Metal guitar is a very popular genre with people who feel that negativity and hopelessness are not getting a fair go in modern music.
If you are reading an article called "Metal Guitar Lesson" you probably have an idea about what Metal is but if you don't, the best way to describe it is by listing some Metal groups.
The genre originated with the loud, in-your-face music of the late sixties and early seventies pioneered by guitar players like Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.
This style quickly moved onto another definition of the word "music" where melody fades into the background to give way to the quantity and quality of sound the guitar player is able to produce.
Iron Maiden and Judas Priest are early Metal guitar groups.
Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth, Motorhead and Slayer, Sodom, Kreator, Destruction, Children of Bodom, Tankard, Testament and Pantera are also well established but represent the more ruthless Metal guitar music known as Thrash Metal.
Every metal guitar player needs to be a fantastic string bender.
The whammy bar on your guitar will change the pitch of your strings but if you have a cheap guitar you might have a problem with strings breaking.
It's best if you do it the non-whammy bar way which is pick a note and move the string sideways to bend the note up.
To get that chugging effect so desired by heavy metal guitarists, you will need to learn to mute the strings.
If you have been listening to Metal guitar, you will have heard the sound, so now follow the description to find a comfortable way of MAKING the sound: simplay hold your pick in the usual playing position and place the pinky side of your hand on the strings to muffle the sound.
Now take a few minutes to slowly find a way so you can pick notes on the sixth string while your hand is still muting the sound.
As you become more familiar with picking in this position, you will be able to extend your range of palm muting techniques.
Once you have palm muting working for you, you could start to master machine-gun picking.
This is lightning-fast up and down strokes with the pick.
It takes some practice but you will be glad you did when you start combining this standard metal guitar technique with palm muting.
Vocals are not the strong point of Thrash Metal so let's get to the equipment you need to become a Thrash Metal guitar player.
Distortion is an important part of Metal so a distortion pedal is essential.
You will need the usual guitar stuff like plectrums and a tuner and a metronome.
The musical background you need for learning Metal guitar is much the same as for blues players.
The major, minor, pentatonic, minor harmonic scales will be handy plus the phrygian, lochrian and byzantine modes.
You might want to learn to read music or at least, tab.
Another characteristic of Metal guitar is the use of drop tunings.
If you play Metal your guitar should be tuned low.
It gives you a totally different kind of control over your strings, your sound is more aggressive and you can do more with hammer-ons and tapping.
You could just begin by tuning your guitar half a step down.
Not a drastic change but it makes your guitar sound more growly without losing all the high range.
Or you could take your strings down a whole step so that your guitar is tuned D G C F A D.
If you take your tuning one and a half steps or two steps down your guitar is now sounding menacing.
If you want to tune your guitar any lower than two steps down, a longer than normal neck will stop the strings from moving around too much.