How to Play Harmonic Minor Scales on Metal Guitar

Learning to play metal guitar can be a fun and exciting experience. As with any style of guitar playing, there are a number of different scales you can play. The harmonic scale is a common one and necessary to know to expand your metal guitar playing abilities.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Know the sounds of and how to play the harmonic minor scales. These scales offer a dark, mysterious Middle Eastern sound and are commonly used in heavy metal, rock and other forms of alternative music. The same basic principle can be applied to all the major and minor scales to create a harmonic scale.

2. Understand how the harmonic scale changes to be able to apply it to all the major and minor scales. The basic C major scale is C D E F G A B C. The formula for the harmonic scale is 1-2-3flat-4-5-6flat-7, so adding this to the C scale would create C-D-E-flat-F-G-Aflat-B-C.

3. Try applying the same principle to other major and minor scales to create a harmonic scale and different sound. Play with the sounds to create something totally different.

4. Practice using the harmonic scale in songs you create and songs in the heavy metal world you already listen to. Once you know the sounds of the harmonic scale on metal guitar, you will be surprised at how often it is used in the music you listen to.