4 Easy Metal Guitar Solos for Beginners (With Full TAB)

While metal guitar solos are often fast and difficult for beginners to learn, there are some easy solos anybody can start learning.

This lesson will walk through some of the easiest guitar solos for beginners to get you used to the techniques and scales you’ll need to learn for more advanced solos.

After you learn these solos, try learning these seriously easy solos for beginners. While the songs in that lesson aren’t metal, they’re still great practice for developing your lead guitar playing skills.

When you want to start playing faster guitar solos, read this lesson on How to Play Fast on Guitar. It includes useful speed exercises to work on.

She Wolf by Megadeth

While Megadeth have a lot of technically demanding solos, there are some very simple solos you can learn as a beginner.

Many of the guitar solos played by Dave Mustaine are easier to learn as the solo he plays in She Wolf is a great example.

In this song, your guitar is tuned to Standard Tuning (E A D G B E) and the tempo you are working up to is 169 BPM.

She Wolf Megadeth Guitar Solo TAB 1

This solo is played low on the fretboard, which is a nice change compared to most solos. As a beginner, you might find this more comfortable than high up on the fretboard.

Think about which fingers you should use for each note.

The highest note in the above section is the 6th fret, so it makes sense to use your fourth finger (pinky) to play it. Then you can use your first finger to play the 3rd fret, second finger on the 4th fret, and third finger on the 5th fret.

When you shift down to play the 1st fret, use your first finger.

She Wolf Megadeth Guitar Solo TAB 2

Listen to the song and you’ll notice a short rest after the first three notes, then the next three notes. To play this, you can either mute the strings with your picking hand or you can use your picking hand to dampen the strings.

Focus on keeping a steady rhythm throughout this section. Take your time to memorize the order of the notes so you don’t trip up while playing.

She Wolf Megadeth Guitar Solo TAB 3

If you have spent some time practicing the first two sections shown, then the above part will feel very familiar.

Always look through a solo to find where you need to shift your hand up or down the fretboard. There are two times you need to shift position in the above section.

She Wolf Megadeth Guitar Solo TAB 4

Keeping a steady rhythm is crucial for the above part to sound right. If you plan out which fingers to use before you try to play this, it will feel very comfortable.

She Wolf Megadeth Guitar Solo TAB 5

The fast hammer-on and pull-offs might feel difficult at first if you’re not used to playing them.

Take your time and play this part as slow as you need to. If you listen to the song, you’ll hear two guitars playing very similar parts (harmonizing), so your timing is crucial to get right.

After you learn this solo and can play it with ease, I recommend learning the harmonized guitar parts that play along with some of the solo. Learning any harmonized parts is a great way to understand what harmonization is all about.

Other Easy Megadeth Guitar Solos

As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of technically demanding Megadeth solos. But some songs do have simpler solos you can learn as a beginner.

Countdown to Extinction has an incredibly simple guitar solo that any beginner can comfortably learn. The solo is much easier than the solo in She Wolf, so if you find the above solo too difficult for now, try learning the solo in Countdown to Extinction.

Sweating Bullets includes some fun descending chromatic runs (easier than it sounds) as well as very basic scale runs.

The Conjuring might be too fast for a lot of beginners, but it is very simple when you break it down. Dave plays a lot of simple patterns repeated over and over at a high tempo, so this is a great solo to learn if you want to work on building up your speed (check out this lesson to learn how to build up your speed on guitar).

Fade to Black by Metallica

There are a lot of simple Metallica solos you can learn (covered later), but the intro solo to Fade to Black is a nice and slow-paced solo that covers a lot of techniques and interesting licks.

This song is tuned to Standard Tuning (E A D G B E) and the intro solo is played at 116 BPM.

Fade to Black Guitar Solo TAB 1

Slide up into the first note with your third finger so you can play the 7th frets with your first finger. Add vibrato to any held notes if you have learned the technique.

Listen carefully to the song to get the right feel for the timing of these notes. This is a loose-feeling solo, but that doesn’t mean you should play with sloppy rhythm.

Fade to Black Guitar Solo TAB 2

The first lick in the above section might look intimidating, so just think about it one note at a time.

You pull-off from the 12th fret with your third or fourth finger to the 10th fret (2nd finger), then pull-off from there to the 8th fret (1st finger). From there, you slide down to the 7th fret, hammer-on to the 8th fret, then pull-off again to the 7th fret.

It might seem complicated, but if you practice it enough times slowly, it will start to feel comfortable.

Pay close attention to the slides towards the end of the above section and think about which fingers make the most sense to play each note.

Fade to Black Guitar Solo TAB 3

When you shift your hand up to play the higher notes, keep a steady rhythm. Each note should ring out for the same length – including the pull-off from the 15th fret.

Use your fourth finger to play the 19th fret and your first finger to play the 14th fret. If it feels awkward to stretch that far, work on some finger exercises to stretch your hand out.

The bend on the 14th fret is a ‘full’ bend, which is equivalent to two frets in pitch on guitar. So the top of your bend should sound the same as the 16th fret.

Fade to Black Guitar Solo TAB 4

With this section, keep a steady rhythm. Don’t let the hammer-ons or pull-offs throw your timing out. Practicing this section and the next section with a metronome will help you develop solid timing.

Fade to Black Guitar Solo TAB 5

This simple and slow ascending scale run is as easy as it gets. Be careful that you time the hammer-on and pull-off right or else you may miss the timing for the final note.

There is a lot going on in this solo, so take your time and work on one part at a time rather than trying to learn the entire solo at once.

While the solo is slow-paced, don’t try to rush any part of it. If you have trouble playing in time with the song, that’s okay. Spend more time practicing at a slower tempo and gradually build up your speed. Don’t rush!

If you have trouble with this solo, try learning the middle harmonized lead parts in the song. Those parts are very simple and won’t take long to master.

Other Easy Metallica Guitar Solos

A lot of Metallica’s guitar solos are easy to learn and cover a nice range of techniques. Here are some of the easier solos to learn after you can play the intro solo to Fade to Black.

Nothing Else Matters has a short and straightforward solo worth learning if you are new to playing lead guitar. The majority of Metallica’s solos are based on the Pentatonic Scale and this solo is a good introduction to the scale.

One has a few solos and each one gets progressively harder. The first solo is played on a clean electric guitar and most beginners will find it easy enough to learn. The second solo is only slightly more challenging, but still easy enough for beginners to master. The final solo is more demanding, but it’s a great way to get started with tapping as covered in this lesson.

Welcome Home (Sanitarium) has a few great solos to learn that are in the same difficulty range as the Fade to Black intro solo. If you enjoy learning the Fade to Black intro solo, definitely have a go learning the lead sections in this song.

Master of Puppets has a solo in the middle section of the song that most beginners will be able to comfortably learn. The harmonized parts are also very simple to learn. While the big solo later in the song may be tough for beginners, everybody should be able to learn and master the middle solo.

Orion has a great middle section with some simple lead parts any beginner can learn. Learning this middle section is a great way to work on your bends as well as simple lead phrasing. The end solo is quite fast, but the middle section is slow and easy to learn.

If you are interested in learning more Metallica songs, read this guide on How to Learn Metallica Songs for an in-depth look at techniques and exercises you should work on.

This Love by Pantera

Dimebag Darrell played a lot of interesting solos and while a lot of his solos may be too advanced for beginners, there are a couple easier solos worth checking out.

The solo in This Love will give you plenty of practice with your bends, harmonics, and vibrato.

Getting the Right Guitar Tone

There are a few things you can do to get closer to the guitar tone you hear in this song.

To get the proper guitar tone, you’ll need to tune your guitar down a half-step to Eb (E Flat) Tuning: (Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb). Learn more about Eb Tuning here.

You can play this song in Standard Tuning, but it will sound best when tuned down a half-step to E Flat.

This solo uses a wah pedal, but I recommend learning how to play the solo first without using a wah. Only when you can comfortably play the solos should you add the wah pedal in. The solo will sound fine without a wah pedal, but adding one makes a big difference. Learn more about wah pedals here.

Heavy delay is added to the guitar tone and you can clearly hear it during rests. Again, learn how to play the solo first without any effects, then you can add them in later. Learn more about delay here.

If your guitar has a tremolo arm (learn about guitar parts in this guide), use it on any held notes to add in some wide vibrato. If you listen to the song, you’ll hear some extremely wide vibrato at times, which is from his tremolo arm.

This solo is played in Eb Tuning (Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb) at 103 BPM.

This Love Guitar Solo TAB 1

The ‘X’s below the first note is a ‘rake’. This is when you rake the pick against the other muted strings on the way to the 3rd string. Some guitarists like to do this to emphasize some notes and really dig into the string.

After the bend in the second bar, hold the note up and re-pick the string three times before bending it back down. Make sure you bend up to the correct pitch (18th fret).

This Love Guitar Solo TAB 2

Another rake is played right before the bend on the 19th fret. Spend some time working on each bend shown above and make sure you bend to the correct pitch. Practice bending up, holding the bend, then bending back down.

Playing an out-of-tune bend is a sure way to turn a good solo bad, so make sure you check the pitch you need to bend up to for any bend. Don’t mistakenly play a full bend when you should only play a half bend or vice versa.

This Love Guitar Solo TAB 3

Notice that this section mixed full bends and half bends. It is crucial that you get these bends right.

Playing an out-of-tune bend is a sure way to turn a good solo bad, so make sure you check the pitch you need to bend up to for any bend. Don’t mistakenly play a full bend when you should only play a half bend or vice versa.

The ‘PH’ played on the held bend is a pinch harmonic. This is where you dig the pick into the string so your thumb hits the string to cause a harmonic to ring out. You can skip this technique if you’re not ready to play harmonics yet.

This Love Guitar Solo TAB 4

With this section, aim to match the aggressive playing style you can hear in the song. This section may not seem fun to play, but when you crank up the gain and use a wah pedal, it becomes a blast.

The diagonal line with the ‘-6’ at the end is a dive bomb. If your guitar has a tremolo, pick the open string, then slowly depress the bar as far down as you want. This works best with a Floyd-Rose style tremolo as shown below:

Floyd Rose on a guitar

Tremolos on lower-priced guitars are more likely to go out-of-tune when playing dive bombs. If your guitar goes out-of-tune when playing dive bombs, you might have to resist the temptation to dive all the way down.

Another easy Pantera guitar solo to learn is the intro lead section in Cemetery Gates. The solo makes use of delay and an octave harmonization to create a fun guitar tone to jam with. Work on your harmonics, bends, and vibrato in this slow solo. 

Paranoid by Black Sabbath

This classic heavy metal song shows up all the time in lists of top riffs and easy solos to play. Learn how to play the main riff in this lesson.

This solo is easy to learn and covers a nice range of techniques such as bends, vibrato, slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs.

The solo is based on the Pentatonic Scale, so it’s a great way to improve your Pentatonic Scale knowledge.

Paranoid is played in Standard Tuning (E A D G B E) and the solo is played at 165 BPM.

Paranoid Guitar Solo TAB 1

Notice that the first bend is a one-and-a-half step bend. This is equivalent to three frets on guitar. So the highest pitch you should hear should match the 12th fret on your guitar.

While this solo jumps around the fretboard, notice that you’ll use a slide to shift your hand back and forth. Slides are an easy way to shift positions while keeping the notes flowing.

Spend a lot of time playing the above section along with the song so you can focus on your timing and rhythm. A solid rhythm is what makes this solo sound great.

Paranoid Guitar Solo TAB 2

There are a lot of bends in this section, so make sure you are spot on with the pitch you are bending up to. Don’t mix up the full and half bends.

Notice the long slide from the 9th fret to the 14th fret. Spend some time working on that transition so you can comfortably jump up to that area of the fretboard without messing up your rhythm.

Paranoid Guitar Solo TAB 3

The quarter bend in the above section is very common in rock and blues. Aim to bend the note slightly, but not quite as high as you would for a half bend.

A lot of the licks you see here are used in countless solos in rock and metal, so it’s worth spending some time mastering them now.

Paranoid Guitar Solo TAB 4

The main thing to focus on with the above section is your rhythm. If your timing is off, it’ll ruin the solo. The last three notes should lock in perfectly with the rest of the band to give the solo a good finish.

 

If you enjoy playing the above solos and found this lesson helpful, let me know here. Let me know if you would like to see more solos added to this lesson and if you have any suggestions.

Once you learn the above solos, check out these useful guides and lessons: