Study Guide for

Metal Riffology - Volume I

Example #1-
Use downstrokes for the 16th notes in the first bar, then alternate picking for the 32nd notes in the second bar.

Example #2-
Here we combine 16th and 32nd notes in the same bar.

Example #3-
Note the “down, down-up” pattern of this “gallop” groove.

Example #4-
Note the “down-up, down” pattern of this “reverse gallop” groove.

Example #5-
We combine both “gallop” and “reverse gallop”.

Example #6-
You might experiment with different picking patterns for this riff.
In the first bar, for example, you could do it like this:

In the video I play the beginning of the riff like this:

Notice that the second bar now starts with an upstroke. It feels a little “groovier” to me to play it the second
way. If I were playing a straighter, more aggressive riff, I might use the first approach.

Example #7-
I begin this riff with some palm-muting, then remove the muting for a variation in tone. This is a great way
to add variety to a repeated riff.

Example #8-
I play this with strict alternate picking. At slower tempos I might play this triplet pattern with “down-up-
down-down”.
Example #9-
You will need to use only downstrokes to get this aggressive sound. Start slowly and build up your speed.
The “quarter note triplets” are three notes in the space of one half note or two quarters.

Example #10-
This exercise shows four positions for the E Minor Blues Scale. The following diagram shows all of these
notes at once:

Example #11- These chord diagrams show the shapes used in this example:
Moving on to Example #17, we have the following diagram:

In Example #20 we add another passing tone:

Example #27 shows these positions of the E Dorian Mode:
A few words about tone...

You may have seen a label on a pickup selector switch that indicated “Rhythm and Lead”. In earlier days of
the electric guitar, rhythm was often played with the warmer or darker neck pickup. When it was time to
solo, the player would switch to the bridge pickup for a biting sound to cut through the band. I'll be playing
all of the examples in this lesson using my bridge pickup for a nice crunchy tone.

It will be easier to get a good metal tone if you have humbucker pickups on your guitar. You should also
have some distortion, which will enhance sustain, response and artificial harmonics. Be careful that you
don't use too many effects or your guitar will sound noisy and your own personality will not come through
the amp.

Your hands are fundamental to your sound. It takes some time and effort to develop good picking and
muting techniques but they will do more for your tone than any piece of gear, so work hard and listen closely
to yourself.

As I demonstrate the riffs for you I will add vibrato, artificial harmonics and palm muting in various places.
You might also hear some extra ghost notes and percussive strumming.

That's it for Volume I!

In Volume II we'll cover the following:

Natural Minor
Harmonic Minor
E Mixolydian with b3 passing tone
Dyads
Three String Shapes and Triads
Modal Mixture

In Volume III we'll look at these topics:

Phrygian
Phrygian Dominant
Hungarian Minor
Diminished
Chromatic
Syncopation
Harmonized Riffs
Writing Your Own Riffs

Thanks for joining us!

Sarah Spisak
Metal Method Productions
Copyright 2014