Melodic Speed, Shred & heavy Riffs Level One MMelodic Speed, Shred & heavy Riffs Level One Presents Metal Guitar melodic Speed, Shred & Heavy Riffs Method by John McCarthy Adapted By: Jim Rutkowski Supervising Editor: Joe Palombo Music Transcribing & Engraving: Jim Rutkowski Production Manager: Anna-Lisa Tedeschi Layout, Graphics & Design: Jim Rutkowski Photography: Rodney Dabney Copy Editors & Proofreaders: Cathy McCarthy, Alex Palombo Cover Art Direction and Design: Paul Enea, Tovero & Marks FR00989 Produced by The Rock House Method ® ©2009 Fred Russell Publishing, LLC All Rights Reserved Melodic Speed, Shred & heavy Riffs Level One Table of Contents Backing Track Listing ....................................................................................................................3 About the Instructor ......................................................................................................................4 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................5 Icon Key ........................................................................................................................................6 Tablature Explanation ...................................................................................................................7 Reading a Scale Diagram .............................................................................................................8 Tuning ...........................................................................................................................................9 Lesson 1: Chords & Voicings ........................................................................................................10 Lesson 2: Basic Metal Chord Progressions ..................................................................................11 Lesson 3: Heavy Riff “Bastards of Bodom” ...................................................................................12 Lesson 4: Single Note Rhythm “Living Dead Beat” ......................................................................13 Lesson 5: E Minor Pentatonic Scales ...........................................................................................14 Lesson 6: Melodic Rhythm & Lead “Needled 24/7” ......................................................................15 Lesson 7: Single Note Rhythm & Diminished Arpeggio “In Your Face” ........................................16 Lesson 8: Sweep Picking ..............................................................................................................17 Lesson 9: Three String Arpeggios ................................................................................................18 Lesson 10: Pivoting “Living Dead Beat” ........................................................................................19 Lesson 11: Melodic Riff “Are You Dead Yet?” ...............................................................................20 Lesson 12: Creating a Melodic Rhythm & Lead “If You Want Peace, Prepare For War” ..............21 Lesson 13: C Major Scales ...........................................................................................................22 Lesson 14: Pivot Melody with Syncopated Rhythm “Bastards of Bodom” ....................................24 Lesson 15: Single Note Riff Into a Heavy Rhythm “We’re Not Gonna Fall” ..................................25 Lesson 16: Metal Song Rhythm “Living Dead Beat” .....................................................................26 Lesson 17: Speed Runs “Bastards of Bodom” .............................................................................27 Lesson 18: Right Hand Tapping Technique ..................................................................................28 Lesson 19: Complete Rhythm & Lead “Punch Me I Bleed” ..........................................................29 Lesson 20: Complete Metal Lead “If You Want Peace, Prepare For War” ...................................31 Free Online Lesson Support .........................................................................................................32 Rock House Catalog .....................................................................................................................33 2 MMelodic Speed, Shred & heavy Riffs Level One Backing Track Listing Go to the Lesson Support Site at www.rockhousemethod.com to download all of the Backing Tracks that correspond with your program. 1: Basic Metal Chord Progression - “Next in Line” - without guitar 2: Complete Metal Lead #2 - “If You Want Peace, Prepare For War” 3: Complete Rhythm & Lead - “Punch me I Bleed” - without guitar 4: Complete Rhythm & Lead - “Punch Me I Bleed” - with guitar 5: Melodic Rhythm & Lead - “If You Want Peace, Prepare For War” - without Guitar 6: Single Note Rhythm & Diminished Arpeggio - Variation 7: Single Note Rhythm & Diminished Arpeggio “In Your Face” 8: Heavy Riff - “Bastards of Bodom” 9: Melodic Metal Riff - “Are You Dead Yet?” 10: Melodic Rhythm & Lead - “Needled 24/7” 11: Metal Song Rhythm - “Living Dead Beat” - without guitar 12: Metal Song Rhythm - “Living Dead Beat” - with guitar 13: Pivot Melody with Syncopated Rhythm - “Bastards of Bodom” without guitar 14: Pivot Melody with Syncopated Rhythm - “Bastards of Bodom” with guitar 15: Pivoting - “Living Dead Beat” 16: Single Note Rhythm Into a Heavy Rhythm - “We’re Not Gonna Fall” - complete section 17: Single Note Rhythms - “Living Dead Beat” 18: Single Note Riff Into a Heavy Rhythm - “We’re Not Gonna Fall” riff part 1 19: Single Note Riff Into a Heavy Rhythm - “We’re Not Gonna Fall” riff part 2 20: Speed Runs - “Bastards of Bodom” 3 Melodic Speed, Shred & heavy Riffs Level One About the Instructor Alexi Laiho Alexi is the founding member and lead guitarist of the Metal band “Children Of Bodom,” he has his own Signature Model ESP guitar, made Guitar World’s list of the top 100 metal guitarist of all time in 2004 and appeared on the cover of Guitar World in 2005 with Steve Vai and Zack Wylde. Originating from the town of Espoo, in Finland, Alexi began his musical training at an early age by learning the Violin. However, infl uenced by the music his sister listened to (heavy metal mu- sic) bands such as W.A.S.P., Poison and Stone; he ended up dropping the classical instrument at the age of 11, in favor of guitars. A taped live performance of Steve Vai’s song “For the Love of God” (from the Passion and Warfare album) was especially infl uential in Alexi’s decision to become a guitarist. He then began taking lessons at the Finnish Pop & Jazz Conservatory in or- der to study the instrument. At the conservatory he also studied the pianos. The development of his playing style was heavily infl uenced by Stone’s Roope Latvala(who many years later became his band mate in Sinergy and then in Children of Bodom). His vocal infl uences came mostly from Phil Anselmo of Pantera and Mille Petrozza of Kreator. He has dedicated his life to creating music and developing his technique. Alexi is known for his incredible six string momentum and melodic speed along with stern vocal strength. 4 MMelodic Speed, Shred & heavy Riffs Level One Introduction Welcome to The Rock House Method® system of learning. You are joining millions of aspiring musicians around the world who use our easy-to-understand methods for learning to play mu- sic. Unlike conventional learning programs, The Rock House Method® is a four-part teaching system that employs DVD, CD and 24/7 online lesson support along with this book to give you a variety of sources to assure a complete learning experience. The products can be used individu- ally or together. The DVD that comes with this book matches the curriculum exactly, providing you with a live instructor for visual reference. In addition, the DVD contains some valuable extras like sections on changing your strings, guitar care and an interactive chord library. The CD that we’ve included lets you take your lessons with you anywhere you go. How to Use the Lesson Support Site Every Rock House product offers FREE membership to our interactive Lesson Support site. Use the member number included with your book to register at www.rockhousemethod.com. You will fi nd your member number on the sleeve that contains your DVD and CD. Once registered, you can use this fully interactive site along with your product to enhance your learning experience, expand your knowledge, link with instructors, and connect with a community of people around the world who are learning to play music using The Rock House Method®. There are sections that directly correspond to this product within the Additional Information and Backing Tracks sec- tions. There are also a variety of other tools you can utilize such as Ask The Teacher, Quizzes, Reference Material, Defi nitions, Forums, Live Chats, Guitar Professor and much more. 5 Melodic Speed, Shred & heavy Riffs Level One Icon Key Throughout this book, you’ll periodically notice the icons listed below. They indicate when there are additional learning tools available on our support web site for the section you’re working on. When you see an icon in the book, visit the member section of www.rockhousemethod.com for musical backing tracks, additional information and learning utilities. Backing Track Many of the exercises in this book are intended to be played along with bass and drum rhythm tracks. This icon indicates that there is a backing track available for download on the Lesson Support site. Additional Information The question mark icon indicates there is more information for that section avail- able on the website. It can be theory, more playing examples or tips. Metronome Metronome icons are placed next to the examples that we recommend you prac- tice using a metronome. You can download a free, adjustable metronome from our Lesson Support site. Tablature This icon indicates that there is additional guitar tablature available on the web site that corresponds to the lesson. There is also an extensive database of music online that is updated regularly. Tuner Also found on the website is a free online tuner that you can use to help tune your instrument. You can download the free online tuner from www.rockhousemethod. com. 6 MMelodic Speed, Shred & heavy Riffs Level One Tablature Explanation Tablature (or tab) is a number system for reading notes on the neck of a guitar. It does not re- quire you to have knowledge of standard music notation. This system was designed specifi cally for the guitar. Most music for guitar is available in tab. Tablature is a crucial and essential part of your guitar playing career. The six lines of the tablature staff represent each of the six strings. The top line is the thinnest (highest pitched) string. The bottom line is the thickest (lowest pitched) string. The lines in be- tween are the 2nd through 5th strings. The numbers placed directly on these lines show you the fret number to play the note. At the bottom, underneath the staff, is a series of numbers. These numbers show you which left hand fi ngers you should use to fret the notes. fret number fi rst string (thinnest) sixth string (thickest) left hand fi ngering Chords can also be written in tab. If there are several numbers stacked together in a column, those notes should be played or strummed at the same time. Here are the Am and Em chords with the tablature written out underneath each diagram. Since the fi ngerings are shown on the chord diagrams, we won’t bother to repeat them underneath the tab. 7 Melodic Speed, Shred & heavy Riffs Level One Reading a Scale Diagram Scale diagrams are used to visually show you a scale pattern on the neck of a guitar. The six lines that go from left to right represent each of the six strings. Like you just learned with the tablature, the top line is the thinnest (highest pitched) string. The bottom line is the thickest (low- est pitched) string. The lines in between are the 2nd through 5th strings. The lines running from top to bottom are the frets. The numbered dots placed directly on these lines show you which fi nger to play at a specifi c fret. Each of these dots will have a number inside of it. These numbers indicate which left hand fi nger to fret the note with (1 = index, 2 = middle, 3 = ring, 4 = pinky). The numbers underneath the diagram show you where on the neck the scale is located, in this diagram the scale begins at the 12th fret. fi rst string left hand (thinnest) fi ngering frets fretboard position markers sixth string (thickest) neck location 8 MMelodic Speed, Shred & heavy Riffs Level One Tuning Alexi Laiho uses two different tunings in his music. One tuning he uses is “D” tuning and the other is Drop “C” tuning. Below are the tuning notes for each, notice that the only difference be- tween the two is the note on the 6th string. On each page you will see an icon for the tuning used in the example. The icons for each are shown below. If you do not have a tuner, go to the lesson support site at wwwrockhousemethod.com to download one for free. “D” Tuning (thinnest string) = D = C = A = G = F = D (thickest string) Dropped “C” Tuning (thinnest string) = D = C = A = G = F = C (thickest string) 9