Rhythm For Metal Guitarists

Well, the title isn't exactly set in stone. This is a great exercise for any guitarist. It is definitely very metal, but I would suggest that every type of guitarist try this. If you don't like the dark sound of it, then I have prepared a less disturbing riff for the rest of you. It is the same exercise, except major. So, one's major and one's minor - take your pick.

Make sure that you start this exercise off very slowly, because it will definitely require precision, in order to get the right effect.

This is a killer exercise, I must say. When I was a wee little guitar shredder (hardly), I use to practice these types of riffs all the time, and only now do I really see the wisdom in these types of licks.

Why is this such a great exercise? Because it helps you to develop better timing, and it also cleans up your reflexes and reactions.

Let's say that you are a jazz guitarist, and you just ripped off an amazing little passage. While you're busy patting yourself on the back, you forget for a brief second, that the song is still going and does not end with your greatness. So, you get side-tracked and you're about to miss the first note of that next passage. With exercises like this one, you can learn to admire your skills, and grab that last note - just in time.

The other thing that's good about exercises like these, is that they help train your hand eye coordination, which in turn, speeds up the process of learning the fretboard. That is to say, practicing these types of guitar riffs, makes the fretboard look not so much like a winter blizzard, where you can't see a thing, but more like a road map that you are extremely familiar with.




Click To Enlarge


Click To Enlarge