THE BEAST

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Look The Part Without Messing Up The Part

By Shawn Leonhardt for Guitar Tricks and 30 Day Singer

Some players can pull off stage costumes and theatrics while others struggle to mix the different styles of art together. Whether you want to simply headbang, use fashion, or get wild you have to make sure the overall music doesn’t suffer or that will lead to a show that doesn’t work. Here’s a beginner guitar lesson on how to look the part at a metal show without messing up the music!

Aesthetic And Genre

First you need to assess the styles, moves, and fashions that may go along with your potential genre of metal. If you are looking to do a cover band then this will be easier as you can reference the band that you will be doing a tribute to. If the music and band is your creative approach then you will have more options on what you can do. There are obviously no rules when it comes to makeup, masks, and aggressive dancing but make sure it has a theme or glue to what you are playing.

Your band doesn’t even have to be technically savvy, knowing specific techniques like the Hendrix chord or the B.B. Box . In fact you will find playing while dancing or in costume is easiest playing something simple like an f power chord or playing some 3 chord songs . The most important factor is to have a band that knows their parts well and can play a good song. Whether a tune is metal or folk, technical or stupidly simple, the better everyone knows it the more the audience will potentially like it. 

Even if you are going for a metal genre of the darkest chaos metal ever, you will still want there to be structure and practice. When movements and music are synchronized and prepared, other people will respond and hopefully like what they see. Whether your band has its own mythology or is just trying to look the part, make sure you have a theme that suits your musical approach.

Headbanging And Body Movement

Music already has a hypnotic aspect and adding in repetitive movements only creates more of a religious fervor. Most headbanging occurs on backbeats or sometimes as a driving constant on every beat depending on the speed and rhythm of the song. If you are writing your own music remember to keep your low tuned barre chords in a good beat that your audience will move together with. As you practice picking, headbang at the right times that you want your listeners to also move. Most everything done on stage should be planned ahead.

If your goal is to do more than headbanging and add more theatrics then try and keep movements in time with downbeats and upbeats. Just like when you’re singing a tense vocal part you will force more air out at the beginning downbeat for emphasis, keep your stage moving fitting for the music. Not only does this look better but it will help you memorize your parts better. When everything is choreographed nicely it’s easier to not lose your part.

A lot of metal will be dealing in odd time signatures and meters that can be halting. These songs may need extra practice to make sure any movements will fit the music, otherwise it may distract rather than add to the piece. If your goal is just to move wildly everywhere with no rhyme or reason, that’s fine but make sure you are in shape! Being on stage and not moving is hard enough, putting on a physical show takes a lot of energy.

Mixing The Art With The Music

All of these other parts of moving, fashion, and art are second to making sure you have your guitar part down. You can’t just practice at home sitting down, you have to stand up, headbang, move, and do exactly what you plan to do on stage. Just like you wouldn’t practice jazz guitar songs getting ready for a metal complex metal show. If you plan on using masks or makeup, try it out in practice first. Will it be distracting, makeup running, mask slipping, or detrimental to the performance? Play all your parts as you expect to during the actual show. Take on small open mics or venues to build up your nerves and abilities in the meantime.

In the show Metalocalypse the lead guitarist Skwisgaar is always seen with his guitar, even in the hot tub. The joke being that he has to constantly practice being the best in the world. You do not have to go that far but if you want to play guitar in a live setting you must practice as much as possible. Not just the most used guitar chords , but the more nuanced and complicated aspects of your specific performance. If you truly want to look the part of a metal player on stage and not mess up the part, practice your parts over and over!

Also make sure your guitar and gear are up for the show that they will be needed for. If you have grand visions for heavy duty aggression or absurd shows then you will need equipment that can stand up to the beating. Or at least avoid top of the line gear that may be damaged in some scenarios. It is important to go through checklists of your set to make sure all of the equipment can handle the actual playing.

Speaking of gear, use pedals and effects to help you do more than it may seem! If you struggle to headbang and play you can always use delays and reverb for a fuller sound with less notes. When it comes to being on stage it’s not cheating to use technology to put on a good show. If necessary beef your signal up so you can focus more on vocals or the theater. You will not be the first musician who has convinced the audience they are way better than reality. Which is fine, it’s entertainment!

If you want to look the part of a metal guitarist on stage without messing up then it is essential to practice all the time. Put yourself in the settings, fashion, and movements of the show and prepare for when the day arrives. And the best advice of all is to learn to work through mistakes. When you mess up in practice or on stage do not stop or bring attention to it. Simply learn to just keep going and get back on track. The audience will rarely know you messed up if you can just keep going.