Help with this Kirk Hammett lick please?

Technique Critique
#1

Hi all,

I’m new to CTC and have been finding it very useful so far. I’ve been working on the solo to Metallica’s Call of Ktulu for…a long time now…and this descending pattern from bars 145-148 has been torturing me. I’m trying to play it using alternating pick slanting to clean things up, but am having some difficulty. Can you please take a look at the video and let me know how I can improve? Also, this is the best of about 8 takes - most are a bit sloppier - so I feel like it’s almost not representative. I can post one of the bad ones if that works better. This is at 90% of the actual speed of the song. Thanks!

Edit: added video without the backing track.

2 Likes
#2

I think it’d be more beneficial to post a video without the song playing in the background. At .25 speed it becomes a little bit hard to hear which is which!

1 Like
#3

Thanks, I updated the video.

#4

Hey man, I’m new here too. Funnily enough I’ve been having the exact same battle. After watching TG’s vids I changed the way I was playing it and tabbed it out.
Hope it helps, let me know what you think (ignore the BPM and Key)

image
image2044×1222 206 KB

2 Likes
#5

Thanks! Trying this out.

#6

Dude. Thank you. This helped sooo much. I came out with a slightly different version but same concept. Here’s mine:

Screen Shot 2020-04-19 at 10.17.27 PM
Screen Shot 2020-04-19 at 10.17.27 PM2028×996 178 KB

2 Likes
#7

Awesome, love it. Thats the shape I started with but then deviated with the new picking. Gonna go back to this one as I feel I can move a bit faster in this position. Keep in touch with how you go with this one, it’s my main hurdle atm

#8

Learn the 3notes per string pattern it will make it easier to learn and reward all your hard work by making you learn a picking pattern that you can reproduce all over the neck in any key.

How I worked to learn this, was practice 3NPS 2wps patterns first and become comfortable with them enough that I could tackle the descending fours without having the overthink the pick slanting. Elso break the pattern in small chunks.