Customer Reviews

Metal Rhythm Guitar Vol. 1 (Troy Stetina)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of the 30 or so guitar method books I own, the Troy Stetina collection is by far the most useful. His method is somewhat similar to the musicians institute series of instruction, except that his series tends to focus on a particular style of music rather than just general learning. This particular book is great as it is progressive. Start at the beginning of the book and work your way through at your own pace. That's it -- easy schmeezy lemon squeezy. Also, buy a metronome and you'll get even more out of it.

This is the 5th method book that I have gone through, the others being Mel Bay's Modern Method for Guitar, as well as the 3 books that comprise Hal Leanord's guitar method. Each book / method has it's unique strengths and weaknesses.

Troy does a great job at explaining the techniques he wants his readers to learn. The book is also fairly well organized. For the absolute beginner, this book may seem to jump in difficulty fairly quickly regarding what Troy requires of his students, but with patience it can be mastered. The backing tracks to the cd are great. Sure, they may not be the coolest tunes in the world, but they are well recorded and they serve their purpose of giving the student a chance to practice wha s/he's learned in a quasi jam session that includes a full backing band. This book also does well to explain and teach syncopations.

I really have only thre gripes about this book: 1) It would have been nice if Troy had always depicted the suggested fingerings or at least alternate fingerings. 2) And there were a couple of techniques that were introduced in the jams but that had no educational introduction. 3) I'm not sure that the studies and jams are very relevant to today's metal. They cover the AC/DC sound and the 80's and early 90's metal sound. But I don't feel I learned some of the trademark sounds and techniques that typify bands such as Tool, System of a Down, or Mastadon. This is primarily due to when the book was published, 1992. So an updated version would be great.

Even if the metal sound has changed since the book was published, this book will help you on your power chord changes and fingerings, as well as your rhythm work. In fact, I think the studies for accenting up beats and syncopations are great. They are pretty basic, but this is a level 1 book and it really helps one get a basic feel for rhythm. Oh, and remember to tap your foot.

Excellent for beginners, even for absolute beginners, who want to play heavy metal or hard rock. Troy Stetina is one of the best teachers you can find.
It is a real method to learn guitar technique 'from the beginning', not only exercises compilation. Well structurated, topics are explained clearly and you learn easily and enjoy at the same time. You see your improvement every week so you want to learn more. It really works!
It contains lots of examples, basic theory and technique topics, and six full songs to practice and enjoy playing rhythm guitar track with the backing band on CD.
I liked this so much that I bought the complete Troy Stetina's Series. I've learned faster and easier with Troy's books than with other famous players' books.
For beginners I recommend to take a lead guitar method like Metal Lead Guitar Primer when starting chapter 4.

First about myself: I have had guitar for several years and been learning and playing on and off. I can play a few solos and songs. So pretty much a hobbyist and intermediate beginner.

This book would help beginners And intermediate players who like to taste metal guitar. Even if you can play a few songs, there would be some benefit in this book. A better player you already are, faster you can finish the book.
The songs are really good and even you can play for others if you are in a situation and like to play something simple but nice. They are basic but at the same time meaningful and look like to be real metal songs. There is no nonsense in this book.

If I try to note some of the weaknesses:
-The material is kind of old. But it really should not matter for the audience for whom this book is devoted.
-He mentions two well established styles of fingering to mute 6th string when playing 5th string power chords at the same time. It may confuse a self-learner at the beginning and he/she may think that just one style he should stick to. But this is not the point. Many players use both styles when necessary. So it might be better for learners to work with one style first and then repeat everything with the other style again to master both.
- Wish he could record a DVD for this particular book (and Vol 2 probably). An absolute beginner really need to see the actual playing and fingering. There are so many DVD's that can be used. But regarding the material and teaching methods, none is as good and well organized as this [as far as I know].

I have played guitar for over 12 years. I have recently begun teaching private lessons. I try to teach such that the information I give relates personally to each student. Everyone learns differently and has different tastes.

I recently purchased Troy Stetina's book, Metal Rhythm Guitar Vol. 1, for a few of my students who are interested in studying heavy metal. I have to say, this book is excellent. It starts from the very beginning, teaching how to play powerchords. Troy's notation is excellent, incorporating counting techniques into his TAB.

I find as a teacher that it is essential to get your students playing something cool from the beginning. Otherwise, they lose interest. This book has been a great resource to help my heavy metal students start rocking almost from the first lesson.

Excellent job Troy, keep it up.

-Craig Nybo, author of [ ... ]

If you are a beginner who wants to learn how to play metal or even rock then this is for you. The book is all in Tabs, so if you can't read standard notation or do not want to learn than this will speed up the learning process for you. Troy takes you through a series of exercises which eventually lead to a real song that you will get to play. The book and CD work together and you definatley need the CD to understand how to play. If you are a guitar teacher this is a great tool to help you teach your students about metal guitar. I have used this book for myself for over 15 years. Now that I teach guitar I use it with my students with great results. The play along CD is of the highest quality and you will enjoy playing along for hours. I reccomend this book and all of Troy's guitar books. Well Done Troy!!!!!!!!!

This book and part 2 are very good for learning the basics, and also just for practice. The songs do a good job of building both picking and fretting strength, and the CD acts nicely as a metronome to develop that internal sense of time. I'd recommend these books to anybody.

Troy Stetina's Metal Rhythm (Vol. 1) is a great book (complete with CD), for beginner to intermediate level. I felt like Stetina was behind me all the way with all the exercises and instruction.

After thoroughly reviewing and playing a few times Troy Stetina's Metal Rhythm Guitar Vol. 1, my impression: clearly and gradually explains how to understand rhythm guitar in (6) enjoyable, challenging chapters

It's all presented to you, to review, digest and rock-along with CD in styles of: AC/DC, Black Sabbath, KISS, Metallica, OZZY, Van Halen

Vol. (1) effectively, gives you basic & some intermediate level "tools" you need for Rhythm Guitar like: power chords ("flat fives"), (later in course introduces first-position chords, appregios, few pentatonic patterns), & ...vibrato, string-bending, pedaling the root... different rhythm patterns (also syncopation)

The end of each of six chapters has both tableture/CD track featuring Troy's own "mini song" incorporates styles, skills you just played, studied...I particularly liked playing the Chapter #4 mini song, "Rock ' N' Roller" with it's blues/rock sound.... and also Chapter #5 's mini song reminiscent of AC/DC & Kiss called "On the Prowl."

Beginner or intermediate, slow or fast-learner, does NOT matter! Troy Stetina's book/CD is organized, easy to use and understand...I gained more than I thought I would ...CAN't !! wait to start Vol. 2

Great book for the beginning guitarist. Like the above reviews say, within minutes you'll be playing metal. The explanations are good, the exercises better, and the play-along songs awesome. highly recommend for people starting to play guitar with an interest in hard rock and/or metal.

This is a great book for a beginning guitarist. I have only been using it for a few weeks, and I have noticed a lot of improvement. As long as you do all the exercises several times until you get them straight, you will improve a lot. Because of this book, I will look into getting Vol. 2, also.