Nu metal guitar
Nu metal mixed heavy guitars with a hip-hop groove: the riff is chopped up with rests, and the guitar sounds low and thick. Below are the chords, scale, techniques, a riff and a melody you can hear and slow down.
1990s90–120 BPME5–G5–A5–D5syncopation
What is nu metal
Nu metal appeared in the US in the mid-1990s. Bands kept the weight of metal but instead of fast solos and complex parts bet on rhythm: choppy riffs on one or two notes, hip-hop drums, rapped vocals, sometimes a DJ.
The guitar in nu metal hardly ever solos. Its job is rhythm: muted hits on the lowest string with syncopation and rests, sudden chords a half step up and quiet, eerie melodies in the verses.
Signature chords
E5, G5, A5, D5 are power chords: root and fifth with no third, thick-sounding and neither major nor minor. In nu metal they are played on the two thick strings and alternated with muted hits on the open sixth.
Scale for soloing
E natural minor suits the melodies. The melody on this page adds a "foreign" note, F, a half step above the root: that half step is exactly what makes it sound eerie.
Techniques
Choppy chugs
Palm-muted hits on the open sixth string with rests between them. The riff lives on WHERE the hits fall, not on the notes. Listen to the riff below: the kick drum hits together with the guitar.
A half step up
After the open E the guitarist hits a power chord at the 1st fret, a half step higher. The move sounds tense and anxious, and nu metal uses it constantly, along with the tritone.
Low tuning
In this style guitars are often tuned lower: the sixth string to D or even lower, and many players use seven-string guitars. The example here is in standard tuning so you can play it right away. Tap E5 to hear the power chord.
Nu metal riff
Muted hits on the open E with rests, and F, G and A# power chords in between. The bass doubles the riff and the kick hits with the guitar. Start at 60% and count the sixteenths out loud.
The examples use a clean tone. On records the guitar in this genre is usually distorted - add drive on your own amp or pedal.
Nu metal melody
A slow, high melody on the first string: E and F a half step above, a descent to C, a slide back up and a half-step bend at the end. Melodies like this sit in the verses over quiet drums.
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.
- Korn - “Blind”. A quiet, eerie intro with high notes, then a heavy low riff with a choppy rhythm.
- Linkin Park - “One Step Closer”. Simple chopped chords in a lowered tuning and syncopation that locks with the kick drum.
- Deftones - “My Own Summer (Shove It)”. A wall of heavy chords in a low tuning with wavering high notes on top.
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 nu metal played in?
Usually a lowered one: drop D, drop C and lower, and many players use seven-string guitars. The techniques themselves work in standard tuning too, as in the example on this page.
How is nu metal different from regular metal?
Classic metal has lots of fast parts and solos. Nu metal is slower and more rhythmic: riffs on one or two notes, rests, a hip-hop groove and almost no solos.
How do I play syncopated riffs in time?
Count the sixteenths out loud and keep your picking hand moving even through the rests, just without touching the strings. That way every hit lands in its place.