Angus Denton

Angus Clark’s Focus On: British Metal will quickly impart the requisite right and left-hand techniques, harmonic considerations, rhythm and soloing approaches to play in the style of British Metal. “British Metal is a broad genre and it’s certainly evolved over the years. Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep and Deep Purple pioneered the sound in the early years. Bands like Judas Priest and Thin Lizzy followed. New wave bands like Iron Maiden and Saxon kept the genre very much alive. Seminal guitarists leading the British Metal charge include Tony Iommi, Ritchie Blackmore, KK Downing, Glenn Tipton, Brian Robertson, Scott Gorham, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and John Sykes. These players’ rhythm and soloing techniques personify British Metal, and that’s exactly what and why we’ll focus on them throughout Focus On: British Metal.”

Learning the language of music and improvisation is like learning any new language. You start by articulating sounds (notes), which sounds you use to form words and sentences (licks and phrases), and which sentences you string together into stories (solos). The tricky part is connecting those licks and phrases into compelling and interesting solos.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again… killer rhythm chops gets you the gig every single time. Players with blazing lead chops are a dime a dozen today and most of them skipped all their rhythm classes to develop those chops. Their loss is your gain. Bandleaders, jammers, singer-songwriters, musical directors and the like will always pick the solid rhythm player over a skilled lead player. So yeah, its all about rhythm. Angus organized this Survival Guide curriculum into two main sections. In the first section, Angus will guide you through 22 essential concepts and techniques. In the second section, you’ll play your way through 17 rhythm studies that Angus prepared to cover a wide variety of feels and grooves.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again… killer rhythm chops gets you the gig every single time. Players with blazing lead chops are a dime a dozen today and most of them skipped all their rhythm classes to develop those chops. Their loss is your gain. Bandleaders, jammers, singer-songwriters, musical directors and the like will always pick the solid rhythm player over a skilled lead player.

Muted hard rock rhythm is all about using just the right amount of distortion and then muting the strings to create a tight sound with heavy low-end and less ringing overtones. Combined with bass and drums, muted rhythms are a great way to produce an amazingly heavy sound.