Bernth grab the green and yellow dishwashing square off of your sink and use the greenside gently for just a few seconds at a time until the glossing is gone on your guitar from finger oils. Thank me later and no it will not scratch the finish I've done this on countless guitars including Kiesels.
@@zzxmookysxzz4103 Both are impressive. You can't overstate what arthritis can do to a guitarist, particularly one that has played 2,000+ live shows and countless hours of practice and writing.
@@zzxmookysxzz4103 how many marathons a year does a professional runner do? How much rest in between? You need to realize playing as much consecutive live performances with such little rest in between as Metallica is doing is a marathon by itself.
I mean, as metalheads, we're all a little edgelord-ish. I think the term best suited to that comment is... Stupid. Perhaps moronic, or idiotic, or dumb, foolish, ignorant, dense, brainless, clueless, dim-witted, inane, imbecilic, witless, vacuous, thick, cretinous, or any other synonym for that dullard.
So much this. If you are still touring in your 60ies while being able to sell 80k tickets for two shows in the same city- you definetly did something right. But yeah- technique is easy to judge from his mothers basement..
People seem to forget that Metallica doesn't care what people think about their technique, they play their stuff and are clearly successful and its their choice to practice new techniques or not. And regardless of their skill level, Metallica got so many people into metal music and inspired many to pick up the guitar and Hetfield never claimed to be a guitar god/prodigy so Idk why we have to judge his technique.
As Metallica fan i don't care about their technique. I'm just listening to music. p.s. and yes, i also learned to play bass with some Metallica's songs
Hard agree. Put me in the camp as well with the tens or hundreds of thousands of people that picked up the guitar because of them. And to that commenter that Bernth highlighted, it doesn't really matter how they are downpicking, alt-picking, upstrokes, gear, clothes..whatever...all that really matters is creating music people want to listen to and putting on a good performance live. No one has done it better last 40+ years. The fact that he's still playing this stuff at.. checks notes for their typical show.. increased tempo from the albums live at almost age 61.. yeah... get bent commenter.
I think people judge his technique mainly once they realise how he holds a plectrum, it's just weird but idk, I don't judge it I just think it's different 🤷
Well, MoP and Creeping death are both 200+ bpm downpicking (MoP being 8 minutes long), with Blackened and Through the Never being around 200 as well, and Metallica usually plays it even faster live (especialy 80's). I am sorry but in which universe is that slow by any standarts, even the modern ones? That comment is just dumb. I would also add that people do not often realise that playing it while standing with addition of performing live in front of people, which includes doing some fun to watch show and looking good and baddass while doing it, is like 100x times more dificult than playing it sitting down in mom's bedroom. Not mentioning James does that while singing and yet he is still precise af. People who never stood on stage or played with a real band have no idea how difficult playing clean while performing live is. That comment is just "tell me you never played a show without directly telling me you never played a show" type of thing.
bro the nobodies are the biggest critics tho lol..... I saw a whole thread the other day of people just completely destroying Zakk Wylde, I was like wtf?
@@Snoopaloop1981 Zakk poops out solos better than anything most guitar players come up with. He doesn’t write music just for guitar nerds; he writes it for everyone. The guitar nerds are the reason no one cares about guitar music anymore. It’s a self indulgent circle jerk.
It's because they think that they themselves suck at playing. But instead of looking at themselves they sh!t on anyone else that's proven themselves. James is the real deal, that troll just can't handle it.
For all the hate Metallica gets, they’re laughing all the way to the bank and selling out shows every place they play at. Dude is a Shadow The Hedgehog level edge lord who has no respect for those that came before him.
Sorry but saying “they have lots of money and are popular” is a terrible defensive against criticism, especially when what’s being criticised is the technique of the artists, popularity doesn’t necessarily equal skill.
@@devanlyon4982 They got their popularity through their skill. Plus, do you still expect them to play at the level they did in the late 80’s? James and Lars are 60, Kirk is 61, and even if they held on to Jason, he’d also be 61, and they still pump out all the classics, even some of the new stuff. You gotta give them props for staying true to their craft for as long as they have been. Are they the most technical songwriters? Absolutely not, but composition beats writing songs at 300+ bpm just for the hell of it. Music and ability evolves over time, but you should respect the ones that came before you.
@@metallicaspiker16 I’m not commenting at all on their skills or the influence they have had, I’m just saying using “they are popular and have lots of money” is a bad defence when someone criticises them, I agree Metallica are probably the most important and influential band in metal and it’s cool to see them still going (regardless of the quality of the new music), but still it’s a dumb defence/ comeback
@@faultier3215 Practise, practise... But practise right and efficient 🙂. Assuming your hands can play in sync, keep re-evaluating your posture watching yourself in a mirror (for some reason it seems to work better than recording a video), adjust your strap and try different guitar heights, find out if it's better that your picking arm stays extended down or bent up, try different picking angles, different pick grips, different string heights (even some settings when strings buzz)... Sometimes we believe we aren't fast enough, when many times we already are, it's just we overlook some isolated issue that might be holding us back. And don't be shy to come up with your own picking pattern: learning a song note by note using the original player's technique is a fun way to learn and develop, but when you perform you have to be yourself.
Huge Metallica fan, but that number is bs. Hetfield himself said it was 500k at most. It was 1.6 million for acdc who were headlining that tour. Even that isn't close to the latest crowd.
Bernth like you, Metallica is the reason I picked up a guitar. The man is 60. Hetfield is the king of downpicking and is one of the reasons fast downpicking is an essential metal technique. Long live the king!
Internet gave the chance to spitefuls and ignorants to give an opinion.......I think in 40 years I only crossed ONE in real life (a "self taught" guitarist who thought playing 3 open chords was to master the instrument), who said "to me, Mozart and Bach had no idea about music, because they knew too much theory, their music is not spontaneus" ...........of course I laughed in his face, and basically told him what sometimes we call "THEORY" is actually the analysis of their music, and/or other composers who wrote musical treatises under their name giving their opinion of how harmony and melodies work...........of course the guy shrinked like a worm when you throw salt onto it. But on internet, all those resentful ignorants multiply by the dozens, and they fuel their ignorance with others like them who support their clueless statements, also fueled even more by people who hate the music or consider it offensive (for example, lots of airhead Megadeth posers will agree with the Heltfield statements, because they think what makes them a Megadeth fan is the hate for Metallica, not the love for Megadeth songs).
I believe the person who posted that needs to demonstrate his skills by uploading a 100% uncut, one take recreation of Metallica Toronto 1986, so we can see how good he is.
Or musicians could focus on writing actual good music instead of trying to break the speed barrier with their picking. So it’s fast…is it any good? Usually not.
The major thing people get wrong is the that James downpicked everything on earlier records. He didn’t. Riffs like Fight Fire With Fire, Damage Inc., Dyers Eve, Battery and others are not exclusively downpicked.
I dom't think anyone believes those gallops and those fast 16th note riffs were downpicked. They're practically impossible. Songs like Master of Puppets, Blackened and Creeping Death are obviously downpicked for the most part.
@@AnzaShadow Yep you are correct. You’d be surprised though at the number of people who will argue that everything was downpicked. I don’t know where that comes from.
I'm 45 and have been playing since I was 14. I've always downpicked everything, from punk to metal just out of instinct. I've never had a guitar lesson, so I never even knew there were different styles of picking until the last few years.
I'm the same but opposite, I started off with mostly Slayer and Cannibal Corpse so I tremolo picked fast AF. But my down-picking was underdeveloped until I made a conscious effort to speed it way up \m/
Lol that comment is so ignorant. Tell me you don't play guitar without telling me you don't play guitar. Might as well say Petrucci sucks at shredding, Slash's licks sucks, BB King sucks at soulful playing, Malmsteen's sweeping sucks, Van Halen's tapping sucks, Gilberts alternative picking sucks, and Abasi sucks at swybrid picking. You also don't crap on what came before, just because things have progressed, especially when they are the ones who foundations we built on.
@@Bubuthakid I know, reminds me of all those silly guitarists who say Stairway to Heaven is "overrated", just because is "easy to play"... Ok then, since its so easy, WRITE something as iconic then? Just because its not the most technical, doesn't mean it lacks merit. Composition will always win over flash.
@@nickloos3202 Aye. That guy doesn't get that we stand on the shoulders of titans. Sure, there are people who do what they do better. But not without them to stand on.
As you mention, the standard is 1/8th notes at 240. I would like to mention that Metallica's Creeping Death is played at 220 and they used to play it live even faster in the 80s. James did it all down picked. There's nothing about that that is not up to modern standard. And that was 40 years ago
I found out that holding the pick similarly to Hetfield was super comfortable for extended downpicking for me and I was able to play faster immediately by doing it, I just didn't have the control to hit the strings properly yet. It activated muscle groups in my hand that were more resilient for downpicking. Also different people have different sizes of fingers, so ignoring that when comparing technique seems like a huge oversight IMO. I don't think that this guy actually understood the mechanics of hand movements.
could also be he smells his own farts thinking it's perfume......I meet a lot of those brutes, specially in music academia.....and 100% of times is the ones who know the less about anything, and glorify their mediocrity by calling it awesome.
What's funny is that growing up in the 2000s people thought it was strange and impractical to downpick only, and now it's heralded as this master technique 😂
Who commented that his downpicking is overrated? For a lead singer and rhythm guitarist he's insanely great overall, but MOST intermediate and even seasoned guitarists FAIL to play at James' downpicking consistency and speed for more than a minute.
Some people will just say the stupidest thing possible to get some interaction. Insightful comments that resonate with people are much more difficult, it seems
Hetfield and his picking isn’t just speed. It’s his accuracy as well. I also love how people complain about 80s metal speed compared to today. Give it another 40 years and stuff will be faster as well. There will always be someone taller, bigger, and stronger. It happens in sports and it happens in every genre. King of the mountains always get knocked down
Great lesson on something that really isn't covered enough. Have to say that I don't think Metallica's down picking is outdated by any means. Anything north of 200bpm is impressive as well. If you can sustain down picking for long periods around 200, you likely can push to tempos like 240 in bursts. Trivium for example have a song from 2004, ember to inferno and its 240bpm. Played in bursts but they have tons of songs with longer bursts at slower speeds. This is absolutely not outdated today
I actually saw something where James said Lars has been using a click track live. Which I found interesting. Kudos if he is and trying take himself a bit more serious again.
James Hetfield is an absolute machine when it comes to rhythm guitar playing. His downstroke technique especially on songs like Creeping Death, Master of Puppets, Dyers Eve, Fuel, Blackened is an absolute masterclass in precision and consistent picking. I grew up listening to the Big Three of Metal - Metallica, Megadeth and Iron Maiden which opened the doorway into metal guitar playing. Later branched out into other bands, styles and genres. But for me its always the Big Three and I owe it to those guys.
Not just James Hetfield, Max Cavalera is worthy of mention.. i am always enthralled as his precise playing... tonthose who dont know old Sepultura, Soulfly, Go Ahead and die, or Nailbomb... any fan for thrash guitar should look into Max's work.. well worth it!
I like And Justice For All but I can't stand the mix of that album as a whole. I get it, Burton died so they squashed the bass but damn. It sounds so thin and they tried to compensate it with the kick being prominent but I'd love to hear a remaster with that kick chilling the hell out and Jason being put at a good level.
If you do paradiddles and inward paradiddles which drummers know the paradiddle (rlrr - lrll) and being trained in traditional jazz and afro cuban along with being heavily in DCI before my years of guitar playing, if you inward the paradiddle you get rllr - lrrl, and with switching between them, especially accenting them, you get a really WHOLE new groove that brings out the paradiddle from sounding very redundant and mechanical when playing. So I merged those two worlds and on guitar, you would go down up down down, up down up up and for the inward, you would end up with down up up down and up down down up. That’s just something I came up with in my journey of just trying to be the best all over songwriter I can be and hope it helps someone. I would never claim to be more knowledgeable or on Bernths level of overall playing which is why I’m not a teacher of any program. I’m just a fan that really love what he does for the guitar and music community.
Anyone wanna mention how modern metal is mostly downtuned which is way easier than E standard or even a half step down to play fast, the strings arent as tight and have less resistance.
I know the name is blurred out but, I don’t see them playing stadium shows at 61 years old for 2-3 hrs a night. There’s a reason James is the gold standard for downpicking.
My guitar teacher used to say I should listen to funk and play funk riffs and then after being comfortable with it speed it up im order to make it death metal. I guess there was some wisdom there ;)
Creeping Death will be always my downstroke practice riff. James is my favourite Rythm player and he deserves to be probably at least at the top ten of all type considering that he also sings with a more than great voice. Metallica is my starting point and the reason why I started learning by my self how to play (6 months until now) and always made and make me push my boundaries.
Its not about speed but precision. Playing 40 + years isn't easy on the body. I thank James Hetfield, for his commitment and years of precision which influenced millions of metal guitarist like myself.
It always annoys me when people get sick of a band or player they feel compelled to criticize their abilities. I haven’t cared much for their music since master of puppets but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a damn rhythm player.
Something a lot of people mis with his right hand and the way he holds his pick (which is always a very personal preference) is the fact he has his guitar down low and he plays explorers and Vs mostly. I tried his method up high on a strat and it's pretty awkward. I strapped on my washburn A20 which only feels comfortable down low on a strap and his technique made a lot more sense especially if you know you're not required to shred. That means your entire right hand game can be optimised for Rythm. That's what I think he's done. Also the live in seattle stuff is actually ludicrous for speed. He's probably cleaner these days with a little speed sacrificed to do so plus, he's 61. Probably has some tendon issues by now... So yeah.. I'm not convinced by that comment that he's overrated.
I actually use James pick grip not only for the rythmic, but also for the solo parts....my down turn is t It forces you to get extremely focus on the strenght you press the pick, so I have to make readjustments every time I go back to a power chord section...........and yeah, I basically learned to play guitar with Kill Em All, and second book I bought was Master of Puppets (then Ride, then the infamous And Justice Hal Leonard untabbed book, and then Black album.....)
Doesn’t matter, they wrote legendary riffs and songs, that trumps everything. Technique only matters to the extent of executing the song well enough to make it work.
Metallica are the most influential and greatest metal band of all time there is no argument. They are old now and the new generation love to sh!t on anything that came before them. You won’t see another band like Metallica. 40+ years of touring and they’re still selling out arenas.
Now do Jon Schaffer! His gallop is on an entirely different level than anyone else regarding rhythm. His speed has not been surpassed by "modern" standards. Check out Pure Evil Live in Athens.
Wow, I’d like to see the person who wrote that comment play even half as good as James. Bet he doesn’t even play guitar at all, lol. You cannot compare James’ down picking speed to today’s speeds. I have not seen anyone purely down picking at 240 BPM. Most modern metal songs usually incorporate other techniques along with down picking like tapping, sweeping, hammer-ons and pull-offs, alternate picking, etc. I can’t think of any modern metal guitarists that “only” use down picking for even a single song (Metallica offers dozen), let alone anyone doing it nearly as fast and/or hitting those strings as hard as Papa Het - and doing it live and being consistent through each set that lasts a very long period of time. Personally, I think Papa Het and the band have gotten better with age. They are tighter and more accurate these days (with occasional goofs during live shows, but who plays perfectly 100% of the time). It’s probably the confidence age brings, lots of practice, as well as taking care of their mental and physical selves. Their younger selves mostly got wasted, travelled ALL the time, etc. People say some dumb shit, lol.
Even though he might not be the fastest in todays standard, ask anyone who is faster and ask them who influenced them to down pick fast, 99.9% of the time they will say James
I have seen him play ‘Blackened’ and other songs this year as well as he did 10, 20, or even 30 years ago. He did some ”cheating” on Master of puppets, but his playing is stil tight and great and he stil does a lot of downpicking and its not like he stoped doing that.
but is not all down picking........no one can play downpicking 16th notes in Disposables Heroes......and actually in that particular song or any song in general, it's easier to do all down picking on the 8th notes and then switch to alternate on the 16th notes.............internet allowed too many idiots to opinionate about things they have no idea.
Stevie T made a list of guitarists having weird picking techniques. Yes, he made fun of them yet he was amazed at the same time (seriously...). If you think Hetfield's picking technique is weird? Try calling Carlos Santana's picking technique weird too!
Went to see Metallica a few weeks ago, and have to say I was super impressed with the whole show... his downpicking included. Tried to play Creeping Death at the same time with James by watching the concert video - all I have to say is ... good luck :D :D and carry on with that couple of hours as they do ;)
The holding of his pick in three fingers is not easy to play for your first time to imitate his holding pick style when i tried first time to imitate his style
It’s also not totally fair to compare what he did for metal and rhythm guitar in 1986 or 1988 with the greatest players today. I mean, nobody compares guitar players from the ’80s with the players from the ’50s and ’60s, or even the 70s, and say they all sucked just because they didn’t shred or downpick at 220 BPM…
"greatest players today" can't write music for tish.....if you want to be technically masterful, write Etudes for guitar, don't write songs.....that's why most of the Sagreras or any other classical guitar theory book has such simple melodies, because it is the technique what you are focusing on. No one will claim Sagreras Etude n1 for guitar is a composition masterpiece, but everyone will buy his books to learn to play guitar. 99.9% of what today people call "awesome technical guitarists" make such boring compositions, you will never buy a record from they even out of curiosity....their whole market is make 10 seconds videos showing a technique, and that's it A clear example of this is Michael Angelo Batio...he is technically a machine (with his weird picking techking using his fingers as a suport on the guitar top).....yet, almost anyone could listen a full song by him, because the technique overcomes the music......maybe out of 100 songs, there are 2 or 3 which you can listen more than once, and even those, you can't listen fully because they bore you (I remember now "Take a look around" song, it starts ok, with nice guitar harmonies, but then in the solo part it becomes a mess, there is not even a sense of idea on why he starts to play 64th notes scales non stop for 3 minutes straight) And then, of course, you have the exception with Paganini, who can write a non stop 16th note 5 minutes song (Moto Perpetuo), but is not playing just scales, the guy is clearly in another level regarding composition and technique....but this is ONE guy in 500 years.
It's easy clickbait 😛. But the topics in the video are worth it. Despite the main purpose being pitching sales, you can still extract good advice if you're developing your picking.
He doesn’t suck by any means….. it’s just that he just may be overrated. There’s plenty of equally or more fast and precise down pickers that just aren’t mentioned because they aren’t in the mainstream of mainstream. They may be mainstream in metal, but not in pop culture like Metallica.
no there is one thing before good pick i have strugles with picks like fender 1 mm (standard size for me) even if i like them but i love dunlop max grip
Well he remains very tight for his age and thankfully he doesn't give a fuck about what someone hasn't even the number of his shows after all these years under his belt... Saw them last year. Gold standard and yes he is not as he used to be back at his 20s or 30s or 40s but tye guy is tight, still fast and very persice. Yes he is up-picking and most important of all he is singing and holding still crowd at his hand. For me easily the best performer frontman by far holding or not holding an instrument in his hands
Whoever wrote that has no clue what they're talking about. James Hetfield is downpicking ridiculously fast WHILE singing the lead vocals. Also, being the fastest at downpicking isn't worth a shit if you can't write good music.
Most difficult songs to play are on the first three Metallica albums. Try to master those and you can play mostly anything as well as slayer songs. Now in their 60s they still play those songs, it’s obvious it’s not gonna be the same when you were 20 or 30. It’s called age, it’s a basic for all those haters or trolls.
Great video Bernth. There has always got to be those absolute idiots that have no clue. James Hetfield is the reason I picked up the guitar. He is a guitar god and is absolutely crushing those live shows. Some people just get so jealous that they are never going to be able to have the status that Metallica does. They are the best...period. All hail James Hetfield. Your content is awesome dude. Great content and you are one of the best guitarists that I have seen on UA-cam. To me, it's not about being the best to everyone else, but the best that you know that you can be to yourself. Who cares what others think as long as you know that you are doing your best. Killer Channel Bernth.
Get the FULL 30-day Downpicking Course & practice plan here: www.patreon.com/bernth
Bernth grab the green and yellow dishwashing square off of your sink and use the greenside gently for just a few seconds at a time until the glossing is gone on your guitar from finger oils. Thank me later and no it will not scratch the finish I've done this on countless guitars including Kiesels.
It's not just about the speed at which he plays but it's also the ferocity with which he still plays. Even at 60 years old. So impressive.
It’s guitar playing.I know dudes at 60 that are running marathons.
@@zzxmookysxzz4103 Both are impressive. You can't overstate what arthritis can do to a guitarist, particularly one that has played 2,000+ live shows and countless hours of practice and writing.
@@zzxmookysxzz4103 I love the attempt but can you do either?
@@zzxmookysxzz4103 how many marathons a year does a professional runner do? How much rest in between?
You need to realize playing as much consecutive live performances with such little rest in between as Metallica is doing is a marathon by itself.
Word !
Whoever wrote that is an edge lord. They are just looking for attention or maybe they are just that clueless.
James Hetfield suck at downpicking....
*Watch Seattle 1989 show...
Yeah, sure....
Definitely a combination of both, its just bait posting
I mean, as metalheads, we're all a little edgelord-ish. I think the term best suited to that comment is... Stupid.
Perhaps moronic, or idiotic, or dumb, foolish, ignorant, dense, brainless, clueless, dim-witted, inane, imbecilic, witless, vacuous, thick, cretinous, or any other synonym for that dullard.
I mean... As metalheads, we're all a little bit edgelord-ish.
I think a better term for that comment would be.... Stupid.
So much this.
If you are still touring in your 60ies while being able to sell 80k tickets for two shows in the same city- you definetly did something right.
But yeah- technique is easy to judge from his mothers basement..
In the pantheon of terrible takes on guitar playing, saying Hetfield sucks at down picking is certainly near the top.
ye! not that i like him that much, but he s fucking solid and knows his shit
Right next to "Eddie Van Halen sucks at tapping"
@@pedroadonish he s not a tapper....wtf. nd EVH is not some god also. Each to their own
@@pedroadonishWhich is also near to "Lars is so good at drumming"
@@WelcomeToTiltedTowers Which is a terrible take on guitar playing because is about drums
People seem to forget that Metallica doesn't care what people think about their technique, they play their stuff and are clearly successful and its their choice to practice new techniques or not. And regardless of their skill level, Metallica got so many people into metal music and inspired many to pick up the guitar and Hetfield never claimed to be a guitar god/prodigy so Idk why we have to judge his technique.
As Metallica fan i don't care about their technique. I'm just listening to music.
p.s. and yes, i also learned to play bass with some Metallica's songs
Hard agree. Put me in the camp as well with the tens or hundreds of thousands of people that picked up the guitar because of them. And to that commenter that Bernth highlighted, it doesn't really matter how they are downpicking, alt-picking, upstrokes, gear, clothes..whatever...all that really matters is creating music people want to listen to and putting on a good performance live. No one has done it better last 40+ years. The fact that he's still playing this stuff at.. checks notes for their typical show.. increased tempo from the albums live at almost age 61.. yeah... get bent commenter.
This is also a key point about Hendrix. His technique is weird and bad. But it's works, and inspired millions of amazing guitarists, so who cares.
I think people judge his technique mainly once they realise how he holds a plectrum, it's just weird but idk, I don't judge it I just think it's different 🤷
Lars and kirk should care, rob and james carries the band☠
Well, MoP and Creeping death are both 200+ bpm downpicking (MoP being 8 minutes long), with Blackened and Through the Never being around 200 as well, and Metallica usually plays it even faster live (especialy 80's). I am sorry but in which universe is that slow by any standarts, even the modern ones? That comment is just dumb. I would also add that people do not often realise that playing it while standing with addition of performing live in front of people, which includes doing some fun to watch show and looking good and baddass while doing it, is like 100x times more dificult than playing it sitting down in mom's bedroom. Not mentioning James does that while singing and yet he is still precise af. People who never stood on stage or played with a real band have no idea how difficult playing clean while performing live is. That comment is just "tell me you never played a show without directly telling me you never played a show" type of thing.
Totally agree, people should also record themselves to the song and see how fast and perfect they are.
Exactly!!!
Stockholm Sweden 86’… that’s all I’m going to say
Not to mention that during those days James was drinking heavily on top of all of that.
He's like 60, just be happy they're still touring. Saw them back in 2022 and they put on an awesome stadium show
I saw them last year it was incredible
Without Hetfield… these guys wouldn’t aspire to even do it in the first place
People who obsess over stuff like this always miss the most important part and will always remain NOBODIES.
bro the nobodies are the biggest critics tho lol..... I saw a whole thread the other day of people just completely destroying Zakk Wylde, I was like wtf?
@@Snoopaloop1981 Zakk poops out solos better than anything most guitar players come up with. He doesn’t write music just for guitar nerds; he writes it for everyone. The guitar nerds are the reason no one cares about guitar music anymore. It’s a self indulgent circle jerk.
It's because they think that they themselves suck at playing. But instead of looking at themselves they sh!t on anyone else that's proven themselves. James is the real deal, that troll just can't handle it.
For all the hate Metallica gets, they’re laughing all the way to the bank and selling out shows every place they play at. Dude is a Shadow The Hedgehog level edge lord who has no respect for those that came before him.
Sorry but saying “they have lots of money and are popular” is a terrible defensive against criticism, especially when what’s being criticised is the technique of the artists, popularity doesn’t necessarily equal skill.
@@devanlyon4982 They got their popularity through their skill. Plus, do you still expect them to play at the level they did in the late 80’s? James and Lars are 60, Kirk is 61, and even if they held on to Jason, he’d also be 61, and they still pump out all the classics, even some of the new stuff. You gotta give them props for staying true to their craft for as long as they have been. Are they the most technical songwriters? Absolutely not, but composition beats writing songs at 300+ bpm just for the hell of it. Music and ability evolves over time, but you should respect the ones that came before you.
@@metallicaspiker16 I’m not commenting at all on their skills or the influence they have had, I’m just saying using “they are popular and have lots of money” is a bad defence when someone criticises them, I agree Metallica are probably the most important and influential band in metal and it’s cool to see them still going (regardless of the quality of the new music), but still it’s a dumb defence/ comeback
Fade to Black was what finally got me to learn a whole song instead of just "the riff" decades ago.
I am within this process for "Seek&Destroy" since a couple of months now... but that 208bpm middle riff is just too fast
@@faultier3215 Practise, practise... But practise right and efficient 🙂.
Assuming your hands can play in sync, keep re-evaluating your posture watching yourself in a mirror (for some reason it seems to work better than recording a video), adjust your strap and try different guitar heights, find out if it's better that your picking arm stays extended down or bent up, try different picking angles, different pick grips, different string heights (even some settings when strings buzz)...
Sometimes we believe we aren't fast enough, when many times we already are, it's just we overlook some isolated issue that might be holding us back.
And don't be shy to come up with your own picking pattern: learning a song note by note using the original player's technique is a fun way to learn and develop, but when you perform you have to be yourself.
Didn’t Hetfeild start a metal band that broke every record, including largest live performance crowd?
No, Metallica did not play the largest live performance ever
@@EdEddnEddyMercuryMonsters of Rock in Russia, 1,6 Million people. I think they did
@@lojey Rod Stewart played to 3.5 million people in Rio De Janeiro in 1994
Huge Metallica fan, but that number is bs. Hetfield himself said it was 500k at most. It was 1.6 million for acdc who were headlining that tour. Even that isn't close to the latest crowd.
Nah, that was MGK
Bernth like you, Metallica is the reason I picked up a guitar. The man is 60. Hetfield is the king of downpicking and is one of the reasons fast downpicking is an essential metal technique. Long live the king!
Internet gave the chance to spitefuls and ignorants to give an opinion.......I think in 40 years I only crossed ONE in real life (a "self taught" guitarist who thought playing 3 open chords was to master the instrument), who said "to me, Mozart and Bach had no idea about music, because they knew too much theory, their music is not spontaneus" ...........of course I laughed in his face, and basically told him what sometimes we call "THEORY" is actually the analysis of their music, and/or other composers who wrote musical treatises under their name giving their opinion of how harmony and melodies work...........of course the guy shrinked like a worm when you throw salt onto it.
But on internet, all those resentful ignorants multiply by the dozens, and they fuel their ignorance with others like them who support their clueless statements, also fueled even more by people who hate the music or consider it offensive (for example, lots of airhead Megadeth posers will agree with the Heltfield statements, because they think what makes them a Megadeth fan is the hate for Metallica, not the love for Megadeth songs).
Hetfield beats those strings like they shorted him on a halftrack
That's the point. Kids who learnt to play on digital processors are just caressing the strings.
A real mindfuck was discovering that the main riff of "Eye of the Beholder" is ALL down-picked... to me, that was quite a real challenge
The guy who commented this is likely who commented "your shit is ass" to Ola.
I believe the person who posted that needs to demonstrate his skills by uploading a 100% uncut, one take recreation of Metallica Toronto 1986, so we can see how good he is.
Or musicians could focus on writing actual good music instead of trying to break the speed barrier with their picking. So it’s fast…is it any good? Usually not.
Im very happy you got some nice rythem exercises aswell Bernth. You never dissapoint 🤘
The major thing people get wrong is the that James downpicked everything on earlier records. He didn’t. Riffs like Fight Fire With Fire, Damage Inc., Dyers Eve, Battery and others are not exclusively downpicked.
I dom't think anyone believes those gallops and those fast 16th note riffs were downpicked. They're practically impossible. Songs like Master of Puppets, Blackened and Creeping Death are obviously downpicked for the most part.
@@AnzaShadow Yep you are correct. You’d be surprised though at the number of people who will argue that everything was downpicked. I don’t know where that comes from.
@@zachtaylor5312 They probably don't play guitar and just echo what they hear online 🤷🏼♂️
@AnzaShadow yeah I just read this feed after I commented why wouldn't you just alternate pick and now I'm hearing it more correctly thank you
Wow. I can't believe anyone actually thinks that a song like Battery could be all downpicked.
I'm 45 and have been playing since I was 14. I've always downpicked everything, from punk to metal just out of instinct. I've never had a guitar lesson, so I never even knew there were different styles of picking until the last few years.
I'm the same but opposite, I started off with mostly Slayer and Cannibal Corpse so I tremolo picked fast AF. But my down-picking was underdeveloped until I made a conscious effort to speed it way up \m/
Lol that comment is so ignorant. Tell me you don't play guitar without telling me you don't play guitar.
Might as well say Petrucci sucks at shredding, Slash's licks sucks, BB King sucks at soulful playing, Malmsteen's sweeping sucks, Van Halen's tapping sucks, Gilberts alternative picking sucks, and Abasi sucks at swybrid picking.
You also don't crap on what came before, just because things have progressed, especially when they are the ones who foundations we built on.
So accurate brother🎸🎸
@@Bubuthakid I know, reminds me of all those silly guitarists who say Stairway to Heaven is "overrated", just because is "easy to play"... Ok then, since its so easy, WRITE something as iconic then?
Just because its not the most technical, doesn't mean it lacks merit. Composition will always win over flash.
Well said dude 👌
@@nickloos3202 Aye. That guy doesn't get that we stand on the shoulders of titans. Sure, there are people who do what they do better. But not without them to stand on.
@@RainMakeR_Workshop exactly! I really like way you explain it and the choice of words for it. Im sure you could write some awesome lyrics
Step 5 sounds like Domination by Pantera lol
As you mention, the standard is 1/8th notes at 240. I would like to mention that Metallica's Creeping Death is played at 220 and they used to play it live even faster in the 80s. James did it all down picked. There's nothing about that that is not up to modern standard. And that was 40 years ago
I found out that holding the pick similarly to Hetfield was super comfortable for extended downpicking for me and I was able to play faster immediately by doing it, I just didn't have the control to hit the strings properly yet. It activated muscle groups in my hand that were more resilient for downpicking. Also different people have different sizes of fingers, so ignoring that when comparing technique seems like a huge oversight IMO. I don't think that this guy actually understood the mechanics of hand movements.
Dyers Eve is my personal go to, especially when it comes to making myself better at playing the song
envy is real. that guy who made that comment is rotting with envy.
could also be he smells his own farts thinking it's perfume......I meet a lot of those brutes, specially in music academia.....and 100% of times is the ones who know the less about anything, and glorify their mediocrity by calling it awesome.
@@nicolashrv You might be on the right track
If an iconic band gets the audience with its music, nothing else counts for me.
Nothing else matters*
What's funny is that growing up in the 2000s people thought it was strange and impractical to downpick only, and now it's heralded as this master technique 😂
The warmup is so important, great lesson here
Who commented that his downpicking is overrated? For a lead singer and rhythm guitarist he's insanely great overall, but MOST intermediate and even seasoned guitarists FAIL to play at James' downpicking consistency and speed for more than a minute.
Some people will just say the stupidest thing possible to get some interaction.
Insightful comments that resonate with people are much more difficult, it seems
Hetfield and his picking isn’t just speed. It’s his accuracy as well. I also love how people complain about 80s metal speed compared to today. Give it another 40 years and stuff will be faster as well. There will always be someone taller, bigger, and stronger. It happens in sports and it happens in every genre. King of the mountains always get knocked down
Is anyone down picking over 220 BPM for an 8 minute song these days? Or is it in just 30 second bursts?
Great lesson on something that really isn't covered enough.
Have to say that I don't think Metallica's down picking is outdated by any means. Anything north of 200bpm is impressive as well. If you can sustain down picking for long periods around 200, you likely can push to tempos like 240 in bursts. Trivium for example have a song from 2004, ember to inferno and its 240bpm. Played in bursts but they have tons of songs with longer bursts at slower speeds. This is absolutely not outdated today
I actually saw something where James said Lars has been using a click track live. Which I found interesting. Kudos if he is and trying take himself a bit more serious again.
I picked up a guitar because I wanted to be James Hetfield.
It took me like 10 years of playing to learn how to NOT downpick everything 😂
James Hetfield is an absolute machine when it comes to rhythm guitar playing. His downstroke technique especially on songs like Creeping Death, Master of Puppets, Dyers Eve, Fuel, Blackened is an absolute masterclass in precision and consistent picking. I grew up listening to the Big Three of Metal - Metallica, Megadeth and Iron Maiden which opened the doorway into metal guitar playing. Later branched out into other bands, styles and genres. But for me its always the Big Three and I owe it to those guys.
james os my favorite guitarist. Favorite musicians vary, but his riffage evokes visceral emotions in a similar way as a gilmour solo does.
Not just James Hetfield, Max Cavalera is worthy of mention.. i am always enthralled as his precise playing... tonthose who dont know old Sepultura, Soulfly, Go Ahead and die, or Nailbomb... any fan for thrash guitar should look into Max's work.. well worth it!
I like And Justice For All but I can't stand the mix of that album as a whole. I get it, Burton died so they squashed the bass but damn. It sounds so thin and they tried to compensate it with the kick being prominent but I'd love to hear a remaster with that kick chilling the hell out and Jason being put at a good level.
i always want to paly Battery riffs properly, but until today i still can't
If you do paradiddles and inward paradiddles which drummers know the paradiddle (rlrr - lrll) and being trained in traditional jazz and afro cuban along with being heavily in DCI before my years of guitar playing, if you inward the paradiddle you get rllr - lrrl, and with switching between them, especially accenting them, you get a really WHOLE new groove that brings out the paradiddle from sounding very redundant and mechanical when playing. So I merged those two worlds and on guitar, you would go down up down down, up down up up and for the inward, you would end up with down up up down and up down down up. That’s just something I came up with in my journey of just trying to be the best all over songwriter I can be and hope it helps someone. I would never claim to be more knowledgeable or on Bernths level of overall playing which is why I’m not a teacher of any program. I’m just a fan that really love what he does for the guitar and music community.
Walt Trachsler of Rotting Corpse is the best Thrash downpicker, followed by Jimmy Brown of Deliverance.
2:30 It's actually Disengage rhytm 😍
exactly my thought
Speed is only a small part of the equation, if the AGGRESSION and POWER are not on point then the whole point of downpicking is negated.
James from ‘84-‘94 was a GOD…
Anyone wanna mention how modern metal is mostly downtuned which is way easier than E standard or even a half step down to play fast, the strings arent as tight and have less resistance.
James has a superhuman wrist,he's an absolute machine it's not about his speed it's the absolute robotic aspect.
I know the name is blurred out but, I don’t see them playing stadium shows at 61 years old for 2-3 hrs a night. There’s a reason James is the gold standard for downpicking.
Yes, same here And Justice for All is what got me!! I’m still learning blackened lol but the riffs and solos on that album were my absolute favorite
My guitar teacher used to say I should listen to funk and play funk riffs and then after being comfortable with it speed it up im order to make it death metal. I guess there was some wisdom there ;)
People just make comments like that for attention. I pity them.
Creeping Death will be always my downstroke practice riff. James is my favourite Rythm player and he deserves to be probably at least at the top ten of all type considering that he also sings with a more than great voice. Metallica is my starting point and the reason why I started learning by my self how to play (6 months until now) and always made and make me push my boundaries.
Its not about speed but precision. Playing 40 + years isn't easy on the body. I thank James Hetfield, for his commitment and years of precision which influenced millions of metal guitarist like myself.
It always annoys me when people get sick of a band or player they feel compelled to criticize their abilities. I haven’t cared much for their music since master of puppets but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a damn rhythm player.
Something a lot of people mis with his right hand and the way he holds his pick (which is always a very personal preference) is the fact he has his guitar down low and he plays explorers and Vs mostly. I tried his method up high on a strat and it's pretty awkward.
I strapped on my washburn A20 which only feels comfortable down low on a strap and his technique made a lot more sense especially if you know you're not required to shred. That means your entire right hand game can be optimised for Rythm. That's what I think he's done.
Also the live in seattle stuff is actually ludicrous for speed. He's probably cleaner these days with a little speed sacrificed to do so plus, he's 61. Probably has some tendon issues by now... So yeah.. I'm not convinced by that comment that he's overrated.
I actually use James pick grip not only for the rythmic, but also for the solo parts....my down turn is t It forces you to get extremely focus on the strenght you press the pick, so I have to make readjustments every time I go back to a power chord section...........and yeah, I basically learned to play guitar with Kill Em All, and second book I bought was Master of Puppets (then Ride, then the infamous And Justice Hal Leonard untabbed book, and then Black album.....)
James's down picking and singing is absolutely amazing!
Doesn’t matter, they wrote legendary riffs and songs, that trumps everything. Technique only matters to the extent of executing the song well enough to make it work.
Everybody sucks! Sometimes
Without judging anyone: I actually prefer alternate picking, it's both easier and - at least in my opinion - sounds better than exclusive downpicking.
Metallica are the most influential and greatest metal band of all time there is no argument. They are old now and the new generation love to sh!t on anything that came before them. You won’t see another band like Metallica. 40+ years of touring and they’re still selling out arenas.
Dyers eve was the first Metallica song I learned and I really think it helped me get better almost exponentially
Even if they “suck” at guitar they are LEGENDARY songwriters and performers.
Now do Jon Schaffer! His gallop is on an entirely different level than anyone else regarding rhythm. His speed has not been surpassed by "modern" standards. Check out Pure Evil Live in Athens.
He’s a rhythm king
Metallica - CANADA - 9/12/1986 => James play approximately between 230/ 240 bpm on master of puppets...
I need to be a little bit faster. Dammit by blink-182 is 220 with downstrokes in the verse. Never practiced downstrokes in isolation.
Wow, I’d like to see the person who wrote that comment play even half as good as James. Bet he doesn’t even play guitar at all, lol. You cannot compare James’ down picking speed to today’s speeds. I have not seen anyone purely down picking at 240 BPM. Most modern metal songs usually incorporate other techniques along with down picking like tapping, sweeping, hammer-ons and pull-offs, alternate picking, etc. I can’t think of any modern metal guitarists that “only” use down picking for even a single song (Metallica offers dozen), let alone anyone doing it nearly as fast and/or hitting those strings as hard as Papa Het - and doing it live and being consistent through each set that lasts a very long period of time.
Personally, I think Papa Het and the band have gotten better with age. They are tighter and more accurate these days (with occasional goofs during live shows, but who plays perfectly 100% of the time). It’s probably the confidence age brings, lots of practice, as well as taking care of their mental and physical selves. Their younger selves mostly got wasted, travelled ALL the time, etc.
People say some dumb shit, lol.
Even though he might not be the fastest in todays standard, ask anyone who is faster and ask them who influenced them to down pick fast, 99.9% of the time they will say James
I got an ad with James Hetfield advertising a guitar app on this lmao
That’s like comparing a Model T to a Ferrari without giving credit that without the Model T there is no Ferrari
I have seen him play ‘Blackened’ and other songs this year as well as he did 10, 20, or even 30 years ago. He did some ”cheating” on Master of puppets, but his playing is stil tight and great and he stil does a lot of downpicking and its not like he stoped doing that.
Thanks! For this! I'll practice this!
I don't know I can play a lot of fast stuff I STILL cannot make it through Master all down picking. I wonder if this virtuoso can even do it himself?
but is not all down picking........no one can play downpicking 16th notes in Disposables Heroes......and actually in that particular song or any song in general, it's easier to do all down picking on the 8th notes and then switch to alternate on the 16th notes.............internet allowed too many idiots to opinionate about things they have no idea.
To me, the most impressive thing about James is how many "YEAHs" are in the Metallica mythos.
Stevie T made a list of guitarists having weird picking techniques. Yes, he made fun of them yet he was amazed at the same time (seriously...).
If you think Hetfield's picking technique is weird? Try calling Carlos Santana's picking technique weird too!
You're a great teacher and innovative guitarist.
Went to see Metallica a few weeks ago, and have to say I was super impressed with the whole show... his downpicking included. Tried to play Creeping Death at the same time with James by watching the concert video - all I have to say is ... good luck :D :D and carry on with that couple of hours as they do ;)
Imagine saying one of the most influential guitarists of all time sucks. People project their insecurities way too easily online
The holding of his pick in three fingers is not easy to play for your first time to imitate his holding pick style when i tried first time to imitate his style
Hetfield is literally one of the grandfathers of downpicking
The dude learned to play while sitting in his car on lunch break at his job at a sticker factory, of course his technique is “weird”
What on earth does "glazing" mean? Double glazing windows?
It’s also not totally fair to compare what he did for metal and rhythm guitar in 1986 or 1988 with the greatest players today. I mean, nobody compares guitar players from the ’80s with the players from the ’50s and ’60s, or even the 70s, and say they all sucked just because they didn’t shred or downpick at 220 BPM…
"greatest players today" can't write music for tish.....if you want to be technically masterful, write Etudes for guitar, don't write songs.....that's why most of the Sagreras or any other classical guitar theory book has such simple melodies, because it is the technique what you are focusing on. No one will claim Sagreras Etude n1 for guitar is a composition masterpiece, but everyone will buy his books to learn to play guitar. 99.9% of what today people call "awesome technical guitarists" make such boring compositions, you will never buy a record from they even out of curiosity....their whole market is make 10 seconds videos showing a technique, and that's it
A clear example of this is Michael Angelo Batio...he is technically a machine (with his weird picking techking using his fingers as a suport on the guitar top).....yet, almost anyone could listen a full song by him, because the technique overcomes the music......maybe out of 100 songs, there are 2 or 3 which you can listen more than once, and even those, you can't listen fully because they bore you (I remember now "Take a look around" song, it starts ok, with nice guitar harmonies, but then in the solo part it becomes a mess, there is not even a sense of idea on why he starts to play 64th notes scales non stop for 3 minutes straight)
And then, of course, you have the exception with Paganini, who can write a non stop 16th note 5 minutes song (Moto Perpetuo), but is not playing just scales, the guy is clearly in another level regarding composition and technique....but this is ONE guy in 500 years.
I hope that’s a troll comment. It barely deserves a response, let alone a video highlighting it.
It's easy clickbait 😛. But the topics in the video are worth it. Despite the main purpose being pitching sales, you can still extract good advice if you're developing your picking.
You have a clip from warsaw at 0:43. I was there lol. Starting to learn guitar now
I did not see the Video , but he can NOT, doing this every day since years, so !
That comment is a fucking SPICY take
He doesn’t suck by any means….. it’s just that he just may be overrated. There’s plenty of equally or more fast and precise down pickers that just aren’t mentioned because they aren’t in the mainstream of mainstream. They may be mainstream in metal, but not in pop culture like Metallica.
no there is one thing before good pick i have strugles with picks like fender 1 mm (standard size for me) even if i like them but i love dunlop max grip
Well he remains very tight for his age and thankfully he doesn't give a fuck about what someone hasn't even the number of his shows after all these years under his belt... Saw them last year. Gold standard and yes he is not as he used to be back at his 20s or 30s or 40s but tye guy is tight, still fast and very persice. Yes he is up-picking and most important of all he is singing and holding still crowd at his hand. For me easily the best performer frontman by far holding or not holding an instrument in his hands
Whoever wrote that has no clue what they're talking about. James Hetfield is downpicking ridiculously fast WHILE singing the lead vocals. Also, being the fastest at downpicking isn't worth a shit if you can't write good music.
Most difficult songs to play are on the first three Metallica albums. Try to master those and you can play mostly anything as well as slayer songs.
Now in their 60s they still play those songs, it’s obvious it’s not gonna be the same when you were 20 or 30. It’s called age, it’s a basic for all those haters or trolls.
This is very helpfull for the bass guitar also.
And there is Pantera riff yeaaahhh 😂❤
Thanks!!!
Great video Bernth. There has always got to be those absolute idiots that have no clue. James Hetfield is the reason I picked up the guitar. He is a guitar god and is absolutely crushing those live shows. Some people just get so jealous that they are never going to be able to have the status that Metallica does. They are the best...period. All hail James Hetfield. Your content is awesome dude. Great content and you are one of the best guitarists that I have seen on UA-cam. To me, it's not about being the best to everyone else, but the best that you know that you can be to yourself. Who cares what others think as long as you know that you are doing your best. Killer Channel Bernth.
My understanding Lars does have a clicktrack at least on some songs nowadays.
But did you say downpick at 240???? Are you kidding??
Ah shame on James for not taking this guy's opinion to heart
He might suck at downpicking but he made history. No more words!