In this lesson we’re going to look at how to use the Phrygian mode to create a metal rhythm part. We’ll look at how to play the mode on 6, 7 and 8 string guitars.
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Greetings, today we’re going to play a little game for guitar. We’re going to construct a metal rhythm by rolling a dice to determine the note values. This can be a fun way to come up with some interesting ideas. It can also help get you out of a rut if you are feeling like your rhythms are starting to all sound alike. Don’t worry, we won’t be removing the creative process and leaving everything to chance! The dice will determine the note values but it will be up to you to select the actual notes and dynamics you play them with. Let’s get started!
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Writing (not Falling) In Reverse! In this lesson we’re going to look at some ways to add rhythms to a lead guitar part when the lead part was written first. We’ll use a lick that we’ve previously written in B phrygian to demonstrate and find inspiration to how this can work.
Most commonly you would write a rhythm track and song structure before exploring how melodies and solos can work over the given chords. Understanding how to reverse engineer these ideas will not only help writing a guitar solo, but it will help your guitar playing in many other ways too. If you can master this you’ll be a versatile band musician as well. If you’re anything like us you’ll always find times where you’ve written an incredible lead lick, solo or melody that then needs backing music to support it! Let’s get into it!
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Today I’m going to write a rhythm part for a metal song and explain the process I go through at each stage. I’ll go for a combination of Thrash and Melodic Death Metal.
I’ll assume that you have a “metal tone” for writing metal rhythm guitar, but in a future post we’ll cover some tips for getting a good tone. For now just remember that you want plenty of mids, and a decent amount of gain, but not too much. We want a nice tight rhythm not tons of crackly white noise and feedback.
Writing Metal Rhythm Guitar : First Steps
I’ll start by playing around with a combination of 8th notes and “gallops”. Below is a quick example of an E5 power chord played as 8th notes:
