Heavy Metal Guitar Techniques

Attitude, being aggressive and quick are the hall mark of heavy metal music. So, the techniques that you should adapt for this form of music should be exquisite and mesmerizing. If you are keen to learn the essential heavy metal guitar techniques then you might find this article quite handy. The guitar techniques that form an important aspect in any heavy metal band are mentioned below.

Palm muting

This is the technique where the guitar strings are muffled slightly, while the strings are picked simultaneously. This technique is executed by the picking hand i.e. the right hand in most of the cases. The main trick of this technique is to slightly mute the sound of the strings for the notes to be heard faintly. Palm muting can be better executed with electric guitars. It can also be performed in the acoustic guitars but the effect will not be that rocking.

Harmonics

This is another important guitar technique that most heavy metal guitarists use to spice up their performances. There are different forms of harmonics that are adopted by the guitarists. The first one is natural harmonics. Natural harmonics are produced by lightly placing your left hand finger on top of a note on the fret of the guitar, fretting a normal note.

The other forms are artificial harmonics. This is also referred to as harp harmonics. It is produced by plucking a string with the third finger of your right hand, while with the first finger you strike another note simultaneously.

Hammer-ons

A hammer-on is the guitar technique that generally involves two notes. This particular guitar technique is capable of producing a smooth, legato and connected sound effect. For playing Hammer-ons you need to pick on a lower note. Then with your left-hand finger you need to hammer onto a higher note on the same string. The second note, in this technique, is not picked.

Alternate Picking

Alternate guitar picking enables the guitar player to play notes at a very fast pace. This technique requires the picking hand to pick in an alternate up and down motion instead of a repeated downward stroke. The best ways to go about doing alternate picking is to use a very small, hard and sharp pick as this gives your fingers more control.

These are some of the important heavy metal guitar techniques that are frequently used by the heavy metal bands. Practice them thoroughly if you are seriously thinking of becoming a professional heavy metal guitarist.