I often am asked by my students to show them a metal guitar scale. Well first I like to ask them to bring me a recording of one of their favorite metal bands. This helps me to decide which metal guitar scale they are accustomed to hearing in the music they love to listen to. With the many different genre's of metal available today it is impossible to pin-point a specific 'metal guitar scale'. This article aims to show the different scales used in metal music and how some work better with different kinds of metal.
Metal Guitar Scale #1
The first and grandfather of all rock and metal scales is the pentatonic. It is often times mixed with the blues scale also. If your preference is more rock based metal and older bands like Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and even newer bands like Black Label Society the pentatonic scale is your scale of choice. This does not mean that these bands play the pentatonic scale exclusively, but they do use it heavily in their riffs and solos.
Metal Guitar Scale #1
The first and grandfather of all rock and metal scales is the pentatonic. It is often times mixed with the blues scale also. If your preference is more rock based metal and older bands like Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and even newer bands like Black Label Society the pentatonic scale is your scale of choice. This does not mean that these bands play the pentatonic scale exclusively, but they do use it heavily in their riffs and solos.