subject: Beginner Guitar - Metal Guitar Riffs [print this page] Heavy metal is a pounding, heaving, powerful guitar based type of music. While each instrument, and each section of a heavy metal song is, certainly, necessary, it's the metal guitar riff that drives the rabid group of diehard fans wild and gives each track its unique personality. Think of Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water, or Metallica's Enter Sandman and you almost can't help but hum the core riff.
So what precisely is a guitar riff? Well, just like just about any musical hook, it's a short phrase of a handful of notes which is designed to be distinctive and intended to draw the listener in and provide them something to remember the song by. It's a melody (although melodious is very likely not the first word you consider when metal is mentioned). If you listen to a new tune and notice yourself humming the principal guitar part then the riff has succeeded in it's job.
Why learn metal guitar riffs? Simple - since you can instantly impress chicks with them. Well, okay, probably not the very best reason but there is an element of truth there. Numerous riffs are easy to learn in a short time and are, as we learnt previously, unique and immediately recognisable. So, if you are a novice guitarist, figuring out a a small number of great riffs is a great way to be able to show off your new found skills to your pals and, maybe more importantly , provide you the incentive and drive to keep learning. When you get a good riff under your fingers you really feel like you are progressing farther on the path to rock star.
OK, I'm sold Which ones should I learn? The response to that question is to learn riffs from songs which you like. I've never been a fan of studying things that you are not a fan of. Having said that, attempt to select a relatively simple one if you are a novice. Should you go with some thing stupidly difficult then you will certainly just not get there and the early stages of mastering any instrument are when you are more than likely to put your guitar down, make your mind up that you are "not musical" and pack it in. Should you require a few specific riffs to learn, then I have previously brought up a couple in this page. Smoke on the water is really simple (try learning it on just 1 string if you are quite new to guitar) and I've frequently employed it as the number one thing to teach any new guitarists. Enter Sandman is just a little more hard (but still straightforward overall) so concentrate on this one when your fingers are beginning to obey you!
Where from here? Riffs are the focal element of numerous metal songs, but remember that a banging rhythm is also valuable and once you acquire a little more proficiency, there is nothing like conquering a shrieking guitar solo!
