Metalcore - The Basics. Part 2

Introduction

Hey, I’m back again with another Metalcore Lesson. Now, I’m guessing that if your reading this then you must have read my first lesson. I know that some of you wanted to know how to do some things I mentioned in that lesson, so I’m going to go through some of the basics you need to play Metalcore.

Palm Muting

Palm muting is a signature technique in Metal. In order to palm mute, you need to place the fleshy part of your strumming palm on the strings near the bridge. Doing so will create a massive "chug" sound. You can palm mute on every string, but the low E string is most ideal.

** Most of the examples are in Dropped D **

Example 1 (Palm Muted)
 Try this little riff comfortably and speed up when you’re ready.
|---------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------|
|-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-|

Remember to take everything slowly. Trust me, I have no patience but when i actually took things slowly first it actually paid off.

Let's try switching back and forth between strings now. If you’re not comfortable yet, just practice the first example.

Example 2 (Palm Muted)
Take things slowly
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------0-0-0-0-------------------------0-0-0-0-----------------|
|---------0-0-0-0---------0-0-0-0---------0-0-0-0---------0-0-0-0---------|
|-0-0-0-0-------------------------0-0-0-0-------------------------0-0-0-0-|

Alternate Picking

Alternate picking is a form of picking. Instead of doing all down picking, you do down and up picking motion which saves some energy in your strumming hand. This technique is very useful for cool and fast riffs that you might make up on your guitar. Here are some exercises that contain Alternate Picking.

Example 3 (Alternate Picked)

v - down stroke
^ - up stroke

  v ^ v ^  v ^ v ^  v ^ v ^  v ^ v ^  v ^ v ^  v ^ v ^
|-0-0-0-0--1-1-1-1--2-2-2-2--3-3-3-3--4-4-4-4--5-5-5-5---------|
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------etc.-|
|--------------------------------------------------------------| 
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------------------|

Example 4 (Alternate Picked)
This one is a little bit harder, so take things slowly.
 
 v ^ v ^  v ^ v ^  v ^ v ^  v ^ v ^ v ^ v ^   v ^ v ^  v ^ v ^  v ^ v ^  
|-0-0-0-0----------------------------0-0-0-0-----------------------------|
|----------1-1-1-1-----------3-3-3-3----------1-1-1-1--------------------|
|-------------------2-2-2-2----------------------------2-2-2-2-----------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------3-3-3-3--|
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Play These Slowly! I know that I keep on saying this, but I need to get this stuck in your head.

Slides

Slides are basically self-explanatory. In order to slide, just fret a note and slide your finger to another one while keeping your finger on the fret board. Here's an example of a metalcore riff I made up that has slides in it.

Example 5 (Sliding)

\ - Slide

|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------------------|
|------5--7/9------------------------------------------------------|
|-5/7--------------5-----7------8/10-----5-5-5-5/7-7-7-7--0-0-0-0--|
|--------------0-0---0-0----0-0-------0-------------------0-0-0-0--|
pm             . .   . .    . .       .                   . . . . 

Here is another example that is from Slipknot's "Psychosocial"

Example 6 (Sliding)
|-------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------|
|-6--0-0--5--0-0--5/6--5--0-0--6--0-0--5/6--|
|-6--0-0--5--0-0--5/6--5--0-0--6--0-0--5/6--|
|-6--0-0--5--0-0--5/6--5--0-0--6--0-0--5/6--|
pm   . .     . .          . .     . .

Hammer-Ons

Hammer-ons are very common in Mainstream music now and days, but this technique is one of the easiest to get. A Hammer-on is when a note is plucked and then you quickly press down on a fret that is probably on the same string.

Here's an example:

Example 7 (Hammer-ons)

h - Hammer-on

|-0h1--0h1--0h1--0h3--0h3--0h3--2h3--2h3--2h3--|
|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|
 
Example 8 (Hammer-ons)
This is a bit harder than the previous. Remember that each Hammer-on is clearly heard.

|---------------------1h2----------------------|
|-----------------1h2-----2h3------------------|
|-------------1h2-------------2h3--------------|
|---------1h2---------------------2h3----------|
|-----1h2-----------------------------2h3------|
|-1h2-------------------------------------2h3--|

Pull-Offs

Pull-offs are basically the opposite of a Hammer-on. Instead of pressing down a fret after you plucked a fret, you pull off of it instead.

Example 9 (Pull-offs)
Bless The Fall - To Hell And Back

|------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------|
|-7p0-7p0-7p0-7p0---8p0-8p0-8p0---5p0-5p0-5p0-5p0-5p0--|
|------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------|

Great work! Just keep practicing!

Moving On

Ok, so I basically covered the basic stuff you need to know now. I'm going to give some examples that show you how to make songs and how I make my Metalcore songs.

Creating songs, the building blocks

When I start making a metalcore song, I usually make the Chorus riff first. After I have made the chorus riff, I just build on from there and that's where my song comes together.

So say if I make something like this as the Chorus riff:

Example 10 (Creating Songs)

* - Natural Harmonics
|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|------------7*---------------------------7*----------------|
|-7-7-7----7*---3-3-3--5-5-5~--7-3-7----7*-----0-0-0-1-1-1--|
|-7-7-7--7*-----3-3-3--5-5-5~--7-3-7--7*-------0-0-0-1-1-1--|
|-7-7-7---------3-3-3--5-5-5~--7-3-7-----------0-0-0-1-1-1--|
pm                                             . . . . . .

From that Chorus riff, I would make a Metalcore riff that’s around the same frets so the song doesn’t sound weird (but it's really your choice on how to make a song, I just felt on telling you what I do so maybe it'll help you).

Exercises To Try

Here are some exercises that I recommend.

Exercise 1
|-----------------------------------------1-2-3-4--|
|---------------------------------1-2-3-4----------|
|-------------------------1-2-3-4------------------| and back down
|-----------------1-2-3-4--------------------------|
|---------1-2-3-4----------------------------------|
|-1-2-3-4------------------------------------------|

Exercise 2
|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|
|----------------------------------------------|
|-----1-2------2-3------3-4------4-5------5-6--| etc...
|-1-2------2-3------3-4------4-5------5-6------|

Exercise 3
|-----------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------------1-2-3-4--5-6-7-8--| and so on
|------------------1-2-3-4--5-6-7-8-------------------|
|-1-2-3-4--5-6-7-8------------------------------------|

Conclusion

Thanks for reading this lesson; I hope you understand a little more on some techniques and how to play Metalcore a little better. Thank you.

Comments

[malmsteensolo]

this is probably one of the best drop d lessons that i've seen in a while. a bit repetitive but stil good

[Mrhardcorex]

Thanks, this helped alot. It's hard to find good instruction for metalcore music.

[SuperSoda]

thanks...awsome work xD

[thegeetar12]

thanks man i'm gonna come up with some of my own riffs now

[akosiehm]

good lesson dude!

[MCR1281]

GREAT JOB MAN!!! THIS IS GOOD!!!

[MOTOSLAYER777]

This is a pretty good lesson but for metalcore instead of like the 1h2 it should be 1h4 etc. it sounds way cooler and it works out the pinky whitch lots of begginers need to work on. Also instead of 1234 do 1h34. lots of metal bands use that technique. just for the people would like to do exercises that would help with playing fast hardcore music.

[TDG Tabs]

this is the author. please tell me what you would like to see in metalcore - the basics 3.

[mity88]

Hey TDG...GR8 LESSONS MAN!!!im a bullet fan!i would really like if u could do something about the solos...also.im really struggling with gettin up to speed...more practice i bet?...?

[robespeut]

i would talk about building up speed and stamina in the picking hand, and stressing the use of metronomes

[panterafever]

Dude,not being cruel but this is backwards this brokedown the first lesson and redone the same techniques you did on the otherone but you made it visible and more apparent to what you said this should have been Metalcore the basics 1 and done more harder stuff next like tremolo picking or pinch harmonics but i give it a 8 pretty good once you made it simpler keep in mind this is a beginner lesson page.

[mity88]

TDG...i cant PM u...but bro, in part 3,wat about amp settings? also,as panterafever said, some more harder stuff, like pinched harmonics, proper techniqued trem picking,etc...keep it up man...

[cxrlxscr]

How about string skipping? I've heard this technique in plenty of metalcore albums, I think I'd be good to throw it in too.

[A.J.4991]

Dude you forgot about the gallop in the palm muting section. Just downstroke once, then upstroke immedeatly after the downstroke, then downstroke again right after that. Keep doing this as fast as posible. a good example of the "Gallop" is Raining Blood by Slayer. It comes right after that awesome intro. You'll know it when you hear it.

[JakeIsJake]

Palm muting and picking the string up and down repetitively and quickly is not called "galloping" or "alternate picking" it's Tremolo picking.

[JakeIsJake]

That and I would recommend not trying to teach pinch harmonics for quite awhile in these lessons.

[shotwars666]

Actually, he wasn't talking about tremolo picking. Just that gallop sound that a lot of band use by doing 3 fast zero then a little pause. And start over again. Like 2 sixteen note followed by a eighteen. Sorry if I'm unclear, my english is not really good.