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This Metal Licks free weekly guitar lesson series is by Scott Allen, who currently has an interactive TrueFire classroom called the “Metal Shop.” Tune in there for more from Scott, or subscribe to this series for more!

Video Guitar Lesson:

Over the last several years we have been treated to a veritable feast of beastly six and seven stringers. Rock and Metal guitar hasn’t had it this good since the golden era of shred in the eighties. And among this group is a bunch of technically superior shredders that take chops to a level that is flat out ludicrous! Guys like Rusty Cooley, Jeff Loomis, Chris Broderick, and Oli Herbert have really brought technique to another level. These guys posses chops that a nearly super human. One of the tricks to developing such chops is the judicious use of scales sequences, an empty house and a metronome. One of the other secrets is the use of more exotic scales and wide intervallic stretching.

In this example we will start with the familiar diatonic scale, and then move on to the harmonic minor scale, and the symmetrical diminished scale (OK its not really a scale but a long diminished seventh arpeggio that we will think of as a scale). These will be applied with the help of the doubled sixteenth note triplet sequence, the standard sixteenth note triplet sequence, and the 32nd note sequence. The key to getting up to the crazy fast speeds is to start out very slowly, and then incrementally build the tempo up. There are no shortcuts so take your time and make sure you have complete command of the tempo before you increase the speed. Remember, garbage in garbage out, sloppy practicing leads to sloppy playing. Good luck!

This Metal Licks free weekly guitar lesson series is by Scott Allen, who currently has an interactive TrueFire classroom called the “Metal Shop.” Tune in there for more from Scott, or subscribe to this series for more!