Author's Note: I sent this to my band, and it's intended to be studied with the short mp3 clips I sent them. I figure if they won't study on their own time, I'll try to make them study by breaking it down for them. Now to see if they even listen to the mp3's and all. Anyways, it's to be assumped that in Guitar 1 Riff A that the technique of palm muting is applied, and it's assumed that all figures are done in a standard 4/4 time signature. Of course you can experiment and apply other techniques such as tremolo picking, and additional time signatures should you wish. This lesson was meant to be simple, and more of a joke to bash my bandmates than anything. Still, I thought it would serve well here. Please enjoy.

Welcome to an introduction to melodic black metal! This short piece is designed to give an introduction to the melodic black metal songwriting process, as well as give a point towards simple melodic fills to over powerchords. Seems elementary enough, yes? Okay, let's get started.

Guitar 1 Riff A

E
B
G
D
A--5--0--3--2
E--7--1--5--3

Common in melodic and straight black metal styles is reverse powerchords. When done properly they can sound quite ominous, and can generally be a great touch to even power metal styles as witness in Iced Earth's material.

Following this figure we have a simple powerchord riff that would serve as both a transition to a chorus and possibly as a chorus itself. In melodic black metal however, this can also serve as a riff in its own right, as it's not uncommon to actually hear several riffs in melodic black metal; where the music does most of the mood setting.

Guitar 1 Riff B

E
B
G
D
A--3--5--7----3--10-5
E--1--3--5----1--8--3

Now onto guitar two, and its harmonies placed over guitar one's riffs. Here it's typical to see an odd placement of notes, and even more strange scales applied. Not quite as strange as those in death metal, but strange none the less.

Guitar 2 Riff C

E
B
G
D--4-------------------
A-----------3--3h5p3--2
E----1--1/3------------

Next we'll note the simplest of runs to be played over Guitar 1's Riff B. It's simple, yet when heard in file BM2 has a special touch with its melodic overtones. It's not too dominating, and it perfectly accents the rhythm section. Now we're onto something! The greatest part is that with the knowledge of scales, one can escape the "rock box" approach, and apply their knowledge to a single string keeping playability simple, and keeping a great, constant and solid tone.

Guitar 2 Riff D

E
B
G
D--7--9--10--7--14--12--10h12p10--9
A
E

And that friends, concludes our introductory lesson to melodic black metal, as well as serves as a riff base for a possible songwriting endeavor. I hope you've enjoyed this breakdown, and walked away at least learning something, or at least enjoyed the tracks to listen to. Thanks much!