hear the gallop in the riff below.
Tremolo picking
Very fast repeats of one note with alternate picking: down-up without stopping. It is used for melodies over a heavy rhythm. Start slowly and keep your hand relaxed - speed comes later.
Riff in the style
Three gallops on the muted open sixth string, then G5 and F#5 power chords; in the second bar A#5 and A5, a half step apart. Start at 70–80% tempo and speed up once the gallop is even.
The examples use a clean tone. On records the guitar in this genre is usually distorted - add drive on your own amp or pedal.
Metal-style solo
First a tremolo-picked melody on the second string - C, B, A, G. Then a fast sixteenth-note run down the pentatonic, a bend and vibrato on E. Slow the example down to 60% if the run is not there yet.
The riff opens as a draft: change notes, tempo and tracks however you like.
Open in RiffonicWhat to listen to
Listen to these songs and pay attention to what is described next to each one.
- Black Sabbath - “Iron Man”. A slow, heavy riff recognisable from the very first notes - a good example of how metal sounded at the start.
- Metallica - “Master of Puppets”. Fast palm-muted riffs played with downstrokes only - a stamina test for the picking hand.
- Iron Maiden - “The Trooper”. A gallop in the rhythm part and melodies played by two guitars in harmony.
- Pantera - “Walk”. A heavy, swaying groove: the riff’s power comes from pauses and accents rather than speed.
Every riff and solo on this page is an original exercise in the style of the genre, not the notes of someone else’s song.
FAQ
What tuning is used in metal?
Standard, Drop D and lower tunings - a whole step, a step and a half or more - as well as seven-string guitars. All examples on this page are in standard tuning.
How do I learn to play riffs fast?
Learn the riff slowly with a metronome until it is even, then raise the tempo in small steps. On this page you can slow the example down to 60 and 80%.
Do you need a special guitar for metal?
No. Humbuckers and heavy distortion help the sound, but the technique - palm muting, the gallop, tremolo picking - can be practised on any guitar, even unplugged.