Chapter 1: Fundamentals of Metal Guitar

Beginner metal guitar: what you need to get started

There are 4 essential techniques every metal guitarist needs to master first:

• Power chords 
• Palm muting
• Picking (downpicking and alternate)
• Single-note riffs 

This chapter builds your foundation with those techniques by playing real metal riffs, not just isolated exercises.

Whatever pace you're moving at is the right one. Some of you will fly through this chapter in a day, others will spend a couple of weeks here, and both are completely fine. There's no clock running.

One thing worth knowing if any of this feels a little too basic, or a little too much, at first: I hear from a lot of guitarists who aren't sure they're starting at the right level. When I released my first course years ago, plenty of players told me it actually assumed they were further along than they were. That's exactly why I built this chapter, and Metal Guitar Apprentice inside the Academy, the way I did. If you're wondering whether you're in the right place, you are.

Once you've worked through the riffs, try adding or removing notes, changing the order, or moving them up or down the fretboard. That experimentation is where your own style starts to show.

Take the next step inside the Academy

If you want to really lock in these fundamentals and keep progressing, my Metal Guitar Apprentice course inside the Jason Stallworth Guitar Academy picks up right where this chapter leaves off.

Inside the Academy, you'll get:

• Metal Guitar Apprentice and all my other rhythm and lead courses
• Monthly riffs, solos, tabs, and backing tracks
• Clear practice paths so you always know what to work on next

💬 “I tried another course that was all campfire chords — not my thing. Jason’s lessons had me playing real metal riffs within weeks. 100% best decision I’ve made.”
— Dustan K.