Pastor Brad's FREE Metal Guitar Lessons Key Musical Terms Metal Guitar Lessons           GuitarJams             PB's Metal Music             Reviews Bio/Press Kit            Christianity            Links             Contact           Demo Club If you have questions about any of these--click here to email me!  Don't fret (Ha! Ha!)... this isn't going to be any kind of heavy music theory lesson... I simply want to share some KEY musical terms that every player needs to know.  I will use these terms ALL THROUGH these lessons, and you will hear them again and again as you read and hear other guitarists talk about playing. HALF STEP and WHOLE STEP:  I can "illustrate" what a whole and half step are better than I can "explain" it.  To play a "whole step" play the Low "E" string at the 5th fret (this is an "A" note).  Now, play the same string TWO (2) FRETS further up the neck @ the 7th fret (this is a "B" note)... and this is a "whole step".  If you would have only moved up to the SIXTH (6th) FRET that would have been a "half step".  Essentially any time you make a TWO FRET move you're making a "WHOLE STEP" and any time you make a ONE FRET move you're making a "HALF STEP". BEND: A "bend" is the act of "stretching" a string by pushing or pulling up or down.  When you "bend" a string the tone is "sharpened" or "raised" in pitch.  You can bend any string with any finger, but the finger most commonly used is the "ring" finger... and the strings most commonly bent are the high "E", "B" and "G" strings (the 3 highest/lightest strings)  DO THIS:  Grab your guitar and try bending... some notes.  Pick the string in any given fret and then bend it up!  The tone will raise...  then to develop the skill of bending, do this...  play the "G" string on the 6th fret (listen closely to the tone)... the go back one fret to the 5th fret... play that note and bend it up to match the tone you heard at the 6th fret.  This is called a "HALF STEP BEND".   To play a "WHOLE STEP BEND" repeat the above process--only play the first note at the 7th fret and then bend the note at the 5th fret up to match that tone.  PRACTICE!  PRACTICE! OCTAVE:  Any time you play any note... and then play that same note "higher"... you just played  an octave.  An octave on the guitar is essentially 12 frets.  TRY THIS:  play any string "open" (without placing your fingers on any frets)... then play the same string at the 12th fret (most of the time this fret has 2 dots in it).  Congratulations!  You just played an octave!   Now--experiment and see if you can discover other places to play octaves!  This will help you BIG TIME to learn the notes on your fret board! HAMMER-0N:  The phase "hammer-on" describes exactly what it is... When you use a hammer, you swing it down and strike a nail (or whatever you're woking on).  When you play a "hammer-on" on the guitar you bring your finger down hard enough on a string to cause it to ring without picking it.  TRY THIS: With your index finger play and "A" note on the high "E" string (5th fret)... then as that note is ringing bring your ring finger down quickly onto that same string in the 7th fret ("B")... DON'T PICK IT... just "hammer-on"!  You can do this ANYWHERE ON THE NECK... and you can do it with any combination of fingers... experiment with it. PULL-OFF:  A "pull-off" is just the opposite of a "hammer-on".  with the above exercise in mind TRY THIS: Place your index finger on the "G" note on the high "E string" (3rd fret)... and then... keeping your index finger where it is... use your ring fringer to play an "A" on the same string (5th fret).  Now--without picking... pull your ring finger off so that now your index finger is the one fretting the note.  Just like the hammer-on... the pull-off can be played all over the fretboard and with any combination of fingerings... experiment with it. TRILL:  I "trill" is simply a series of hammer-ons and pull-offs back to back... go back to the above two exercises with hammer-ons and pull-offs... use your index and ring fingers on the 5th and 7th frets of the high "E" string... hamer-on and pull-off... again and again... begin very slowly and gradually work up speed! RIFF/LICK:  No exercises here... just some explanation.  A riff or a lick is simple a combination of notes and or chords played together that form a hooky chunk of music.  For example the intro to "Crazy Train" played by Randy Rhoads on the first Ozzy album is a classic "riff" HARMONIC:  If you were to look up "harmonic" in the dictionary (like I just did!) you'd find that the term "harmonic" is defined simply:  "Of or relating to harmony."  I.e. when you play a harmonic on the guitar it creates 2 notes that harmonize... the result is a really cool sound!   It will take some practice... like everything else... to master it.   You can play harmonics on any string.  The best place to play them are at the 5th, 7th and 12th frets.  HERE'S WHAT YOU DO:  Barely touch whatever string you want to play the harmonic on... right above the actual metal fret bar at the front of the fret... try it at the 5th fret.  pick that string and lift your finger to let the string ring out... This takes a little practice to really get.  Try it all over the neck... you'll find some really cool sounds! MUTE:  Muting is achieved by "half-deadening" a string or chord.  There are basically three types of muting that I employ:  1) PALM MUTING--with this first type you use your right (picking) hand.  Let the side/base of your hand lightly rest on the strings as your pick a string or chord... you should notice that the note sounds, but doesn't ring, i.e. it's "muted."  2) FLAT OUT MUTE--at least that's what I call it.  It's really musical... it's more rythmic.  To get this to work simply lay you left (fret) hand over all six strings.  Don't press then down so as to actually fret them... just enough to keep them from ringing out... not use your right (picking) hand to strum out a rythem... this can sound really cool on an accoustic guitar... or on an electric with lots of distortion and a phaser or flanger!  3) CHORD MUTING--this one's pretty simple... especially once you understand the concept of the first two types of muting.  To mute a chord you simply don't press it all the way down.  You place you fingers in the right places.... but then you don't push all the way down so that the strings are muted... this works really well once you develop some rythem in your picking/strumming hand!  You can create some killer rythems by working a chord--i.e. going back and forth between muting and allowing the chord to ring as you strum out a cool pattern. TONIC or ROOT:  Whenever I refer to the "tonic" or "root" note... that is the note that denominates (names) the chord.  I.e.  when you play an "A" chord you allow the "A" string (string 5) to ring out... and that "A" is the "root" or "tonic" note in that chord.  Or, if you play a MAJOR SCALE in "G"... that scale will always begin with a "G" note ("G" is the tonic or root note of the scale). I'm sure we'll come across some more terms as we go... but these will get you started.