Thank you so much for this video Simon. You really helped me out a lot. A whole lot actually. I've been playing for 3 years, but my trem technique was non existent. That's a pretty big handicap for a Black/Death metal fan. It's been 2 months since I tried the tips in this video, and I feel like I am a completely new guitar player. You have no idea how much this affects my mental health, in a very good way. I am so happy that I can finally play some songs from my favorite bands. Hell I even started recording some material of my own. It's all thanks to you. You've helped and inspired me so much. I cannot thank you enough. I am having so much fun. As soon as I finally get that 7-string Jackson I've been eyeballing, I'm definitely buying your guitar course. You've helped me so much, it's the least I can do. Thanks again. You're the best.

@SimonSmithGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

That's awesome man!! So glad my tips helped!!

@genzeuronymous7787

3 жыл бұрын

BlAcK dEaTh MeTaL, are you a black metal fan or not? Obviously not because no black metal fan would say what you’re saying

@randomdude93-93

2 жыл бұрын

@@genzeuronymous7787 He clearly put a "/" there to indicate he's a fan of both. Don't be a tool, guy.

@SaladPizzaRestaurant

2 жыл бұрын

@@genzeuronymous7787 are you prone to strokes or something?

@StoneBuzzard

2 жыл бұрын

@@genzeuronymous7787 AHHHHH! SELF DEFENSE

This is not working. I need a new guitar

@TheBaconWizard

3 жыл бұрын

Probly need a new amp as well, tbh

@maxwelch3791

3 жыл бұрын

Get the new placebo pedal. It's done wonders for my playing.

@akreates8100

3 жыл бұрын

Nice profile picture

@theFriendlyGhst

3 жыл бұрын

Maybe one with more strings...

@dbombaable

3 жыл бұрын

haha

I'm a lousy, lazy and uninspired guitarist. Yet for some reason, one of the few tricks I have "mastered" is tremolo. For some reason, that part always came easy to me. So yes, if I can learn it: so can YOU!

@farhangemamifar9190

2 жыл бұрын

keep up the good work. I love tremolo but I tried to spend time more on speed picking after I learned the tremolo.

@devinrowe5537

2 жыл бұрын

That's because its literally just picking but faster.

@TheCultofshiva

2 жыл бұрын

Lol lazy and lousy, uninspired too. The fact that you managed to learn to play the guitar means that you have put in the work and trem picking also means practicing a lot to get a decent sounding riff. A lot of people stop learning guitar because it doesn't come easy in the beginning. So no guitar player is lazy or uninspired, and lousy we all are time to time. And say you can't do crazy solos but you have some tremolo picking techniques and riff skills unique to yourself, you rockstar !!!

@farhangemamifar9190

2 жыл бұрын

@@devinrowe5537 It's not faster. I mean the picking hand in tremolo is faster than the speed picking. In speed pucking you hit every note once but in tremolo you can hit every not few times. So your right hand picks faster while playing tremolo. But in speed picking your left hand must be so quick.

@devinrowe5537

2 жыл бұрын

@@farhangemamifar9190 yeah the hand that picks....picks faster....its picking but faster.

One of the best guitar channels in my opinion!

@josh_fisher

3 жыл бұрын

Next to Ola, I agree.

@downfallofmankind

3 жыл бұрын

Simon's is definitely a go-to channel for black metal while Ola's is one for more general heavy metal/thrash metal imo

@triggerdigga5682

3 жыл бұрын

Yes and yes.....

@Nergal_Slayer

3 жыл бұрын

Definitely

@christokroon8133

3 жыл бұрын

Hail Satan 😂🤘⛧

If you dont have a soldering iron like me just take a fork and heat the tip with a lighter. Worked for me.

@MaximumJoy

3 жыл бұрын

Good advice!

@gabziu3161

3 жыл бұрын

Instructions unclear, my dog is torturing me with that fork. S O S

@bullfrogboss8008

3 жыл бұрын

Or you just buy a textured pick, those are widely available in many versions

@TheEpicSceptic

3 жыл бұрын

@@bullfrogboss8008 not kvlt enough. What you really want to do is get a nice sharpened wooden stake, set it on fire and carve the holes in that way.

@fouter81

2 жыл бұрын

@@TheEpicSceptic In the shape of an inverted cross I assume?

thank you for being our "black metal guitar tutorial" youtuber !!!

This lesson is GOLD! As I'm a wannabe surf guitar player your tips are really working for me. Also using the amps drive a little is something I hadn't realized helps a lot too.

Thank you Simon, every time im playing and my arm gets tired I remember "barely touching the strings" Helped me a lot

I've also been following your channel for some time and I've extracted what I consider really good tremolo picking exercises from your videos that I've applied to my own practice schedule. These are notably, the Satyricon mother north main riff, Enslaved vetrarnott riff, Darkthrone hans siste vinter riff, Emperor I am the black wizards riff, and a couple of other riffs from your string skipping exercise videos. Collectively I think they are wonderful riffs that cover all manner of tremolo picking and string skipping, and I've built it up to a consistent 150bpm so far by drilling them. I really appreciate all the invaluable content you've uploaded over the years! My main obstacle at this point is whenever the thickest string is briefly involved in a riff (mother north, vetrarnott), there's just something about it's tension and thickness that trips me up sometimes, specifically at the moment of returning to one of the thinner strings. Have you ever encountered this yourself? Also, I'm surprised you didn't go into detail about the type/shape of pick. Would you say it's not of primary importance? After practicing so long with dunlop flows and jazz III's, if I try to use a typical 351 type pick or even a flat tortex it just feels (and sounds) awful, and get's stuck in the strings more. Thanks again for supreme content.

I'm learning tremolo picking for some months now and I can see that there's progress already so imo you definitely can learn it if you really work on it. And btw a big thanks to you Simon, your lessons helped me a lot 🤘😈

This video made my tremolo picking so much better, you focus on the small but super importanted stuff. Thanks again!

Simon, thank you! I have a solid grasp on a lot of metal riffing structures, but I never really got into playing black metal. Because of this my Tremolo picking has always been pretty shoddy. I've been really into black metal the past few years though, and I've been enjoying trying to develop it. Lots of good info in here

this is really useful! After trying a bunch of different ways of holding I've found the most comfortable for me, now I'm working on fretting and keeping my picking arm relaxed.

I really appreciate the time you took to break this technique down. I've been struggling to develop stronger metal rhythm and lead technique after years of half hearted blues and rock noodling. Great tip on the pick mod as well. I had been super gluing small disks of 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper but this looks like an effective, cheaper, and more durable solution.

I'm just a few weeks into guitar and feeling like i'm getting better super fast. Learned this today, pretty bad at it right now but i'm sure i just need to practice a bit. Thank you for your tutorials :))

I just started playing about a month ago and been real into black metal for the last couple years and this is hands down the best channel for learning, so thank you

I found the Black Metal course in discount suddently and when i hit the button it changed into the full price but definitely looking forward to buy it as soon as possible cause every lesson i found here on YT and patreon was always really useful and well explained.

Thank you so much for this video, after trying countless techniques, you made me realise that I haven't been placing my forearm properly on my guitar. This really affected my tremolo picking accuracy and now I can do it so much more accurately!! Thank you once more!

Thanks for the exercise, I tried building up my speed by starting at 80 bpm 16th notes and gradually increasing it but I kept losing count at higher speeds and playing sloppy. Your exercise of playing 7 4th notes and 4 16th notes and increasing the amount of 16th notes made it way easier for me. It also helped me think of tremolo picking in groups of 4 which made counting way easier.

Mr Simon is the man of teaching black metal. Following him i can tremolo picking quite well. Thanks man.

Simon is the most devoted tutor ever! And yeah, tremolo picking is matter of training and technique.

I think you've unlocked something for me, even though I knew about all these different parameters I only tried changing on of them at a time. Thanks :)

Great detail in this video simon. This is what beginner/intermediate guitarists need. Thanks.

Love this channel! Love the playing and tutorials! You're a black metal hero

Best tutorial for this technique!! i just follow your approach and tried different positions and ways to hold the pick and guess what?? i don't know if this will work for everyone but i just changed the way i hold the pick, changed the index finger for the middle finger (the bad boy finger) like EVH used and for my surprise it worked absolutely perferct! Thanks so much for your teaching!

Cool man been playing for about 20 years and found this very useful

Neat idea with the pick modification! Thanks for the video Simon

I've been trying to play the tremolo part in Out of My Mind by Mayer and this tutorial helped a lot. Thanks!

Thanks a lot Simon, my main issue was the first one you addressed with the pick sliding. I'll give your latest trick a go.

Tremolo picking is the first thing I was doing on guitar xD

Excellent lesson with great details

This helps me out with "Acrid Canon" by Archspire! I could get by with what I just naturally learned as tremolo picking, but for Acrid Canon I actually had to trouble shoot my technique. Thanks a lot!

This is quite helpful. Before KZread, and getting zero advice, I decided to use the thinnest gauge pick to tremolo. A thin pick will not only help you learn the technique, but you can also graduate to thicker picks. …also, I tend to use one of the blunt ends of the pick. Just personal preference.

Such an underrated channel. Thanks for all your lessons!

The soldering of the pick is the sickest idea and you are a genius sir

@SimonSmithGuitar

3 ай бұрын

Thanks 🤘

when i first picked up classical guitar tremolo picking is one of the first things I picked up, anyone trying keep going! you can do it just gotta put in the practice and time :)

Thanks mate I'll check this stuff out..good video

This was great! A nice followup would be tips on tremolo picking up and down across various strings. It's by far what I struggle with the most(for example, playing Jesus Tod)

I shred like a mofo on tremolo pickinig but i cant play simple chords 😅

@DailyMotionBetter

3 жыл бұрын

OPPOSITE!

@Airtrooper719

2 жыл бұрын

Im the complete opposite lol :(

@fouter81

2 жыл бұрын

I suck at both after 20 years of playing 😅

@ilay829

Жыл бұрын

I feel ya buddy, It’s easy for me to arpeggio/shredding but I still struggles to switch from G major to D major.

I adjusted my technique to be like in this vid, basically I'm "semi-anchoring" to stay at one height and use pickslanting and arm lever motions to change strings. Works amazing, and the wrist motion is easier to do when my hand is slightly angled isn't entirely glued to the bridge. My only problem is that my hands are p smol, so I have to stretch when playing low E. Guess tremolo picking just doesn't work any other way, this is pretty similar to eddie van halen's tremolo lol

Thanks again. After working on technique, it seemed easier if I didn't look down at the strings. Even doing up to 3 strings. And relaxing into it, hands, shoulders, etc.

That guitarr sounded crazyy 🔥🔥

Very helpful. Thank you.

One of the best guitar vids out there

The solution for me to tremolo picking was getting a thin pick like a Tortex .50mm or .60mm . Great tips about hand and forearm positioning .

@boost219

2 жыл бұрын

That’s funny. It was the opposite for me. I went from .60 to .88 and it felt way better

@BlackPhillip666

2 жыл бұрын

1.5mm JP Jazz III

Great lesson. Thank you! I’ll try to do it, my problem seems to be the angle of the pick and my forearm position. I try to change but my hand always goes back to the wrong position that makes it harder for me to play. Also the skin of my thumb touches the strings when I pick. I don’t seem to be able to fix that. I will also try thick plectrum because I heard that it helps to fix bad hand posture.

Ive found that "the fan" is usually better for playing single notes while "the fist" is better for chords. Im used to the fist and ive never ever had a problem tremolo picking chords, even 3 note chords where i have to strum 3 strings, just single notes. Ive also noticed that farvann does the fist more than the fan and he also does chords more often while you seem to be better at single notes and favor the fan. Ive always been fascinated by how you can tremolo pick single notes with such precision, even when you’re skipping strings, I’ll keep practicing, hopefully, i get better..

What you do to your picks is called stippling, we do it on polymer hand guns all the time. Great idea.

@krypticviper1613

Жыл бұрын

Polymer you say Interesting…….

This video is killer to similar technique videos. It shows that you must find your own way of playing

Thanks that‘s helpful

I love dunlop.73mm dark gray pics for the diamond plate grip 😁

@NOWAYOUT441

3 жыл бұрын

I usually use .88 Dunlop nylon, but for metal I lovvvveeee 1.0

A riff that I think is a good learning tremelo riff is the tremelo riff at the end of mourning palace by dimmu. Sick riff and it's not too hard. It's mid paced and helps string swapping a bit. Back when I was learning, I'd play that riff over and over again.

Thanks!!!!!

I've got a sleeveless version of that exact maiden shirt

This video is fucking awesome, it's already having a positive effect on my playing (ironic when it's for black metal)

Nice guitar 🤘🏻

As someone once said, "when I first started playing, I thought there was no way I could ever play tremolo. After years and years of discipline and countless hours of practice, and dedication, I can finally say without a doubt, I was 100% correct!!"

Perfect

Thanks a bunch! Discussing angles really helped me figure out what was comfortable and repeatable for me.

This was actually a wicked video man

@SimonSmithGuitar

Жыл бұрын

Cheers buddy

While in here. i train the tremolo picking for 7 years with an acoustic guitar without any pick.. but it still works.. never surrender is real

What about palm muted tremolo picking? That’s what I find the most difficult part of metal guitar; fast 16th notes consistent palm muted tremolo picking at 180 bpm & above

I didn't really even learn tremolo picking, I just tried it and I could do it already. Of course I was only able to play like one string or maybe two at that time but my point is that it wasn't as hard as I tought.

Trem picking was one of the first things I learned. Not bragging just saying i got lucky i guess cause it came very easy to me with very little practice. Pinch harmonics were the same where i was doing them within minutes after learning the technique. Its all about how you hold the pick. This just came natural but after thinking about it the technique that he calls the circle with thumb on top and the bottom of the pick resting between your first two joints on your index finger is the way to go while resting your wrist on the bridge weather youre muting or not. Just tighten up on everything if that makes sense. i use this same set up for galloping. I began with "extreme" metal so I used this stuff A LOT Edit: tight circle, fan, wrist on bridge, slight tilt to the pick and no slant and tighten up on everything

I can tremolo pick yet i still watched the video Cuz i like the way he explains stuff

Please make more videos on this topic

greetings, great video, could you do a guitar lesson on Thy Antichrist’s "The great beast" or "Beloved Depression" of Lebenssucht, please

This was awesome, I have a acoustic but can't play for shit, but this video made me order an electric haha

Thanks Heisenberg.

Here I am, in a video intended for black metal guitar, but I'm a bassist practicing to play Gojira

Can't do much on the guitar. But tremolo picking is something that is rather easy. I guess I have to join a BM band now :)

@user-mg8fn1bq9d

2 жыл бұрын

Your name would be an issue. But there's always a precedent...Christian "Anti-Chrisitian" Svendsen used to play drums in Tsjuder lol 🤪

i just kinda, did it when i first learned guitar? i dont know if im used to it because of something i did in life, or if it was just luck but it was much easier for me than for other people.

I can tremolo pick but on when I start on an up stroke 😂 not sure why but its more comfortable for me and I get some good high speeds and can string swap easily aswell

My main issue is in regards to switching strings smoothly and on time - is it just a matter of keeping the picking hand relaxed?

Simon I have been following your work for a while and I find it really informative and an excellent channel,I have been playing guitar for a number of years and am what I say beginner/intermediate,I mostly play doom and tune very low so it never really is an issue,but I love to play Black metal thrash and death metal also,however one area I have always struggled with is tremelo picking notes on the thickest string,i have tried numerous pick thicknesses and exercises,i mainly use jazz 3s and the stubby pettruci 2.0 picks but I simply can't get it tight enough to consistently record anything worth while,do you have any tips or insight you could share on this particular issue?

@SimonSmithGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

I reckon you may be over thinking it. Try a lighter grip on your pick, set the metronome and just play the bottom string for ten minutes. Tremolo pick one bar then three bars not tremolo picked. Build up to two bars tremolo picked, then three, then all four...

@tunelowplayslow8101

3 жыл бұрын

@@SimonSmithGuitar i really appreciate the reply man,i can tremelo pretty tight an consistently on all other strings just that top string im really hit or miss with,ill try the tips in the video and your suggestions on pick grip,thanks again for the awesome content over the years.

2:58 :D

do you think its normal that I have to alternate between fan and fist for different techniques? Like for downpicking I find fan the best, more chunk etc. For tighter picking i tend to make a fist to help with upstrokes. (ps I still suck at tremolo picking :( ) thanks for the guide

3 years of practice and still fully incapable of tremolo picking lol

Hi, is every stroke counted when you play so fast? Or its played only with timing?

I use the james hetfield pick holding technique

Hi Simon which acoustic guitars do you recommend for playing black metal,other than Tanglewood.

@SimonSmithGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

Whichever one you like the most

Please Make cover of Masacre - Exodo from Colombia... old school death metal.

Do you count the notes while tremolo picking or do you just do it kinda out of feeling?

This is not so easy to get perfect requires a lot of training

@Wheresthepepsibismol

3 жыл бұрын

Black Metal dudes can do it

I wonder which was the first black metal song with tremolo picking. Does anyone have any idea? Great video Simon!

@ThorsShadow

3 жыл бұрын

Mate, just look up the history of the genre online. You'll find out, that many of the first bands where inspired by the Venom album "Black Metal" (which wasn't Black Metal itself, although it did include tremolo picking). It's quite a journey from there. I'm sure you'll find the first tremolo-picked this way and maybe some bands you don't know yet.

@ThorsShadow

3 жыл бұрын

@Antyla Yes, but it isn't in itself a Black Metal song. It's more of a...predecessor of the genre and insanely heavy influence.

@KnutBluetooth

3 жыл бұрын

Tremolo picking has been around for a long time. In early Metal it's often found at the end of a song or gig where they kind of go wild. Black Metal didn't come up with it, it merely uses it all the time.

@alexanderiosava2148

3 жыл бұрын

Darkthrone - transylvanian hunger

@bullfrogboss8008

3 жыл бұрын

I mean tremolo picking was long before anyone knew about black metal. In the 60s dick dale used this technique to play surf rock

Now that’s the cheating I’ve been missing! Thanks a lot!

My biggest issue with tremolo is alternating between the strings. No porblem trem picking on one, as soon as the next note is on a different one, the timing goes out the window and the note sounds like shit for the first to or three pick strums

I was trying to piece together why I stink at tromolo, other than the fact that I have never done it before. realized it's because I never downstroke, just started practicing downstroking today and it's like learning from scratch, my brain is screeching.

Nice i can do it sitdown but i make a wierd position whe im up

Just changing the part of my forearm resting on the guitar improved it so much wtf 😂

@SimonSmithGuitar

2 жыл бұрын

🤘😎🤘

My problem with tremolo picking if i try to go from a string to string i play 3 & 5 & 7''s not 4 & 6 & 8 ..i'm too used to this motion that i cannot do 4 & 2 ..how do i troubleshoot tht? ..i've been trying your old exercices but i'm so like shit on 85 bpm only!!!

This is very helpful, but I have a question: when tremoling(?) several strings (say a powerchord) do you mute the rest of the higher strings and actually pick all of them (like a regular downstroked powerchord) or do you "focus" on just the strings you need playing?

@pavos3609

3 жыл бұрын

Did u find the answer to this? I need it too :P

@wilfridsephiroth9213

3 жыл бұрын

@@pavos3609 nope :( TBH I try to focus on two/three strings, otherwise I can't do the movement fast enough. But it might be completely wrong.

@sabbatus

3 жыл бұрын

@@wilfridsephiroth9213 focus on he strings you can just mute whit your fingers touching slightly to the notes you don't want and i think you can mute low e whit your thumb im a begginer too btw xd

So does the red wire or black wire get soldered to the pick?

Hey Simon. Something you did not address in here is that everything seems to be coming from your wrist. I can't do this. My wrist is pretty locked into place and the tremolo is coming from my forearm. Is this OK? Should I be trying to isolate this into the wrist? If so, how do I go about that? If I just play from the wrist, I'm very limited in my speed. Not much more than 110 bpm 16th notes. Please advise if you can. Thanks!

@SimonSmithGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

Hey John. Everyone is different buddy, so if that works for you then work on it. I suppose I would just say to keep trying things until you find what's the most comfortable and effective 🤘

@squweh

3 жыл бұрын

@@SimonSmithGuitar Will do! Thanks so much for the quick response.

No need to use a soldering iron on your pick, Snarling Dog picks come with those grippers on them already.

Best channel for us black metal guitar players. Men what about some drone metal lessons. I am really into black stuff but I am trying to combine it with Norwegian vibes. Thanks a lot.

Was that intro riff improvised or is it from a certain song? ThANKS!

@SimonSmithGuitar

3 жыл бұрын

Just improvised yes 👍

@kami3000

3 жыл бұрын

@@SimonSmithGuitar Should make that into a song. If you don't do it, someone has to!

@rew6184

3 жыл бұрын

@@kami3000 its just 5ths on the 4 and 5th string, like a power chord! try it out

please make a lesson video on dont go outside by poppy please im begging

I will give these tips a try! Because they seem like good ideas NOT because you look like you’ll deliver a Stone Cold Stunner if I don’t agree with you

Keeping the wrist away from the strings makes it easier for me, but then it all falls apart when palm muting gets involved, so chugging on the 7th string combined with short tremolo picks on the 5th becomes impossible. Anyone run into the same problem?