Learning Megadeth - Peace Sells - GuitarTalk Community

NorioDS · 2018-06-04T08:06:47+00:00

Right! Phase 2 of the "Pointy vs Paddle Headstock" guitar duel has us learning "Peace Sells" by Megadeth. Right off the bat... my fingers are freezing. This...

Learning Megadeth - Peace Sells

NorioDS

Day 3 — Nothing so far. Power outage this morning made it hard to practice. I could have practised unplugged though but that didn't occur to me until now ?

Will hopefully squeeze in a bit of practise in the arvie/evening.

NorioDS

Day 3 — Later that day...

Got some decent practise in at night. Almost have the more difficult riff under my fingers. There's a bit of tricky string-skipping that's tough to raise up to tempo.

Also, there are a lot of different parts that make up the song. Gonna need to pick a few and commit those to memory so I can start adding in metronome practice to my regimen.

The main rhythm that goes: Bb5 A5 x x x x G5 x x x x Ab5 x x x x (etc)

... There's a slight trick to the groove that I haven't quite gotten yet. I could sit counting the notes and so on but I prefer to feel the groove and "let it come to me". Not a standard way of learning a song or riff but I enjoy it way more.

I find the trickiest bits of the song is actually the switching between riffs. You might be finishing 1 riff around the 1st or 2nd fret and starting the next on the 10th fret. That's where song familiarity becomes helpful. You can look "forward" to the upcoming parts and prepare your fingers to get to where they need to be on time.

For a self-proclaimed metal-head, it's a shame I've never learned a metal song. This is a lot of fun and I'm sure it'll inspire much metal-groove making in the future ?

V8

NorioDS The main rhythm that goes: Bb5 A5 x x x x G5 x x x x Ab5 x x x x (etc)

This one? Ignore the tuning, you're probably in Eb (Album tuning), while I'm resolutely staying E standard.

Riff 1
e|-------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------|
G|-------------------------------------------------|
D|-------------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------6-----------------------5--|
E|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--4--0-0-0-0-0-0-0--3--|

e|-------------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------------|
G|-------------------------------------------------|
D|-------------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------6--------------------8--7-|
E|-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--4--0-0-0-0-0-0--6--5-|

NorioDS You might be finishing 1 riff around the 1st or 2nd fret and starting the next on the 10th fret.

I've seen a few differing tabs - more so than for Scuttle Buttin! What you can do for this one is start on the D string 5th fret instead of the A string 10th fret - the bonus is that I find it much easy to squeal (pinch harmonics) on the D string than the A for this riff and the hand doesn't have top rush into position, you're pretty much there already from the previous riff?

NorioDS

Day 4 — I also keep fish and we had no power yesterday which is when I do water changes. So this morning I did that and it took too long. No practise yet. Hoping to again squeeze something in the arvie or evening.

V8

Day 3. 10m on Peace Sells and 20m on Mr Brownstone (opening riff). This am I recall Mr Brownstone but not the Peace Sells riffs...sigh...

NorioDS

V8 This one? Ignore the tuning, you're probably in Eb (Album tuning), while I'm resolutely staying E standard.

That's the one! Rocksmith reckons the song is in E standard. I'm saying Bb5 where I could say A#5. Exactly the same notes as your tab though.

V8 the bonus is that I find it much easy to squeal (pinch harmonics)

Gotta admit, I'm struggling with the harmonics. Might have to switch BACK to the tiny pick for this one ?

As for the positions, I'm happy enough switching around. It can only improve my skills for future songs. As much as I'm already exhausted by all of the pressure that goes with this duel, it is having a majorly positive influence on my playing! Particularly the techniques I've ignored for most of the last 20-odd years.

V8

NorioDS V8 This one? Ignore the tuning, you're probably in Eb (Album tuning), while I'm resolutely staying E standard.

That's the one! Rocksmith reckons the song is in E standard. I'm saying Bb5 where I could say A#5. Exactly the same notes as your tab though.

Aha, I'll admit to LOVING this 1/8th note riff. As simple as it looks...it is very subtly groovy - the trick (I believe) is that that fretted chord is on the 8th note and then the 1 that follows is a accented open E - it lends a certain groove to what is a straight 1/8 note feel.

I also didn't count this, but felt it - much fun!

NorioDS V8 the bonus is that I find it much easy to squeal (pinch harmonics)

Gotta admit, I'm struggling with the harmonics. Might have to switch BACK to the tiny pick for this one

These puny single coils of mine are not helping - what would scream out of a humbucker just doesn't have the same sustain/satisfaction on these bullet strat pups I'm rockin' (yip...my MIJ has circa 2002 MIC bullet strat pups, more microphone than pickup ?)

NorioDS

V8 These puny single coils of mine are not helping

Yeah that part I'm enjoying. Seems the bridge pickup on the JS100 + my Orange Micro terror are perfect for getting the right sound. Once I have a version of this under my fingers, methinks it'll be a fun one to jam from time to time. Maybe even as a fun warm-up (at slower tempos) before each practice session.

V8

NorioDS Seems the bridge pickup on the JS100 + my Orange Micro terror are perfect for getting the right sound.

Far more so than mine! I was thinking a metal zone would work for this - ridiculous noise floor aside (more hiss than a 50's am radio station), it does have a 4 band eq that lets one pull all the mids out.

Mine is away on loonnggg term loan. The kinda loan that you never get back - though, I kinda knew that when I handed it over.

However...I do have friends in low places.

NorioDS

Day 4 — Later that day...

Managed to squeeze in some practice. Got the "peace sellllls but who's buyin'" rhythm section (last third of the song) kinda under my fingers. Getting perfect "scores" in Rocksmith at 90% speed.

But that's the same trap I fell into before* with SRV - Scuttle Buttin'. Time to add in a metronome. 90% sounds fast so I stayed there too long instead of increasing to 91%, 92% and beyond.

There's something about a scale of 1 - 100 that doesn't let you "feel" how truly far away you are from 100% when you're at 90%.

Compare that to the difference between 124bpm (90%) and 138bpm (100%) and, somehow, it just seems like a greater distance and I take it more seriously and practise a little harder. They're the same thing but my brain treats them differently. 90% is "good enough". Whereas anything less than my target tempo is NOT.

(I got the 138bpm tempo of the song from a website. Not sure it's accurate.)

V8

NorioDS (I got the 138bpm tempo of the song from a website. Not sure it's accurate.)

I had it up to 145bpm last nite - I didn't know what the bpm was on this (Found some sheet music the am, 140bpm was what they all were agreeing on - but I'm not 100% that's all the way through, I felt it speeded up for the last 1/3?)

Did try the opening lead lick...umm, yeah right - that;s way outside my skill set to get to 140bpm anytime soon.

THough I did get to thinking how to present the learnings - I'm thinking I'm not going note for note song structure - since I'm not doing vocals or solo's. Rather a short n fun performance of the riffage that flows like the original (I hope).

NorioDS

V8 THough I did get to thinking how to present the learnings - I'm thinking I'm not going note for note song structure - since I'm not doing vocals or solo's. Rather a short n fun performance of the riffage that flows like the original (I hope)

Exactly what I'm thinking and the best way to do this without boring our poor listeners ?

ChrisDanger

NorioDS best way to do this without boring our poor listeners

Listening to Mustaine riffs is the antithesis of boring! ?

V8

ChrisDanger that's the spirit!

Day 5. 15m. Most productive session of the week. Still working on the last 1/3 riffage, not quite there yet.

Tonally I'm gonna get stomped. My 'rig' is not really cut out for high gain ?

NorioDS

So something weird happened in the last session. I tried my tiny Jazz ii or iii pick and everything just flowed so easily.

Even scuttle buttin' felt easier to play.

And it's all kinda confusing. Not sure what's really helping or hindering my playing. I suppose I need to keep switching between my picks and see what ends up being my go-to.

But the part that sucks is discovering this while under pressure to learn and perform new tunes. It's a great motivator to get'r done but it also just adds even more pressure and overwhelm to the mix!

Pick the wrong pick and you might screw up the performance or learning. I'm beginning to understand those superstitious soccer players who need their lucky underwear on to win a game! ?

Now I just need to figure out what my lucky pick is!

V8

NorioDS So something weird happened in the last session. I tried my tiny Jazz ii or iii pick and everything just flowed so easily.

I also had a spectacular playing day yesterday...perhaps the stars were aligned...just so?

Day 6: 15m. Easily the funnest day of the 2part challenge so far. Got a great idea that you'll have to to wait n see - @NorioDS ain't 'borrowing' this genius maneuver (it's the guitar version of suplex ?)

V8

Day 7. 0m. Too much sport on! Rugger, Ufc and F1, meant a day off guitaring. Did manage to borrow a simple looper (ditto clone)...

NorioDS

Day 7 — snuck in a few minutes of practice before bed.

The more hectic jam is definitely faster. Used a metronome app on my phone to check. Most of the song seems to be around 140bpm. That part is a whopping 160bpm (again! like scuttle buttin')

@V8 why do we keep doing this 160bpm madness to ourselves?! ?

Even at 140bpm, that riff is formidable. At 160bpm, I close my eyes, pray a little, and hope for my fingers to hit the right notes at the right times. So far... not so good. But I'm hoping it'll eventually work ?

V8

NorioDS @V8 why do we keep doing this 160bpm madness to ourselves?! ?

...? ? ?

Coz it's fun (when one get's it right anyways!) ;p

That was my spectacular day on Sat - I could literally do no wrong. Everything worked cranked up at 160bpm. But now back down into the 150-152 range.

Did start working the looper into the tune, but I'm not thinking it's gonna be useful for the end product - mainly because I need to feed it two drum loops (140 & 160 bpm's) and that's a faf with just one slot on the looper. Also I want to have more than one layer of guitar - which means the undo/redo has to let me undo more than one layer of loop - which it doesn't.

Booo! I'd need a more complicated looper (that monstrous roland RC50/300/500, modded line6 DL4 or one of the fancier digitech jamman's) to figure that out.

Though it IS useful to hear the harmony guitar parts working together. So the simple looper isn't great for performance and okayish for rhythm practice...but really really useful for leads (I was messing around with some bluesy stuff too).

Is okay, I've plan B!

NorioDS

Eish @V8 stop getting fancy, here ? I'm barely keeping up with remembering all the riffs and their order in the song ?

Day 8 — I won't manage to practice tonight so I snuck in a few minutes before work this morning. Just like with Scuttle Buttin', I'm finding parts of the song I had "missed" before.

But I'm now almost at a point where I can do a "reduced" arrangement of the song. I'll just be doing the rhythm guitar part notated in Rocksmith but with less bars for each part. Not yet sure how many. I guess I'll focus on the easier riffs and only do 1 or 2 bars of the harder 160bpm part ?

I think I've already said it before but this duel has been transformational for me to finally get into learning a whole song!

The lead guitar in this song, despite being fast, is pretty boring. So I might attack a more "interesting" song later and first learn all the rhythm, then some of the lead, and ZOMG I NEED A LOOPER so I can then noodle between rhythm parts.

But that's another challenge altogether ?

V8

Day ? : Got the early signs of that flu going around...sigh. Discombobulated describes the feeling, and I'm not even properly sick yet. This might be the miracle Norio was hoping for!

NorioDS I think I've already said it before but this duel has been transformational for me to finally get into learning a whole song!

Yay! More to the point, you've had lots of rhythm practice! Got the same from playing bass - which rekindled my desire to play guitar again. ?

NorioDS ZOMG I NEED A LOOPER

Bwaahahaha - I must admit to enjoying this basic ditto clone. I've had similar loopers before, but since all the rhythm practice I've become a lot more competent at using such a infernal device. However, now I can see one with some kinda rhythm guide (tap tempo-able) being my preference. The onboard storage would be nice for ideas, but I'd definitely insist on tap tempo.