Quick Licks - Synyster Gates

Guitars Lessons by Andy James

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Quick Licks - Synyster Gates: A Gateway to Shred Guitar Mastery

Unlock the secrets of Synyster Gates, the lead guitarist of Avenged Sevenfold, with Licklibrary.com’s exclusive “Quick Licks - Synyster Gates” guitar lesson series. This meticulously crafted tutorial is designed for guitarists eager to infuse their play with the energy and style that has catapulted Gates to the forefront of modern rock guitarists. This couse is taught by Andy James.

What You Will Learn In This Course

35 killer metal licks in the style of Synyster Gates. This course also includes a backing track to play over. The techniques you will learn include:

  • Exotic Scales
  • Whammy Bar Use
  • Fast Alternate Picking
  • Sweep Picking

Technique Breakdown

Exotic Scales

Exotic scales are the sonic spices in a guitarist’s pantry. In these lessons, you’ll delve into the scales that give Synyster Gates’s solos their distinctive Eastern-inflected, almost mystical sound. These scales are not just sequences of notes; they’re pathways to new emotional expressions. By mastering them, you’ll expand your improvisational vocabulary and inject a burst of fresh melodic ideas into your solos.

Whammy Bar Use

The whammy bar, when wielded with the same finesse as Gates, is not just a tool for dive bombs; it’s a means to add expression, much like a human voice. Our lessons guide you through the nuances of this technique, from subtle vibrato to wild pitch shifts, teaching you to use the whammy bar to make your guitar wail, sing, and scream with emotion.

Fast Alternate Picking

Alternate picking is the wind beneath the wings of any shred solo. Gates’s rapid-fire approach is a cornerstone of his sound, and our “Quick Licks” will show you how to pick with precision and speed. Perfecting this technique will not only enable you to play faster but also more cleanly and rhythmically in-sync, adding a professional polish to your performances.

Sweep Picking

The art of sweep picking can turn a simple chord progression into a rapid-fire barrage of melody, which is a trademark of Gates’s playing style. Through these lessons, you'll learn to articulate each note clearly within the sweep, enabling you to execute arpeggios with lightning speed and laser precision, just like Synyster himself.

Practicing Over Backing Tracks

Practicing these licks over backing tracks isn’t just about keeping time; it’s about context. The included backing tracks serve as your rhythmic canvas, allowing you to paint with the colors of your newly learned licks. They help you understand how these licks sit within a mix, teaching you to adjust your dynamics and feel for real-world playing situations.

Synyster Gates: The Guitarist

Synyster Gates, known for his virtuosic guitar skills in Avenged Sevenfold, brings a unique blend of metal, rock, and even classical music to his playing. His style is recognizable by his fluid legato, explosive speed, and command of the fretboard. By studying his techniques, guitarists can not only learn to shred with the best of them but also develop a sense of musicality and showmanship that is integral to Gates’s style.

List of Guitar Techniques Used:

Below is a list of guitar techniques covered in the "Quick Licks - Synyster Gates" lessons. Click on the links to explore the glossary entries on Licklibrary.com and delve deeper into each technique.

By learning these techniques, guitarists will not only be able to play Synyster Gates-style licks but also broaden their overall guitar skills, enabling them to explore new genres and play with greater expression and technical prowess.

Features multi-angle high quality video lessons

A screenshot of a guitar tuition course by LickLibrary A screenshot of a close-up of a guitar instructor explaining a fretboard.

All of our courses feature multiple camera angles, and online versions (lifetime streaming access and membership) additionally featured optimised device delivery, variable playback speeds and looping controls to make your learning experience even better!

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Technical Details

  • Code

    RDR0401

  • Artist

    Synyster Gates

  • Media

    Online Stream, Download, DVD

  • Media format

    PAL + NTSC

  • Genre

    Metal, Modern Metal, Shred

  • Skill level

    Expert, Suitable For All

  • EIN No

    5060088824535

  • TAB NOT Included

  • NB: If purchasing as 'DVD', please ensure that your DVD player fully supports the 'Media format' (PAL + NTSC) that this product is available in, as indicated above.

About The Tutor

Tutor Profile

Andy James

Andy James needs little introduction as one of the most popular LickLibrary tutors, respected the world over for his unbelievable technical skills and teaching material. "As a player Andy has released a string of solo albums, the last being 2012's ""Andy James"" on Transcend Music which was met with huge...

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