Devin Townsend: On Heavy Sounds

I found this great video by Devin Townsend of the band Strapping Young Lad. I saw his band open for Fear Factory about 5 years ago and thought they put on a really good show. When I was researching "heavy sounds" I happened to find this video. He has a great sense of humor and gives some great insight as how he achieves a "heavy" sound on his guitar.

NOTES: 

1) To get a heavier sound it matters how you hold your guitar pick.

2) How you attack with your pick will greatly effect the heaviness

3) Don't pick strings strait up and down but instead use the "James Hettfield method" of letting the pick drag/scape across the strings slightly

4) Palm muting the strings is a very effective in achieving a heavier, percussive sound

5) When playing with drummers, it helps when they play a little behind the beat, it gives the sound a sense of size

6) Relax and playing will get easier

*Here is an example of Devin's heavy sound in action!!

Power Chords

In my last post I listed some of the elements that make music heavy, particularly music in the metal genre. In this post I will address one of these elements and try to reach a greater understanding of the music I love.

Question: What is power chord?

*Power chords typically contains only two different notes, the root note, and another note called the "fifth". For this reason, power chords are referred to as "fifth chords" (written C5 or E5, etc). 

*The power chord does NOT contain the note which traditionally tells us whether the chord is major or minor. Thus, a power chord is neither major nor minor. It can be used in a situation where either a major or a minor chord is called for.

*Power chords work well in certain circumstances (in rock music on electric guitars for example), but don't work well in others, particularly folk-style songs played on acoustic guitar. 

*A power chord is also often referred to as a "fifth" or "5" chord. If, for example, you see a chord written as C5, this is a C power chord. 

Take this chord progression for example: Cmajor - Aminor - Dminor - Gmajor

You could play this progression with power chords as follows:

C5 - A5 - D5 - G5

*You can optionally omit the pinky finger, and play a power chord simply as a 2-note chord. Most guitarists stick with the 3-note version, as it sounds more full.

*Another common fingering for a power chord is to play the root note with the first finger, while the third finger barres the other two notes. 

*Power chords are generally used in pop, rock, and blues music. Because they are rather small chords, they are not commonly used in acoustic strumming situations. 

*Many guitarists prefer to use all downstrokes when strumming power chords. This results in a more "chunky" sound.   

*Here Are Some Common Power Chords*

I Am A Metalhead At Heart

One thing I have noticed over the last 15 years as a metal enthusiast is that my concept of "heavy music" has changed significantly. I used to think it didn't get any "heavier" than Soundgarden, The Smashing Pumpkins and Metallica. These particular bands had songs that were fast, aggressive,  and had maniac drummers to keep the beat. Now, keep in mind that I started listening to "heavy" music when I was 9 or 10 years old (1995, 1996). At one point in time I didn't think music could get any "heavier" than these songs:

"Tales From The Scorched Earth" by The Smashing Pumpkins

"4th of July" by Soundgarden

"Until It Sleeps" by Metallica

I still love loud, distorted, chunky guitars, and a pounding rhythm sections to drive song. Bands like Deftones, Korn, and Slipknot helped evolve my concept of what "heavy" music was and could be. If a song had enough energy and aggression in it that I wanted to get in a mosh pit immediately, then that was what I called "heavy."

When I decided to pick up the guitar I wanted to learn how heavy bands got their sound. What does "heavy" mean anyway? After researching the topic for a while I have found out that there is not exact formula for achieving a heavy sound. However, there are several elements that can give a song "heavy" feel to it.

For guitarists this includes but is not limited to:

1) Power chords

2) Pick Attack

3) Palm Muting

4) Down-Tuning

5) Heavy Distortion

The rest of the band can make a song heavy too by utilizing:

1) A drummer who knows when to add a kick drum on particular downbeats to make a song "punchier." Metal drummers will often use (and overuse) double-kick pedals to add a sense of chaos to an arrangement.

2) A bassist who locks in with the guitar and essentially plays the same part, perhaps even an octave lower

3) A vocalist who can write intense lyrics and perhaps scream, growl, or match their lyrics with an equally intense delivery

Articulation/Duration: Music Element #3: A Lesson by Victor Wooten

I opened my eyes and noticed Michael staring at me. Stopping the music, he asked me a strange quation. "You ever read Horton Hears a Who?"

I didn't know what that had to do with anything (particularly music), but understanding that Michael had his own way of teaching, I answered him, "Of course I have, Dr. Suess."

"Do you remember what that poor elephant found on the little speck of dust?"

"There was a whole civilization living on it," I answered.

"Exactly!" he said. point at me. "Notes are the same. If you listen closely, you can find a whole universe living in each one. Notes are alive, and like you and me, they need to breathe. The song will dictate how much air is needed. There is no rule hard and fast, but usually, the sharper the attack, the shorter the sustain. The vice versa is also true."

"Now here's what I want you to do this time. Breathe with the Music. Listen to the song one more time and take a breath with each note as the bass player plays. It will help you understand what I am talking about. After that, I want you to play along with the song, breathing with your own bass notes. If you change the length of your notes, you also much change the length of your breath. Do that and pay attention to what it does to you and to Music."

"Breath with the Music? What did he mean by that," I thought. "Once I did as he'd suggested, things started to change. Breathing with the music caused me to hear it and feel it in a way I never had before. I could actually feel the notes mixing with my heartbeat. It was like meditation."

**After reading this excerpt, I realized that I rarely let my notes ring. My approach to music has always been to attack fast and sharp. From now on I will try to control my breathing when I play and see if it effects my playing. I will also try to let my notes have more breathing room. I think David Gilmour of Pink Floyd could teach me a lot about this concept.**

Interactive Circle Of Fifths

 With the power and glory of the internet I found a fantastic INTERACTIVE CIRCLE OF FIFTHS!! With this great invention I can program in any Tonic or Mode and it will give me the the scale, the formula for that scale, the notes in that scale, and then chords to play over that scale. It's pretty freakin' sweet!!

Here is what happened when I plugged in the C Tonic and the Major/Ionian Mode:

 Here is what happened when I plugged in the E Tonic and the Phrygian Mode:

Key Signatures and Circle Of Fifths

While researching Key Signatures I found this very helpful diagram to help me remember how to figure out what key a song is in when reading sheet music. 

Another useful tool I found is called the "Circle Of Fifths." It is used to decipher the precise number of sharps or flats in any given major scale. 

I read in one of my books that one of the best ways to memorize the order of sharps and flat is word association. "The sillier and weirder the better,' says the Hal Leonard Corporation.

Order of Sharps: F, C, G, D, A, E, B, F 

(Fat, Cats, Go, Down, Alley, Endings, Boldly, Fighting).

Order of Flats: B, E, A, D,G, C, F 
(BEAD Games Come First).

Key Signatures

I have seen this image on many pieces of sheet music and always wanted to know what it meant.  

It is called a Key Signatures. It contains the flats or sharps you see after the clef and before the time signature. The purpose of the key signature, aside from telling you what key to play in, is to avoid writing too many accidentals. For example, instead of writing Bb over and over again, the flat sign (b) is placed on the third line of the Treble Clef indicating that B's need to be flatted. The sharps or flats placed on the line or space in the key signature indicates that notes on that line or space needs to be sharped or flatted. It also indicates that all the other notes of the same letter, even if they are in other octaves, needs to be sharped or flatted. Sometimes composers change the key signature throughout a piece of music.

• Major Key - If the key signature has sharps, look at the position of the last sharp and raise it by a half-step to get the key. For example, if the last sharp is E, raise it a half step which is F, the key is F sharp major. When the key signature has flats, simply look at the second to the last flat and you get the key. So for example A flat is the second to the last flat sign in the key signature, this means the music is in A flat major. The exception to this rule is F major because it only has one flat and C major because it has no flats or sharps
• Minor Key - Simply find the name of the key in major and lower it three half steps to get the minor key. For example E flat major lowered three half steps will be C minor. A minor key that has the same key signature as a major key is called a relative minor. For example E flat major and C minor both have 3 flats but C minor is three half steps lower than E flat major. 
• Keep in mind that there are only seven flats: B-E-A-D-G-C-F, and it is always in the same order in a key signature. On the other hand, the order of sharps (F-C-G-D-A-E-B) is the order of flats (B-E-A-D-G-C-F) backwards