Guitar Lovers

My uncle taught gave me my first guitar lesson at age 7, and many of the tips he shared back then have continued to stick with me. It turned out that while we both have musical tendencies in our blood, we don’t learn in the same way or at a comparable pace. He has an impressive ear for notes and melodies and is able to replicate most songs after hearing them just a few times. I’m not like that at all.

Maybe it’s because of my classical piano training, but I need to be able to see notes in front of me. Playing by ear just doesn’t work until I’ve got a song down cold. That’s why a guitar tuner is so essential to my playing. It would take me far too long to tune the guitar during a performance without some aid. Perhaps some day I’ll develop a better ear, but until then I’ll have to rely on technology.

Traditionally, heavy metal bands play a step or two down from standard tuning. Though some may dismiss metal as a bunch of noise, listening to a band like Slayer, early Metallica or even newer bands like The Bled or Killswitch Engage will let you know that these guys can play as well as any bona fide blues guitarist.

The major chords are typically E or D (the latter being the most popular), but it really depends on your own personal tinkering. Personally, I like to alternate between standard (EADGBE) and D-standard when I’m playing on stage and I can do this with ease with a guitar tuner.

Tuning that is catching on, however, is BF#BEG#C#. It’s great for thrash, but if you’re looking for something on the technical side, I highly recommend standard or D-standard.