A guide to writing a a metal song pt 1

[jedimastergarcia87]

That clean riff kinda sounded like the clean part on Bat Country by Avenged Sevenfold a little bit. :P

[GoGvids]

5:18 he is staring into your soul!

[4MadnEsSx]

I have a question since I'm kinda new to scales and guitar and shit. If your playing a lead in A minor, and for the rhythm I want to use a simple power chord progression, do you use chords in the same key of A minor or something else? D:

[SukeMukeDuke]

First mistake in trying to make a metal/rock song. Listening to a guy with long hair, no job, and lives in his parent's basements >:)

[MrNikcccc]

if this works you got a new sub

[DarkSpartanNL]

Well you are saying you have to work with what you can do because there are lots of bands that throw in everything and screw up horribly. I don't agree, I'd rather screw up badly trying to do something beyond my (current) skill level than play something perfectly fine and learn pretty much nothing from it.

[851852093114208513]

Meh. I would like having a process and all, but really I just screw around in my room with an acoustic until something I play sticks, and then I put it in Guitar Pro and let it carry from there. Sometimes I get a whole song in one sitting, sometimes I come back to it in a month after forgetting what it sounds like and being able to add more, and sometimes one of the coolest riffs I could find just doesn't progress any further. I go by what sounds good, and let the songs develop themselves.

[Sodom616]

Are scales a must? I only know like 3 scales but have no clue how to use em(lol).....anyways i can come up with some cool riffs by just using my ear, and idk y but most of the riffs i come up with are either thrash or black metal.

[allmetaliswelcome]

@Sodom616 yes scales are a must, it's super easy to do and will make writing music easy as hell.

[Dioxido87]

ur hair is really annoying... just had to tell you that

[BrutalGuitarShreedin]

i thought you were a girl o.O

[roxi1adi]

dude u rock plus ur CANADIAN! wats BETTER?!?

[ipguitar]

You look so pissed off when your playing the scales, haha. but good vid

[Cyril953]

those my friend are intervals =P

[StringMaster94]

sounds like he is saying boat and its really annoying

[roxi1adi]

@StringMaster94 I HEART CANADIANS!!!!!!! xD

[darkedd9]

@Kanine11 I know and i apologize for saying that i acknowledge that i was being a dick...

[darkedd9]

Thanks for making me lose 6 minutes of my life ....-_-

[brendannestabunches]

you didn't play a CM or Am scale lol ur way outa tune

[MrLetmepeeinyourbutt]

3:43 bu bu bu bu BULLSHIT Thats only true if your not bad ass enough to do it the whole song. Also, your guitar is flat

[ipguitar]

@MrLetmepeeinyourbutt Wow a true troll, if you can't present it in a constructive way get off no one wants to hear from you.

[blaspherian]

HEY FAG LINCOLN PARK IS NOT METAL.......YOUR A DOUCHE

[hellobooom]

@blaspherian <<---- what a cunt

[dylmo1]

@hellobooom

But he's not wrong.

[TheSwampstuff]

@blaspherian Lol lincoln park? Fail. And yeah, i hate linkin park too. But what the hell's up with you hating on this dude? He's just trying to help dats all.

[antipatriotmissile]

YOUR A FUCKING QUEER

[GalwayChick]

hello cutie

[pivetlord13]

in my opinion there is no guide to writing metal. just write whatever you want and feel.

[elisprague]

ionian, dorian, phrygian, lydian, mixilodian, aeolian, locrion learn the modes of the major scale and then right some metal...duh

[JRTET21]

i like your hair. your hot. what is music theory though?

[calzo101]

Um im the singer so..... i dont think this will help me much

[BlaKBurgeR]

you fucking blow nuts, naw im just kidding good lesson haha=] simple song but sounds good man, how does putting ur stuff into guitarpro take 2 seconds man?

[keenotesful]

ok...why are yall complaining about canada and america..the dude is simply tryna help some folks out..yall are such fuckn assholes

[Jimlead]

The USA runs the world indeed.

[soggydan1]

s0m3w0n2 — 04 April 2008 — This is a very simple step by step method for writing a generic metal song.

Just out of interest mate, who would ever want to do that? Generic metal songs are a bit pish.

You should be teaching folk how tae heedbang and use drop A. Its all aboot the beetdoon, just ask sir paul sausages, he kens

[s0m3w0n2]

@soggydan1 This is just how I learnt to write, in my experience music is about breaking rules not ignoring them. Also i don't intend people to use this guide alone, everything is just a tool and the more you have the better off you are.

[HitaroX]

@soggydan1 It's not about tuning, IMO you should learn how to make heavy metal in normal tuning, cause some kids get spoiled with the drop A.

[Holdington]

@soggydan1 He's just showing you how to write a song, which is really cool that he's taking the time. Did you expect him to show you how to write a billboard song or what?

[mantlepicture]

@soggydan1 Yeah, but learning "generic" metal songs, you learn the fundamentals of the genre. You have to know the rules in order to be able to break them effectively.

[uilium]

Cool

[cdlabelsideilive]

that would accually be great for a grunge song or smething

[FredandJonShow]

you have such beautiful hair. its prettier than my mom's

[sinoman1]

@FredandJonShow lmao !! ... I was shocked when I heared his voice .. I thought he was a girl xD

[chris123chris82]

good vid

[split2004]

mais tu te prends pour gregoire walf dans la série peter hackx......

[s0m3w0n2]

@split2004 Speak American

[TRIVIUMrocker123]

@s0m3w0n2 xD

speak amerscan

ha

i dont know why that was funny o_O

[TRIVIUMrocker123]

@TRIVIUMrocker123 i meant "AMERICAN" o_o

[s0m3w0n2]

@stever199 course I am Canadian

[MrNLichtman]

@stever199 This is why other countries don't like Americans. American is a language dialect. It is also called American-English, but it is still called the American language or English language. Don't correct someone if you are the one who is wrong. I'm tired of people acting like that. Americans are not all like you.

[MrNLichtman]

@stever199 Oh, well then, I retract most of my statement.

[MrNLichtman]

@MrNLichtman I was a bad American just now. I'm very sorry for my uneducated reaction.

[bmxer193]

@stever199 He clearly has a Canadian accent idiot

[BillyandBarry]

@stever199 technichally there are differences between original english and the english we speak in america, so there may be a reason why people call it american.

[xgncmx]

@stever199 Actually you get American English as well as British English. L2languages.

[RuntOfTheBatch]

@stever199

There's different types of English dude....

Queens English (British English)

American English

Hibernian English (Irish English)

Scots English

Aussie English

South African English

Kiwi English

Welsh English

[JVFAN94]

@stever199 well we sorta do...lol

[clapla]

@s0m3w0n2 *English.

[RENDUI]

@s0m3w0n2

hahahaha....u'd think he would use the language translator on google to do this.

[722deano]

@s0m3w0n2 the language is called english, mate ;)

[metalheadmarti]

@s0m3w0n2 the language you speak is english you ignorant fuck

[dwoodsky]

@s0m3w0n2 English u silly twat,

[staik11]

@s0m3w0n2 Its called English

[LXseven23]

@s0m3w0n2 ... English...

[MURDERFACE555666]

@s0m3w0n2 **Speak English :P

[BrutalGuitarShreedin]

@s0m3w0n2 english*

[ryanrp123]

@s0m3w0n2 American isn't a language, good sir. I believe you mean 'English'.

The more you know...

[Spunkalish]

@ryanrp123 He's Canadian lol.

[Spunkalish]

@s0m3w0n2 No such language as American you moron.

[CoDisafishy]

@s0m3w0n2 you can't speak American, unless you were joking

[unholyman40]

thanks what scale is it i only no the pyhian mode scale (spelt it wrong)

[s0m3w0n2]

@unholyman40 It's the A natural minor which is A pyhrigian with the 2nd note rasied. An easy way to think of it is all the natural notes (no sharps or flats) starting at A.

[unholyman40]

@s0m3w0n2 thanks for the info, i tried doing a riff ages ago its on my page

[chainedhearts1]

found this pretty helpful, thanks for posting this man

[Blackriotband]

2:32 lool angry :P

you rock men!

[musiclovr191]

for me, the BRIDGE is replaced by a short breakdown and then a solo

[varulv234]

No breakdowns, except if they're brutal, lol.

[apocalipstyck]

The distortion didn't show up well on my PC but still a great tutorial

[hrdcorhippy]

u can just call em intervals

a lot more understandable

[Infernusism]

anytime.

[Infernusism]

you remind me of dead from the black metal band mayhem,your alot more open minded then he was.thanks for your help,I wrote my first song when i was 14 damn i wish i would of kept that .

[s0m3w0n2]

You just compared me to the singer (i think) of the most brutal band ever. Thats so sick.

[comatoo]

ROFL - just don't go sniffing dead crows in jars or commiting suicide.... although his not, "Excuse the blood" has to be the most original note ever.....

[varulv234]

Cool, the lead part was pretty good and it fit well with the chord progression, i could imagine some high-pitched kinda Carcass style vocals coming into that.

[unholyman40]

yeah i think they did.

R.I.P dead.

do you have tabs for this ?

[s0m3w0n2]

@unholyman40 Lol nah man I was just messing around, just mess around in that scale man its not too hard at all.

[Ziggyflavel1]

This is an awesome tutorial. Now I'm going to start writing song :D

[logicvslove]

nice eyes dont care what ur sayinnn yeaaaa metall rarrr

[manicdepression81]

CANADIA! Hey man you ever listened to GOJIRA? They are great.

[lop0100]

they are... i saw them live with lamb of god and metallica in october

[TheWarriorsCreed]

dude this is fuckin' awesome i like to play tabs you got any stuff with tabs and you don't suck dude dont' be so hard on yourself

[dirge123]

this is very helpful info cause i know it isnt easy creating ur own music if nobody knows their limits or what they can actually play .and from these videos it kinda gives ppl an idea on how to create a good structure for a song ..great advice bro keep helping ppl with this cause its very good advice =)

[KreatorFanMKD]

man you have no idea how much you helped me whit the videos. Me and my band we where like total assholes my mate the other guitarist and i cannot fit whit the guitars one minute we where like 3 steps forward 5 steps back so we had more problems whit the drummer and the bassist at a time

p.s. tnx a lot man for your guide

[s0m3w0n2]

Good to hear it man thats exactly why i put these videos up !

[lateralus950]

CANADA!!!!

[tacobelldog123]

u have a canadian accent

[tc23232]

i like that badass grandfather clock in the background

[Underoath7711]

Lol i wish i had tht shit

[TheGr33k13]

the Am scale part that you mentioned about around 5:40 iis that a penatonic scale? because im writing some songs and im now getting into lead and i wanna learn what scales i can use when

[s0m3w0n2]

No the Pentatonic minor scale is as the name implys a 5 note scale, the minor is 7 notes. The minor scale is a pentatonic minor with and added 2nd and 6th. So for example in Am there would be all the notes of a pentatonic minor plus a B and a . By the way I would strongly suggest you look up your theory and learn it to a higher level its one of the most important musical tools out there.

[TheGr33k13]

ok do you have any videos or website pages i can check for begginers? Thanks

[CayanMagusson]

From your info you should've called this "How to write an Emo song." You got the metal look, but not the metal attitude, my friend.

[s0m3w0n2]

NAh i got the trance attitude UN TZ UN TZ UN TZ UN TZ UN TZ ....seriouly im a trance producer now,.

[CayanMagusson]

Pfft, awesome. I mean, either way, music is fun!

[s0m3w0n2]

Haha yea deffinatly, every genra has a lot of really cool aspects to it so I figure it would be a waste to limit myself to one.

[CayanMagusson]

Exactly, my friend... Why limit yourself? I mean, I'm a guitarist and I've done a lot of training in jazz, classical, metal, rock, pop, blues and other styles of music. It never gets boring, there's so much stuff to learn and create.

[NINJAKITTEN1994]

The more you play the more stoned you seem to look, lol.

[rockerresident]

i thought the thumbtail is female thats why i clicked it

[s0m3w0n2]

Lmao yea the hair had that effect, gone now though so i think things are sorted out lol

[rockerresident]

pretty good vid man

[Gjallarhorn7]

I wanted to reply to your video earlier yesterday but I just go too stoned to do that

I think that it isn't really THAT hard to write a metal song anyway

you just get some distortion and tune your guitar on low pitch then start playing with tremolo picking and just hitting on random power chords

btw - I think that you look really cute with long hair

so don't you dare cut it off or else I shall kill you =D

[666dannyb666]

can you send me the power chord tabs plz

[s0m3w0n2]

Sorry bro I did this forever ago no idea where that gp is or what i played, but I think it a 1-6-7-7 progession in either Am or Em.

[brandohhhh]

Intro-verse1-chorus-verse2-cho­rus-Bridge-C horus- Outro ? do you k eep the verses the same? or have 2

[s0m3w0n2]

Gennerally speaking the verses are musically the same but lyrically differant. But a lot of artists will have minor variations (or major) between each verse.

[MadeInChileBornInNor]

i dont want the standard structure i want something like : Opeth, like you never know whats coming you know??

[s0m3w0n2]

Yea but that would take a LONGGgggg time to explain, and is hardly simple. I was going for flat formulaic song structure to get people started.

[MadeInChileBornInNor]

yeah i know and thats good. but you got a site where i can find a structure like that ? would be nice..

[SkillzThatOwnU]

yeah theory in 30 seconds.. lol

nice vid dude

[anotherholywar]

do you have a band?

[s0m3w0n2]

Literally quit one yesterday, but starting a new one.

[MadeInChileBornInNor]

how do you use drums and bass on guitar pro 2 btw ?

d u need to download "the sounds" or can u make drums and bass on the program?

[s0m3w0n2]

The program has midi drums and bass which are the basic-est drums theres also RSE which are designed to sound better, but I still use the midi drums. Short answer is you got all you need, actually you got the full range of like 87 midi instruments.

[Morana94]

i tried to concentrate on what you were saying,bur i couldn't because honestly you are one of the most beautiful guys i have ever seen..:))))))) lonf live folk metal!!! hail from bosnia!! you rock!!

[MadeInChileBornInNor]

wtf

[s0m3w0n2]

yea I'm with this guy,  the fuck ?

[Morana94]

what the fuck do you want

[MadeInChileBornInNor]

u dont know what i mean..

[Morana94]

well i am no mind reader...

[MadeInChileBornInNor]

go listen opeth and u see what i mean.

its total different structure

[augury010]

Has anyone ever t old you that you have the most adorable Canadian accent ever?

[SE7EN163]

these are great, even for a generic structure, u did good

[Piviottrainee]

6,666th views

ouch bad

[s0m3w0n2]

Zomg oh noes !

[mikedrago3]

im sorry but the tags made me ROFL " twit with long har" XD

[metallicaluke101Z]

how do u write lyrics 4 metal songs

[BeyondTheCemetery]

...you get a pen and paper and start writing words down. There are no rules for metal lyrics, they can be about anything. With genres like Horror Punk it's kinda obvious what the lyrics are (or have to be) based on.

[muckie00]

shame your guitar is out of tune

and you lack any originality

[s0m3w0n2]

Firstly my guitar really isnt important it's only as an example.

Second It's a formula....were you expecting a formula for originality ?

[ahsas710]

for gods sake try to learn something from him if u can.. if u cant just ignore the video..

btw nice stuff altho its quite basic!!

[s0m3w0n2]

You know that it is statistically proven that you have a small penis ?

[StriethUchiha]

Actually, emo did not exist 7 years ago. Only Goth.

[alexvolpe7]

no emo did, its from 'emocore' aka started by Fugazi like 20-30 years ago

[imyouwithaboat]

then what the hell was blink 182? lol

[koaladre]

do u have a flipping acoustic?!?

[s0m3w0n2]

Uhh yes I do actually. Did you mean that as in you cant hear, or because you think I'm too metal :D

[MELONMOVIES]

GO EMO HAIR!!!

[GuruNightStalker]

Gosh!

He's fucking HOTT!

<3

[lnknprk032990]

u must play much better than this, u look so bored when ur playing that stuff lol

[madchickenfilms]

gnarly

[luckynumber58]

lol the tags....

twit with long hair

[s0m3w0n2]

Yea well when I made it I was expecting that to be like the entire comment section.

[183729jiffy]

GUITAR PRO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nathansu2]

yeah, im the songwriter for our band, and im lucky to have been taught alot of music theory over the years. for far ive got 3 songs down, 2 of which including solos and im workin on 2 more so we can have enough to make a demo cd to send out to friends and record companys.

[alwera12]

you rock! thanks so much! ily!!

keep it metal!

[blackzabbathfan]

i see, i wrote a song i didn't use this but i did use the formula that you mentioned; intro, verse, choras, verse, chorus, verse bridge, choras, and outro

[Emblemz]

that was kool :D

[xdeathxgodx]

My god, thank you soo much, I'm a young musician trying to start a band, and this helped alot, Thank you.

[intaler]

Emos has never came any long in the music world.

[xdeathxgodx]

not emo buddy, sorry

[intaler]

Don't use emo names, then.

xCutxMyxWristx xx

[xdeathxgodx]

just to let you know, this account is maybe, 7 years old, when i use to be scene.. but uhh, not anymore.. and im not going to make a new account just because i changed ways?

[intaler]

Joined: 18 March 2007

bad liar?

[s0m3w0n2]

LOL you cock emo didnt even exist 7 years back.

[elvinjohn7]

lol

[defdeezy]

er... yes it did.

[elliotward]

lol

[punk4life333]

Just curious are u from Canada/alaska

[s0m3w0n2]

Just around toronto. So Canada