Neoclassical metal guitar is one of the newer genres of guitar playing, introduced in the early 70s or 80s. It is a subgenre of heavy metal influenced by classical music, both in composition and performance. This makes the song structure of this type of music quite complex, as it is a combination of progressive rock and classical music by Bach, Paganini, Pachelbel, Mozart, etc.

Although he is probably the most representative guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen of the genre, the beginnings of it date from the 70s and 80s with guitarists such as Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Randy Rhoads of Ozzy Osbourne. Most neoclassical guitarists had experience with classical music or the keyboard. The popularization of this movement is strongly influenced by the rise of “shred” (many guitarists, like Yngwie Malmsteen, were inspired by Niccolo Paganini’s impressive violin solo).

Randy Rhoads was one of the first neoclassical guitarists. The fact that, in addition to studying music, Rhoads practiced “shred” set him apart from any guitarist of his time. Apart from Rhoads, Yngwie Malmsteen also contributed a lot to this genre. He has contributed to this genre by transcribing and adapting classical pieces on electric guitar, such as Mozart’s 5th Symphony.

This style and characteristics of the neoclassical metal guitar are very distinctive. Some of them are:

Pedal points: Repeating one or more notes interspersed with a melody.

Ostinato: Strictly repeating a pattern.

Footage on the scale: a stylized shape up or down a scale, with a fixed pattern.

Fast Arpeggios: Sweep selection is primarily used.

It is played at high speeds with great emphasis on ornamentation (frequent use of vibrato, which is also strong), using instruments and timbres that are reminiscent of classical music, such as pianos, violins, orchestral sounds, etc., either by synthesizers or by real instruments. .

The following scales and resources are used to play neoclassical metal guitar:

Harmonic Minor Scale: Aeolian mode is the seventh increase in the semitone.

Melodic minor scale: it is the aeolian mode with semitone rises of grades 6 and 7.

Diminished arpeggios: a series of strings of minor thirds.

Circle of Fifths: A chord progression that can go up a fifth every chord: A m, D m, G, C, F, if faint, My, A m (for example).

Suspensions: Velocity or “final chord progressions” in which the harmony of a chord is removed, for example, by substituting a 3rd for a 4th, a 5th for a 6th, or an 8th for a 9th.

It also highlights the use of the tritone, a musical interval that encompasses three rings (six semitones). It is very common in styles such as heavy and progressive rock as it has a dissonant sound. This interval contained “Diabulus in musica”, which was considered “evil” in the past and was never included in the works. For the transcription, adaptation and imitation of classical pieces, the violin is usually used as a solo instrument.

Most of these neoclassical metal guitar scales and melodies stem from the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Niccolo Paganini, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven, especially the first three.