How To Make Amazing Metal Riffs

[@NikNocturnal]

*I have Fools of April'd U*

[@aamiw99]

They sent that guitar to Jared Dines as well, right?

[@lemniscatefortunecanfinall2707]

Duh...I mean, *DAH* _buurrrrrrrrrrpppppp_

[@ZRisyad]

*grwol*

[@andersonlane54321]

I love this video more please

[@skysart8668]

*aHa*

[@RudyAyoub]

That intro really got me in the first half, not gona lie

[@juliusfreeman3940]

Me too, sup Rudy

[@Insideranon]

DUde, you should do a series going over other scales. You're seriously good at teaching.

[@jornsongardr5298]

MTOARTofficial I second this

[@michaelarneill8957]

I wish he was my music teacher damn

[@NikNocturnal]

Thank you! I'd love to do that in the future :)

[@Insideranon]

Didn't think I'd get this much attention on this lol. But seriously not you apply it to a genre that could use the ideas to spread a bit and having someone like you teaching scales and keys and that sort of thing in this style of genre would be a massive help to me and apparantly a lot of others

[@747lch]

S C A L E S

[@aidanlarose6901]

How to write a metalcore riff: Step 1: Take Unholy Confessions Step 2: change that main riff slightly Step 3: profit How to write a djent riff: Step 1: find your favorite movie script or book translated into binary Step 2: play that on the lowest string in 7/8 with a tight tone How to write a BMTH riff (2019): Step 1: take The Cell by Gojira Step 2: play that Step 3: profit

[@NikNocturnal]

Well of course

[@georgebrett1738]

The Gojira bit killed me

[@imwithstupid248]

Copy, paste, get likes

[@gabrielfestini]

Great to see some Gojira reference there 😉

[@BreathingTheory]

No profit for djent 😂

[@therestingmitchface6241]

NEW ERNIE BALL GUITAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR I don't even play guitar, I just love Ernie Ball guitars

[@longinuscyclone213]

yeah me too but I feel like theyre a bit overpriced

[@hydronomous8245]

longinus cyclone trust me on this, it’s an investment you won’t regret, I played it a few times at guitar stores and the feel of the guitar is like butter, no joke. Also his signature pickups have an amazing tone. Another thing to bear in mind is that this guitar has a piezo and piezos are not that cheap.

[@therestingmitchface6241]

@@longinuscyclone213 I can only speak from a drummer's perspective, but I feel if you're paying a lot for an instrument or equipment from a big name, it'll be worth it in the long run

[@NikNocturnal]

They're amazing guitars!

[@fajarkurniawan6871]

Specificly Majesty, i don't know..i love that body😺

[@johnno2539]

If Ernie Ball are throwing out guitars they better give me one

[@rohanahlawat5809]

Jared dines got two!

[@illiazo]

😂😂😂😂

[@Miroandu16]

I've seen so far around 3 KZbinrs that have received that Ernie ball guitar They should give me one uwu

[@nathanielcava4128]

Probably give them away cause they’re too damn expensive haha. Still amazing guitars and I’d love to own one

[@Todwop]

This mans account is really Amber Leaf. Quality.

[@Exodia_420]

Nik: Here's basic.. Me: *takes a month to learn*

[@waterproof4403]

It takes me never Meaning I never get it right

[@chrisrussell9371]

Heyy. A month is pretty good considering what he showed off here. Honestly. You are going to get good fast!

[@czyprodigy]

That’s the journey bro

[@TheCyberSatyr]

You can't be a hero without first accepting the role of a fool

[@felipec3788]

you could do a music theory/scales series with a modern metal focus

[@NikNocturnal]

I kinda try to do that subtly in my monday videos but I'll try to do more tutorial focused vids soon :)

[@Ninjabob568]

@@NikNocturnal please do. I just started playing again. I need more brain foods

[@patman1416]

It still makes me smile to hear that you personally shout out all of your patreon supporters. Can't wait to see you hit 100k subs Nik!

[@NikNocturnal]

Thanks Patrick, gotta show dem the luv!

[@YhormTheSmall]

You're not gonna believe this patrick but he's almost at half a million

[@theballsmcgee]

You're not gonna believe this Patrick but he breached half a million

[@metalheaddd97]

And now he 1m subs!

[@zetabrew1825]

Me: *hears Nik speak without an accent* Also me: *hears Nik speak with Swedish accent* I must've accidentally skipped a couple season

[@sirbonple]

russian*

[@nisse69]

Swedish???

[@firdauszainudin7118]

He's Slav, particularly Serbian region.

[@LT_Hayden]

Wait Nik not using a schecter. No I can't deal with this

[@patman1416]

The future is now old man...

[@RomanCzachor]

BloodMoon32 and this sounds so much better

[@wyliehj]

tbh Schecters are the most bulky awkward necks ive ever used, suprised Nik and well, really any guitarists play and enjoy them haha

[@wyliehj]

@Dylan Gruenloh Well, my experieince is definately limited compared to brands i enjoy, but i have tried hellraisers as well and they felt the same. Also not really an excuse, Ibanez's cheap gio guitars have sexy necks.

[@lamborgatti-4783]

BloodMoon32 tf Ernie balls are so much better

[@JeremyBoxerman]

Damn dude... seeing how easy it is for you to make these riffs based off of your knowledge of scales/harmonies and other guitar theories makes me want to dig into the "not so fun" part of playing guitar and actually learn the theory... quality video as usual my dude!

[@jayday1934]

Theory is hella fun. Eventually learning something new will be a high you chase.

[@NikNocturnal]

Thanks dude! I'll maybe make some easy to learn theory based vids soon because it is SOOO helpful, but the internet just teaches it in such a boring way sadly.

[@grasshopperlegz]

Nik Nocturnal please dude! I’m sure I’m not alone saying we’d love to know your way of understanding theory!

[@JeremyBoxerman]

@@NikNocturnal that's why I've been considering theory the "not so fun" part of playing, but if you can manage to make it fun, then by all means, please do! haha

[@INSINCERUS6]

This man just called out and exposed 90% of the modern metalcore scene 😂

[@LittleMouse_1742]

You should do a how to metal solo next because I suck at soloing by improvise lol

[@RecKLesSRLTV]

Scales my friend, modes and scales

[@LittleMouse_1742]

@@RecKLesSRLTV thanks dude!! See the problem is, I get it spurts where I have no motivation to play and I take breaks, but I cant seem to find the joy like I once had it kinda sucks but I'm trying to work through it haha

[@LittleMouse_1742]

@Shockheadd45 literally some of the best advice someone has given me on playing the guitar! I ALWAYS just mess around using one technique. But I will defenitly take your apporach!!! Thank you so much! I'm just trying to be the best guitar player I can be😊

[@LittleMouse_1742]

@Shockheadd45 oh word dude! Yeah I've only been playing for 5 years and I learned all my favorite stuff, now I'm trying to get serious about theory, scales, all that stuff

[@LittleMouse_1742]

@Shockheadd45 yeah I know some, but not all the different positions

[@Cuestar]

You're such a god

[@MrDeanmfitz]

Woah cuestar what are you doing here? Does Walter know your cheating on him?

[@WLOfails]

You managed to maintain the accent when naming the patrons, holy crap.

[@NikNocturnal]

:D

[@ZacharyShade]

As someone who's been playing guitar for 20 years, I love watching these videos and the way you describe things. I love chromatic notes and scale switching but have never been able to put it in an understandable way like how you do for people I jam with. Good shit.

[@vmattos19]

I usually pick notes around chord tones to help drive the melody The rule to add +2 to find harmonies could be applied to find these notes, for those who don't know theory

[@dev4965]

Haha April Fools that guitar isn’t actually a Majesty it’s a Green Schecter photoshopped to be a a Blue Majesty! I know you know the Kmac way! You can’t fool me!

[@aritrasom9536]

Exactly! More people should buy green guitars!

[@NikNocturnal]

U dun got me

[@iAmGio91]

Haha you wished.

[@ZRisyad]

Andrew Baena gave him wise advice

[@dev4965]

Zainul Risyad IT WAS KMAC!

[@dracula7919]

What I love doing when writting riffs is to imply the dominat chord of the scale at the end of the riff. So for example if I write in harmonic minor (99% of the time) I use the V chord which is a major chord to end the riff and go back to the tonic. Super strong and tasty pull.

[@evangolondzinier4958]

harmony just made sense to me now, jeez. been playing for 4 years and i could never quite get the harmony idea down (self taught) whenever im writing because i never understood how too. good explanation, great video

[@LucasBozovich]

The term for using notes only in the scale/key you’re using is “diatonic”, so the chords Nik created in the beginning are called diatonic chords. One great example is in Asking Alexandria’s Stand Up And Scream album. The harmonizations are diatonic thirds from each other based off the d minor scale.

[@I_Am_BearSquatch]

Your personal sense of humor is drastically underrated. I've ugly laughed a couple of times during many of your videos. Well done sir. Well done.

[@dennisavila317]

Exactly one year later, I’m in quarantine and binging nik. Life ain’t so bad

[@djentrification1631]

*Nik low-key teaching scrub drummers like me how to play guitar*

[@NikNocturnal]

I gotchu fam dw

[@captainpecker6192]

No shit, me too. Sitting on a pork pie throne, back to my pearl export fumbling all over my ibanez.

[@gooneph5402]

Guilty!!

[@DjentyMcDjentFace7990]

Same. I started learning guitar from youtubers like Nik. Drums probably will always be my instrument of choice, but Niks videos really helped my guitar playing.

[@cynicalx7495]

So... Scrummers?

[@KevinGarcia-pv3lr]

I really appreciate this video. It gave me a lot more insight than other videos in a concise and easy to digest way. Definitely going to come back to this to reference it when I try improv stuff.

[@vondurormur]

Thank you so much for making this video, I've been playing guitar for 5 years and I was on the brim of quitting because I just can't write anything good. But this video really helped and inspired me.

[@CZitoMusic]

Awesome video. Knowing music theory can really evolve a simple riff into something really aggressive, heavy and melodic. And that guitar is a beauty🤘🏻🔥

[@NikNocturnal]

Thanks! Yeah music theory is VERY helpful.

[@kenmccabe4800]

Pretty legit...... the new 7string EB, the riffs, all of it.... Nik Noc is pretty legit.

[@NikNocturnal]

Thanks Ken!

[@シミズルリ]

Go to Berkeley to learn harmony? Adam Neely wants to know your location

[@thealexdn-k9d]

Go to Berklee to study Harmony? *Rick Beato* wants to know your location.

[@Alric44]

Slavic Nik : There will be no memes today ... Nobody : ... Slavic Nik : AH ! I have fools of april’d U

[@dajoler]

Man, all these KZbin guitarists getting free Musicman guitars makes me want to actually start putting out some videos.

[@stevei4860]

i have to say, youre videos are great for me, i was in a metal band around uhh 8 yeas ago and since the playing alone has been really stale, your videos have inspired me to get a mixer and programs to make my own music for my self as well as play guitar again. thanks man c:

[@Bimbid]

This video is amazing for a guitarist trying to get better at Metal :) Thank you Nik!

[@NikNocturnal]

Thank YOU for watching!

[@joshkuhnmusic]

Ugh dude ALWAYS putting out quality content. YES DUDE

[@NikNocturnal]

Thanks Josh!

[@JesusOfPaign]

Adding chords like that to riffs is such an architects move. I love it.

[@NikNocturnal]

^^^

[@badbach66]

I've been struggling to write decent riffs lately and this has been very helpful. Thanks!

[@NOTMEORYOU69696]

By the way we forgot to mention that this riff has been an emure song the whole time. 2:29 But its my favorite soooo well finish what we started. Okay maybe not EXACTLY but guess what song I'm jamming next!

[@BGSDNY]

Dude , well done. I needed this. Thank you for doing what you do.

[@kingkazma2605]

When I first started watching your videos I was a bit bored, like "another guitar playing channel, meeeeh" but actually this is very interesting, and your guitar skills can barely be discussed. Your videos made me learn a lot, thanks =D

[@sethduarte232]

I don’t follow this man, but he knows so much about music and is extremely talented I’m suprised he’s not in some huge band touring the world

[@DjentyMcDjentFace7990]

You remembering the names of your patreon supporters at the end of the video never gos unnoticed. I think they all appreciate the extra effort.

[@anddeathnmyarms2588]

Im going to use this as a reference to practice... I mean.. there's alot of good points. I somewhat understand how to apply the scale now actually... Thanks Nik your videos are metal af!

[@AzureSanction]

Everytime I am done watching one of these I am always heading straight to my guitar I love this

[@loganbauserman5025]

I've never been so excited for Mondays. Please keep it up with the How To series

[@NikNocturnal]

Thank you, will do!

[@zach3359]

I agree with the guy a couple comments below. You're really good at explaining stuff. I understood all of this.

[@laurenshepherd4410]

I saw your little mistake during the tapping part, but you were so good I barely noticed it the first few times I watched it, which proves that even the best guitarists aren't perfect

[@michaelgappa5072]

Very helpful in practicing song writing. Thanks, Nik.

[@dedurinipa]

Man, you really good at teachings! and love those "in context" or "in the mix" sounds that you achieved. Maybe you can teach us how to mix metal song on your future video:)

[@jmbs9833]

this channel should be called " Guitar? i show u in context"

[@immattbaskett]

That guitar sounds insane. the clarity is ridiculous

[@KaiDown]

This is fantastic, hoping you do a similar video for leads+solos!

[@NikNocturnal]

Will do!

[@littleblue7838]

Man ill come back to watch the rest but i am playing guitar and im having fun

[@mikkasnyders5563]

Wow earnie ball are really showing youtubers some love.

[@NikNocturnal]

^^

[@pal7316]

That video is incredibly useful, it can definitely improve anybody's playing

[@MichaelWilliams-fw5cu]

You're my favorite guitar teacher man. If you ever read this could you do a lesson on key changes between minor and other scales

[@MAXXX1195]

Very cool as always Nik ! I learned a lot from your breakdown video, and maybe you should consider doing an episode centered on musical theory in metal, no need to be very deep complicated, just something practical about the scales and how to use them, chose a key for a song etc as those videos are. Keep it metal dude !

[@JoseCruz-dk3fi]

Hey since you've been taken over completely by Stalin's soul, you should replace the water bottles with vodka ones

[@NikNocturnal]

I think my videos would turn out very different then...

[@matthewjoshua1025]

Yes, with Vodka

[@darthrevin8230]

But fill them with water to fool everyone.

[@dankmemesmetal]

Ernie balls PR is really doing the most. I luv it

[@arash2803]

Dudes, you helped me a lot. Great ideas so quickly explained.

[@czyprodigy]

I don’t think I’ve ever improved so much in an hour. Thank you nik!

[@neapolis7570]

My favorite way of spicing up my riffs is comining triplets and those HEAVY palm mutes

[@jakenastysnake]

Awesome video dude. These are really good tips especially if you feel like you're spinning your wheels trying to come up with riffs!

[@LuckyFateChannel]

This was really useful and easy to understand. You should do more like this!

[@CrusherHF]

I am proud to say these videos were my music education that got me into university for songwriting

[@amikambar-gil1352]

came across this one today. You are a great teacher mate! Thanks!

[@brandonharwood9066]

I love this series! You should do one about metal solos next. Also, Music Theory is frickin amazing, everyone should learn

[@NikNocturnal]

I have that on the to-do list :)

[@brandonharwood9066]

Awesome! I can't wait

[@binanda_engti_kathar]

How to series is the best....we want more

[@akariscarback2867]

I'll show you in context (c) Nik

[@landrysaathoff2418]

YOU GOT A MAJESTY! I called it a year ago that EB would send you a guitar! Gratz!

[@NikNocturnal]

Thank you! :D

[@RodrigoEmygdio]

Thank you very much, dude! Your videos are very cool and crystal clear. I am curious about what kind the distortion you use.

[@redwind3475]

I love these songwriting tip videos!!

[@rimrockin600]

Video on floating tremelo tips and tricks and setup? You're a superb teacher man :)

[@CameronFleury]

I don't even play guitar. I'm here to support Slavic Nik. 🤘🤓🤘

[@raulgarccianidetrucci9233]

You are fucking awesome brother, hugs from Mexico 🇲🇽

[@siavash1310]

thanks .Your videos Always have New and Fresh tips.

[@arewealone222]

With the accent it makes your skills even more dark🤘🤘🔥

[@DaveKore]

Excellent video! Thanks Nik!!!

[@infokubarcade]

i was "hey but it has a Shokran style". Then i came back listening your album. And WHAT do i see ? "feat Shokran" mwaha. Very nice teaching video btw !

[@rocknroll6373]

best guitar teacher👍

[@xbladero]

The tapping part HILARIOUS!

[@merschavonia4745]

Your Slavic accent sounds like a completely different person than your normal voice.

[@Salatkanone]

That's a beauty of a guitar!

[@alexreid8725]

So thankful for your time and knowledge. Much love from me and the metal gods

[@NikNocturnal]

Thank YOU for watching!

[@alexreid8725]

@@NikNocturnal any chance you can give me a list of a few scales to practice

[@alexreid8725]

@@NikNocturnal in any tune. Just some basic ones nothing crazy. Like major?minor? Pentatonic? Just dont know which ones would be best for metal

[@aadityam9999]

So many people have gotten this guitar for free this week😫 SO LUCKYYYY

[@mudvayneblair7800]

Wait a sec, is Ernie Ball sending guitars this april 1? Jared and this guy has received a Guitar.

[@giot2627]

Ninjokotaro "this guy?"

[@sneeringimperialist340]

Quality Slavic educational content from our boy Nikoli here.

[@NikNocturnal]

:D

[@lesliejohn9061]

Tbh this is very helpful! Thank you nic!

[@asmrburst4238]

"It is smooth like butter"

[@glennkoch5173]

A powerful 14:09 metal lesson. Thank you!

[@devinsmith1243]

Bruh I’ve been dying for a music man majesty for so long Lucky

[@NikNocturnal]

It's a beauty no doubt

[@helamanavalos9806]

Damn, did not know that Nik used to have an accent, at the beggining I tought he was joking xD

[@kaimusic7884]

Nik I really needed this. Thank you:)

[@jimdanielhoxworth3374]

Hey, so the new Periphery album dropped yesterday, are you gonna cover some of that good stuff? *"Reptile", maybe?*

[@SirusX1]

L0l. The first thing I did when they dropped the album at 7am was tweet Nick what he thinks of Reptile, lmao.

[@SirusX1]

...I did not get a response.

[@originalkulaid]

I come to you from one year in the future. I can tell you that your Canadian accent will get REALLY good.

[@Martinwilhelminus]

That's one gorgeous guitar

[@parakrambasnet6317]

The ending riff was sweet!!!

[@stephenorme2831]

A struggle I've had was more with piecing riffs together to form a song and make them flow. Any tips on how break these barriers or can you do a separate video?

[@noeltage]

Basically how to play music you like without going to Berkly first. Damn good job.

[@Rivwe]

It is at this point that I realize how satisfying Niks voice is