Hey guys, beginner guitarist here. I fucking love Black Metal, it's probably my favourite sub-genre, and I can't keep up a consistent pace while playing tremolo riffs, I always slow down. Any tips on keeping steady rhythm when playing tremolo riffs?

I'm in the same position as you.

Practice slowly to a metronome, and strum up and down whichever chords at a certain speed until you're comfortable with it, then go up 10 BPM and repeat the process.

Yeah, you just need to be very methodical about it.

Start at a very slow speed, like 80bpm, and play the riff accordingly. You're usually tremolo picking 16th notes, so for each beat at 80bpm, play the note or chord "down up down up" -- 4 times per beat. This will assure that the speed is identical. Repeat the riff until you can play it 2-4 times _perfectly_ at that speed. Then step up the speed. I wouldn't recommend stepping it up by 10bpm, but you can do that. I usually go with 2-4 bpm. Some just do 1 bpm at a time. Each time, make sure you get the riff perfectly and consistently at the new speed. Then increase. Do this enough, and eventually you'll be cruising with perfect consistency at 180bpm or higher. I've only made it to about 160 haha, but I don't have that much time to practice these days. You'll be surprised how much this kind of "step-by-step" metronome practice can increase your speed and accuracy!

There's a thread dedicated to guitar playing: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=79114

I'll echo what others said here: start slow. It may seem ridiculous to practice tremolo picking with 16th notes in 80 bpm, but trust me, the only way you'll learn a proper, non-harmful technique is by starting slow.

Two other things that may be helpful: Use only your wrist, not your forearm, for the actual tremolo motion. Additionally, I usually place the pick at a very slight angle to the string. Good luck!

I found that it's much easier to do when you're a beginner by holding the whammy and resting your hand on it, as if you're anchoring it in the air. Don't get too used to it though, learn it right.

well tremolo picking really is something that takes practice. You need muscle stamina to keep on picking at high speeds. So just practice and practice and practice.

What helped for me when it came to tremolo picking is trying to count the subdivisions in your head. I used to always count on the quarter note, half note, or dotted quarter and I was coming up short. That, along with what everyone else has said, and you should get it in no time.

What helped for me when it came to tremolo picking is trying to count the subdivisions in your head. I used to always count on the quarter note, half note, or dotted quarter and I was coming up short. That, along with what everyone else has said, and you should get it in no time.

I use my forearm for tremolo picking sometimes, as long as it doesn't impede your sound I don't see it as a bad thing.

It's very hard to continue indefinitely. This is one of the benefits to including changes and sustained notes here and there in the compositions -- not only does it give the work dynamism, it lets your poor arm rest!

Quoted for truth. That's why I love it when the guitarist writes the songs

if you practice enough you can tremolo pick for a very long time. I do find that tremolo picking is easier on the low strings than the higher strings.

Tremolo picking feels different on every string. Probably the hardest part of it is skipping strings or even just changing strings while adjusting your picking to keep perfect time. To be quite honest, there are some faster tempos that I find more natural to tremolo at than lower tempos, but that is because I have more practice at those tempos. Make sure you can actually count the notes you pick, as you move up to higher tempos it's hard to count 16th notes like 1-2-3-4 but you should be able to hear it on a more intuitive level. As for playing at a consistent pace, play with a metronome or (my preference) a drum machine. Keep tempo with a very simple beat and then move on to more complex and dynamic beats - at first you will be very reliant on the metronome/drum machine but if you can play to different beats your sense of timing will become more and more independent (although it'll probably never be perfect without a metronome).

This is good advice right here. I play guitar, drums, and bass, and if there's something I can't do up to tempo, I practice with a metronome at the fastest speed I can while still feeling comfortable. Once you feel extremely confident with that, bump up the speed by about 10 bpm (as this person said) and play it at the new speed. Keep doing this until you can do it at the desired tempo.

I also played trombone for 9 years, and this was one of the very first things I was taught (aside from basic scales, posture, etc). This technique is very important. It takes a bit of patience, but it works.

These guys are speaking truth. Play slower than speed up of slowly and consistently. True metal comes of the Tortoise. \m/ -.- \m/