Metal Rhythm Guitar Workouts
Course Content Overview
Richard Shaw—a highly respected session guitarist, Licklibrary tutor, and metal rhythm expert—will guide you through these essential riffing frameworks with clarity, efficiency, and real-world application. You will learn the secrets behind building picking endurance, developing clean palm muting, and executing fluid hammer-ons and pull-offs within a rhythm context. Each lesson is a step-by-step journey into fretboard mastery, focusing on the core techniques that drive confident, heavy rhythm playing and memorable metal riffs.
Course contents:
- Moving Between 8th Notes & 16th Notes — Master one of the most critical rhythm skills in metal guitar. You will work through transitions that force you to maintain a steady pulse while changing rhythmic density, ensuring that faster passages don't rush and slower sections don't drag.
- Iron Maiden & Slayer Style 'Hertes' — Explore classic metal gallop feels inspired by the driving rhythms of Iron Maiden and the relentless aggression of Slayer. This section strengthens picking endurance and helps you lock into that iconic metal propulsion.
- Pedal Tone Riffs — Focus on a cornerstone of metal rhythm guitar, using repeated open or fretted notes against shifting chord tones. These exercises develop control over string changes and picking consistency while maintaining a relentless rhythmic drive.
- Major & Minor Dyads — Build on basic power chords with the use of major and minor dyads within heavy rhythm contexts. These shapes are perfect for adding subtle harmonic shifts that dramatically change the mood of a riff, improving fretboard awareness and chordal control.
- A Minor Riff Using Pull Offs — Master a fluid A minor riff that uses pull-offs to create speed and smoothness. By reducing the workload on the picking hand, this technique improves left-hand strength, articulation, and efficiency.
- Em Riff Using Hammer Ons — Develop left-hand independence and timing through a driving E minor riff that balances heaviness with fluid motion. Mastering hammer-ons in a rhythm context enhances your ability to add speed and expression without sacrificing tightness.
- Syncopated Power Chord Riff — Focus on off-beat accents essential for modern metal rhythm guitar. This workout trains you to feel and control rhythmic displacement, improving groove awareness and making your riffs more dynamic and engaging.
- Alternate Picked Arpeggio Riff — Introduce an arpeggio-based riff that uses strict alternate picking. The exercise challenges string-skipping accuracy and picking consistency, reinforcing rhythmic clarity across multiple strings.
- Group of 4 Exercise — Build picking stamina, timing precision, and hand synchronisation with this classic rhythmic workout adapted for metal riffing. It is an essential drill for developing endurance and maintaining clarity at higher tempos.
- 12/8 Time Signature — Round out the course by exploring metal riffing in a 12/8 time signature. Working in compound time expands your rhythmic vocabulary and challenges your internal sense of pulse, opening the door to more progressive, groove-based metal styles.
Technical skills you will develop:
- Mastery of transitioning between 8th and 16th note subdivisions
- Proficiency in alternate picking and palm muting for fast, articulate, and heavy riffs
- Execution of fluid legato phrasing, including precise hammer-ons and pull-offs in rhythm parts
- Enhanced fretboard awareness and the ability to incorporate dyads and pedal tones seamlessly
- Improved rhythmic precision, timing, and overall picking hand stamina
- A deep understanding of how to apply syncopation and compound time signatures musically
- Development of a consistent, effective approach to metal rhythm guitar practice
This Course is Ideal for Players Who...
Our Metal Rhythm Guitar Workouts course is essential for any guitarist who wants to deepen their understanding of rhythm playing and master the art of tight, powerful metal riffing. Whether you are an intermediate player looking to sharpen your right-hand technique, or a dedicated student who wants to build rock-solid timing and endurance, this course is built for you.
This course is perfect for guitarists who are looking to improve their rhythmic accuracy and break out of sloppy playing habits; who want to master essential techniques like alternate picking, palm muting, and galloping rhythms; who are looking to develop a heavy, tight sound with consistent timing; who admire the technical excellence and disciplined approach of Richard Shaw; and who believe that focused, practical workouts are the key to unlocking true confidence in metal rhythm guitar.
What will I achieve from completing this course?
This course goes beyond simply learning new riffs—it is an education in the mechanics of confident, heavy rhythm guitar playing. It is about understanding how structured workouts can transform your technique and lock your playing into the groove. You will gain unparalleled insight into the teaching methods of Richard Shaw and learn how his efficient, practical approach to the guitar creates a foundation for solid, dependable rhythm playing. By focusing on accuracy, timing, and the specific techniques that define classic and modern metal—from palm muting to expressive legato—this course ensures that you do not just learn the riffs, but truly integrate them into your musical vocabulary. For those ready to take their rhythm playing to the next level, your metal workout starts here.
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Metal Rhythm Guitar Workouts – Richard Shaw
Metal Rhythm Guitar Workouts by Richard Shaw is a focused, hands-on course designed to sharpen one of the most important skills any heavy guitarist can develop: tight, powerful, rhythm guitar playing. Built around real-world metal riffing concepts and demanding timing exercises, this course delivers note-for-note workouts that strengthen your picking hand, fretboard control, and rhythmic accuracy while keeping everything musical and riff-based.
Rather than relying on abstract exercises, this course places you directly inside authentic metal rhythm scenarios, drawing influence from classic and modern metal styles. Each workout is designed to challenge your coordination, stamina, and timing, while also giving you riffs and ideas you can immediately apply to your own playing or songwriting.
Moving Between 8th Notes & 16th Notes
This lesson focuses on one of the most critical rhythm skills in metal guitar: smoothly transitioning between 8th-note and 16th-note subdivisions. The workout forces you to maintain a steady pulse while changing rhythmic density, ensuring that faster passages don’t rush and slower sections don’t drag. Developing this control dramatically improves your timing, making your rhythm playing sound tighter, heavier, and more professional—especially when playing with a drummer or backing track.
Iron Maiden & Slayer Style ‘Hertes’
Inspired by the driving rhythms of Iron Maiden and the relentless aggression of Slayer, this section explores classic metal gallop feels. These riffs demand precision from both hands, combining fast picking patterns with strict rhythmic placement. Working on these exercises strengthens picking endurance and helps you lock into that iconic metal propulsion that underpins countless classic and modern metal tracks.
Pedal Tone Riffs
Pedal tone riffs are a cornerstone of metal rhythm guitar, using repeated open or fretted notes against shifting chord tones. This lesson develops control over string changes and picking consistency while maintaining a relentless rhythmic drive. Learning pedal tone riffs improves your right-hand accuracy and gives you access to one of metal’s most effective tools for creating tension, aggression, and movement in riffs.
Major & Minor Dyads
This workout introduces the use of major and minor dyads within heavy rhythm contexts. By focusing on two-note shapes, you’ll learn how subtle harmonic shifts can dramatically change the mood of a riff. These exercises improve fretboard awareness and chordal control, helping you move beyond basic power chords while still retaining a heavy, tight sound.
A Minor Riff Using Pull Offs
This lesson centres on a fluid A minor riff that uses pull offs to create speed and smoothness. By reducing the workload on the picking hand, pull offs allow riffs to flow more naturally while still sounding aggressive. Practising this technique improves left-hand strength, articulation, and efficiency, making fast passages feel more controlled and effortless.
Em Riff Using Hammer Ons
Hammer ons are explored here through a driving E minor riff that balances heaviness with fluid motion. This exercise develops left-hand independence and timing while keeping the riff rhythmically locked. Mastering hammer ons in a rhythm context enhances your ability to add speed and expression without sacrificing tightness.
Syncopated Power Chord Riff
Syncopation is essential for modern metal rhythm guitar, and this lesson focuses on a power chord riff built around off-beat accents. The workout trains you to feel and control rhythmic displacement, improving groove awareness and making your riffs more dynamic and engaging. Strong syncopation skills help your rhythm playing stand out and lock more effectively with drums and bass.
Alternate Picked Arpeggio Riff
This section introduces an arpeggio-based riff that uses strict alternate picking. The exercise challenges string-skipping accuracy and picking consistency, while reinforcing rhythmic clarity across multiple strings. Developing this technique strengthens coordination and prepares you for more complex metal rhythm parts that blend melody and aggression.
Group of 4 Exercise
The Group of 4 exercise is a classic rhythmic workout adapted for metal riffing. By grouping notes in fours across the fretboard, this lesson builds picking stamina, timing precision, and hand synchronisation. It’s an essential drill for developing endurance and maintaining clarity at higher tempos.
12/8 Time Signature
Rounding out the course, this lesson explores metal riffing in a 12/8 time signature. Working in compound time expands your rhythmic vocabulary and challenges your internal sense of pulse. Learning to feel and play confidently in 12/8 opens the door to more progressive, groove-based metal styles and improves overall rhythmic flexibility.
About the Guitar Style & Influences
Richard Shaw’s approach to rhythm guitar is deeply rooted in classic heavy metal and thrash influences, drawing inspiration from the tight gallops, aggressive picking, and precision riffing of bands like Iron Maiden and Slayer. His playing balances discipline with musicality, focusing on clarity, timing, and power. This course reflects that philosophy, offering workouts that not only build technique but also reinforce the mindset required to be a solid, dependable metal rhythm guitarist.
Guitar Techniques Used in Metal Rhythm Guitar Workouts
- Alternate Picking
- Legato
- Pull Offs
- Hammer Ons
- Power Chords
- Palm Muting
- Arpeggios
- Syncopated Rhythms
- Open String Riffs
- Galloping Rhythms
- Chromaticism
Metal Rhythm Guitar Workouts is an essential course for guitarists who want to strengthen their rhythm foundations, improve timing and endurance, and develop the confidence needed to deliver tight, powerful metal riffs in any playing situation.
About The Tutor
Tutor Profile
Rich Shaw
Richard is most well known as the guitarist and co-songwriter for UK metal band, Cradle of Filth, from 2014 until 2022. In his time with the band, he co-wrote and performed on the albums ‘Hammer of the Witches’ (2015), ‘Cryptoriana - The Seductiveness of Decay’ (2017), and ‘Existence is Futile’...