In 2020, I wrote a book entitled, “Thrash Metal Guitar Training Based on the Principles of Teaching and Playing Music.” Here, I provide some tips from my book for teaching guitar in the thrash metal genre.
Guitar Holding Position
Constantly monitor how your students are sitting and holding the guitar. Notice their thumb posture behind the guitar neck and as well as their elbows, arms, and back. From the beginning, try to incorporate the right habits in them so that they can progress with less effort and more results.
Remind your students that pain is a warning. For example, the placement of the thumb can be an indication of wrong guitar holding. The electric guitar neck is usually held in two ways. In the first case, the thumb is placed behind the neck with light pressure in a relaxed position; it should only support the guitar neck and not be tilted to the left or right. In the second case, the thumb is hooked around the neck and is relaxed. Pain in the fingers can also indicate a problem. If you see their fingers are barely reaching the strings, you need to check the position of their wrists, forearms, or arms. The arm should not be pressed against the body and should not be too far from their sides. Any exaggerated placement will make it difficult for them to get to the strings.
Remind students that the electric guitar is normally played in a standing position. Have students attach the strap to the guitar and practice standing after they have practiced sitting and playing. When standing, they should adjust the size of the strap according to their comfort. A very tight, short strap places the hands too close for comfortable play, and a very loose, long strap reduces access to the strings and makes it difficult to play. They should adjust the strap between these two situations.
Class Procedure
Rhythm is one of the foundational elements of music. Therefore, emphasize rhythm at the beginning of each lesson. Since speed is one of the hallmarks of thrash metal music, you should emphasize warming up the hands. Then draw the student’s attention to the essential and main techniques of the song and work them separately. To do this, first demonstrate the simple form, or skeleton, of the technique. Then add in more components of the technique, step by step. Play the part of the song that you are going to teach them and that uses the technique you just taught. Ask the students to listen to the piece and observe the movement of your hands. If students can picture something in their mind, they can imitate that more comfortably.
The teacher should review practically everything after the students have been introduced to some of the new concepts. Repeating the material makes students’ minds more involved and focused. Also, this process can speed up the improvement of the students.
Big Bad Habit!
Novice students usually have a bad habit of practicing long hours without breaks or trying to learn a new skill too quickly. Repeat for them: Get rest between your practices. Tell your students: Don’t try to learn new techniques in five minutes! Encourage students to practice over an extended period of time and to take breaks. If they feel frustrated, they should know that something is wrong. Teach them that to learn the techniques, stress and haste can be the most harmful factors, so they need to stay calm and continue to practice with concentration and enough rest in between practices.
Sound Clarity
Sound clarity is important for thrash metal guitar playing. In thrash metal music, the distortion effect is used more, but some songs also use the clean effect, so it is good for the students to practice primary exercises (upward and downward pickings on the open strings, spider fingering, initial scales, and arpeggios, etc.) with “the clean effect” to better understand the clarity and cleanliness of their picking and fingering. When students are using the distortion effect, it is important they control the volume of the guitar and small unwanted sounds. Tell them to record themselves playing the exercises clean and then listen to them. Listening to what they play can elevate their understanding of the performance clarity.
Additionally, the angle that the pick hits the strings can greatly affect the sound produced by the strings. In an angled position (i.e., a 45-degree angle) strings sound rougher, and conversely, in a perpendicular position to the strings, the clearer and softer the sound will be. Students should get used to listening to their quality and cleanliness of their guitar sound, the accuracy of the beats, the volume or loudness of the sound, and pay attention to the level of uniformity.
Listening and Mental Preparation
It may be a good idea to invite students to listen to the full and original songs of The Big 4 (four outstanding thrash metal bands, including Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax). They should listen carefully to the complete and original versions of the songs. Some students may only pay attention to riffs or guitar leads, but they should try to listen to all the components of a song as a whole (in addition to what they listen to separately).
Students should try to listen more to recordings in the thrash metal genre, because they will be more mentally prepared to play. It may be a good idea to advise students to put the guitar aside and listen to some thrash metal masterpieces for a while. Invite them to accompany the rhythm of the songs with their head, hands, or feet. This exercise will increase their understanding of rhythm. Tell them to play the guitar in the air sometimes and have fun!
Final Tips
As a thrash metal guitar teacher, we should:
1. Know the necessity, reason, and application of the topics that we teach and express them while teaching.
2. Know the mistakes that may be made in the students’ minds and correct them while teaching each subject.
3. Pay more attention to the difficult parts of the concepts or exercises to prevent the students from misunderstanding.
4. Sometimes use concepts or rules that are more basic and similar in content during teaching.
5. Know that thrash metal music is mostly meaningless as a solo and what really turns it into qualified music is the collaboration and playing in the band. In the band, people can find their strengths and weaknesses in music much more seriously than when they practice alone in their bedroom. Being involved in the band strengthens the spirit of cooperation in them and nurtures their ideas. Like the organs and joints of a body, the members of a genuine band work in perfect harmony. They can share their energy and thoughts with others.
6. Know that thrash metal music has a deep philosophy that may seem difficult to many to understand. Surveying the history of this genre, we find that this music is a protest against political and social anomalies, superstitions, felonies, racism, wars, chemical and nuclear weapons, and mass murder. The mission of this music can be to make a better world.
Amir Dawarzani has a master’s degree in educational management from Azad University Neyshabur (Iran). He is a guitarist, teacher, and researcher in the field of metal music education.
Such a great article, some teachers never think of the position. I saw also some professional guitar players who hold the guitar wrong because from the start nobody told them how to grab their guitars and also sit or stand in the right way. Thank you for sharing your experiences with others.