'ello all. I haven't been playing for too long, but I've been trying to tackle a certain picking/riffing style. It's used prominently in the Swedish metal sub-genre, a la At The Gates [Cold, Slaughter of the Soul, et al]. Usually it involved a double note on the low E string followed by something on the A or D strings. Used a lot in the US metal scene, too [Black Dahlia Murder, The Absence, and so on]. What I'm wondering is... how exactly am I suppsoed to be picking this? Is it a Down Up Down alt. picking thing, or is it economy picking...? And also, does this style of picking/riffing have a name? I'm sorry if this is a little vague-- please let me know if you need more detail. Thanks!
Picking help/question
- Thread starter ThisBlackSession
- Start date
Acey Jendell
Jonesey
I think you're referring to octaves. it's bassically a power chord without the 5th, or for a more accurate description... If you play an A note on the 5th fret of the 6th string and play an E note on the 7th fret of the 5th string and an A note on the 7th fret of the 4th string, you are playing an A power chord, or an A5 chord.
Say you fret the 5th fret with your index finger, the 7th on the 5th string with your ring finger and the 7th on the 4th with your pinkie, you basically change that to playng the 5th with your index and the 7th on the 4th (or A note) with your ring finger.
This eleiminates the E note leaving you with 2 A notes, which are chromatically set 12 frets (or one octave) apart, thus giving you an "Octave" chord.
You strum this the same way you would a regular power chord.
As an example of swedish melodic death metal using octave chords, you can incorporate a "pedal tone" on the E string and fret the octave chord on the A and G strings instead of the E and D strings, and play the open E note for a set number of strokes, then playing the octave chord, playing the E again, then shifting the chord to different frets.
Say you fret the 5th fret with your index finger, the 7th on the 5th string with your ring finger and the 7th on the 4th with your pinkie, you basically change that to playng the 5th with your index and the 7th on the 4th (or A note) with your ring finger.
This eleiminates the E note leaving you with 2 A notes, which are chromatically set 12 frets (or one octave) apart, thus giving you an "Octave" chord.
You strum this the same way you would a regular power chord.
As an example of swedish melodic death metal using octave chords, you can incorporate a "pedal tone" on the E string and fret the octave chord on the A and G strings instead of the E and D strings, and play the open E note for a set number of strokes, then playing the octave chord, playing the E again, then shifting the chord to different frets.
Similar threads
