How to Play Hardcore Metal (Or at Least Pretend To)
1. You need an amp or a pedal with distortion. Once you have that, simply turn the distortion all the way up and switch to your top pickup (which means moving that little switch away from you).
2. You must now tune your guitar to "drop D." In standard tuning, the strings on your guitar, from lowest pitch to highest, are notes E, A, D, G, B, and E. Simply tune your low E down to D. This will allow you to press down on the three low strings simultaneously on the same fret to make a chord. Try it out by simply strumming the lowest three notes. Hear that chord? That's a D power chord.
3. Now, press down on the first three strings on the third fret, then the fifth fret. You have just played the F and G power chords, and therefore, your first rock chord progression. Congratulations!
4. From here you can go up to the eighth and tenth fret to play Bb and C, or you can just fumble around with the F and G. Try this simple progression just for fun:
D D F G F D D F G F D
5. If you would like to get some cool feedback, turn two distortion pedals on at the same time while slowly turning up your volume. This may not work on all pedals, but it does on my Turbo Overdrive and Tube Screamer. You'll just have to experiment.
Anyway, just try these simple things out first and see how they work out for you. I'll come back later and provide some more advanced steps including learning the minor Pentatonic scale, which is vital for soloing, and doing hammer-ons and slides. But until then, happy rocking, or faux-rocking in your case!
Published by Ben Garner
I am a senior Management major at ORU and I am looking at Financial Planning as a possible career in the near future. I enjoy reading in my spare time and want to develop my writing skills as well, in areas... View profile
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6 Comments
Post a Commentthis may actually help me. i know there is a difference between hardcore and metal, but its extremely hard for me. i've only been playing for less than a year, but i've mastered green day, black veil brides, and a couple of other band's songs; including the leads or chords. so considering that advancement, this is helpful knowing metal and crap is hard but now i can amaze mt "too hardcore" and "better than me" unimpressed friend who is always trying to proove she's better than me at music skills. ha! this will help. and i can impress my guitar teacher and my hradcore cousin! thanks ;)
Hardcore Isn't Metal.
That's Your Number 1 problem.
Hardcore is aggressive and fast.
Simple From Technical.
It's Punk.
"The idea here is to bastardized good old fashioned hardcore punk into a pseudo-metal in order to make it suck and get a lot of jocks spin kicking"
This.
If your hardcore band doesn't play like what the original writer described then you aren't in a hardcore band; especially if you just mentioned Dimebag Darrel. Tough guy hardcore is rarely technical, otherwise it's simply a metal or metalcore band, in which case it's a completely different idea all together. The idea here is to bastardized good old fashioned hardcore punk into a pseudo-metal in order to make it suck and get a lot of jocks spin kicking.
Yeah, um, what to say to this... I've been playing guitar for twenty some years, have taught music in a middle school (yes, I have a degree in music composition) and have recently joined a hardcore band. HARDCORE IS ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING MUSIC STYLES I'VE PLAYED! Please take this for what it is- if you are solely interested in impressing people with some sort of 'psuedo' skill this idiot may have a point. If, however, you actually enjoy music you may want to be a little more serious about your playing. I would suggest getting your hands on as much material as you can find AND ACTUALLY LISTENING TO THE MUSIC! When you have covered Iommi, Wilde, Dimebag, Rhodes, and other poineers (or at least vaguely familiarized yourself with the scope of this genre and its roots) your 'power' chords may have a bit more bite to them.
this sis pretty much retarded. hardcore may not be the most difficult style of play but unless your friends are mentally handicapped there is no way they will think you are good if you can play a few powerchord progressions. the GOOD hardcore stuff consists of single string metalish progressions and fast tremelo and cool beats for breakdowns. its more then a few powerchord sequences
Now I can be a real rock star. Thank you so very much.