Easy to Play Metal Songs for Beginners
You don't have to wait a year to begin playing songs! Once you can play power chords and apply the picking patterns over them, you're armed and ready to go.
Below is a list of relatively easy-to-play rock/metal songs that came to mind. They are supposed to be played with a distorted or overdriven electric guitar sound. Tips on tweaking the distortion effect are here -->.
Note that while the riffing in these songs is mostly not difficult, almost any guitar solo is quite challenging. So, ignore the solo parts you'll see in the tabs.
A few power chords and a very simple rhythm that do not require a speedy hand make this song very easy to play. If you find the song's INTRO difficult, just substitute it with the main riff; it sounds very similar anyway.
One of the most famous grunge songs in the world is one of the easiest to play too (including the guitar solo). Actually, I think it's the easiest guitar solo ever. Play the VERSE with a clean sound and fire up your distortion for the CHORUS.
Nice and clean tab, but I'd suggest replacing their chorus with this one:
e)----------------------------------|----------| B)----------------------------------|----------| G)--5-------------------------------|-5--------| D)--5----6----5--x5-x5-x5-x5-x5-5---|-5---6----| A)--3----6----5--x5-x5-x5-x5-x5-5---|-3---6----| E)-------4----3--x3-x3-x3-x3-x3-3---|-----4----|
It is more convenient to play and more powerful ;)
The song consists of very simple riffs in moderate tempo. Occasionally, there's a hammer-on legato technique in the tab.
A video that demonstrates how to perform the hammer-on guitar technique is here.
The song is not difficult and is fun to play. The INTERLUDE in the tab may seem slightly complicated; you can just play the:
power chord progression instead.
The song structure is simple, and it's not played very fast. The riffs are straightforward and repetitive enough to get the hang of quickly, and they are somewhat catchy.
Here you'll need some more practice though, because in the main riff between the chords, there are some fast palm-muted notes that you'll need to pick accurately.
I noticed that when playing the chords, if I skip the notes located on the B string, the riff will still sound about the same, but it becomes a lot handier to play.
This tune is really "hot". In order to play it, you'll need to drop the low E string to the note of D. (You can always verify the D note by checking it with the open D string).
The tab and the song are very simple, but the chorus requires a pretty speedy hand, so it's not gonna be easy for every beginner.
It's not a difficult song to play if you skip the fast bridge riffs in the middle of it. You can also modify the chorus riff by replacing the line of quickly played muted notes with the sound of a power chord.
Here is another list of songs for beginners, this time for the clean electric and acoustic guitar. These songs are based on open chords and require some basic set of skills to perform strumming or fingerstyle.