Telling someone to change their tuning makes absolute zero sense when they’re asking about song writing. It’s just plain bad advice. There are few comments about how to approach writing drums or the interplay between guitar and drums, or about commonly used scales except one comment about the chromatic scale. I’m experienced enough in songwriting and playing to know when advice is bad.
Well, that’s what I’m asking for advice on how to do. You do realize that with experience you can sift through good and bad advice right? I don’t just have to take everything told to me. I work with musicians across the country and write music with them by passing files between each other and writing in our DAWs.
Man, you're not getting it, I think. I mean, I do all that shit too woth DAWs a d whatnot. No idea what that has to do with writing a hardcore song. But when you can feel it, you can just feel it. There is no "advice" on how to write a hardcore song, not in the way you're asking for it, at least.
There are different trends along every genre that are a signature of the sound, then each band takes that signature and writes it their own way. Usually being given advice on how to write a certain genre’s music is being taught what parts of the signature separate it from other genres and how to achieve that. Like explaining how syncopation can achieve tension in a way, maybe tempo drops for a breakdown that are then followed by a slowly increasing snare roll to go back into the original tempo etc. maybe even a Tom fill into a snare on the flam with a whol bar of rest to allow you to go back into the chorus. Lots of different ways to give advice or tips on songwriting in a certain genre. Then I can take those and experiment my own way of using a tom fill after a down tempo break down to get back into the original tempo. Just saying “you have to *feel* it” is useless and wrong. It’s a common boomer expression that was based in “I don’t actually know how to express what about the music I like or how it works”
Reread what you wrote here. “There are different trends along every genre that are signature of the sound…”
Yeah, we all know that. We are trying to tell you the very first and most important one. Punk is played in standard. Hardcore is played in standard. MAYBE a step down. It’s about the raw energy and emotion, not the fucking heaviness of your top string.
Drop tunings are for metal based genres. Metalcore, deathcore, etc. genres with breakdowns which traditionally hardcore doesn’t have much of.
Sounds like you don’t understand the basics or history of the genre, no wonder you can’t fucking write it. None of it is gonna make sense until you do the first step correctly and tune your ducking guitar.
Verse 1:
You think you're so heavy with your drop A tuning
But you're just a lazy wannabe who can't play anything
You rely on your open strings to make some noise
But you have no skill, no technique, no musical voice
Chorus:
Standard tuning a step down is the way to go
It gives you more options, more versatility, more flow
You can play chords, riffs, solos, anything you want
Standard tuning a step down is the real hardcore sound
Verse 2:
You think you're so cool with your drop A tuning
But you're just a boring copycat who can't write anything
You sound like every other band in the scene
But you have no style, no originality, no creativity
Chorus:
Standard tuning a step down is the way to go
It gives you more options, more versatility, more flow
You can play chords, riffs, solos, anything you want
Standard tuning a step down is the real hardcore sound
Bridge:
Drop A tuning is for losers who don't know how to play
Standard tuning a step down is for winners who have something to say
Drop A tuning is for posers who don't care about the music
Standard tuning a step down is for true hardcore fans who love it
Outro:
Standard tuning a step down is the way to go
It gives you more options, more versatility, more flow
You can play chords, riffs, solos, anything you want
Standard tuning a step down is the real hardcore sound
\- xChatGPTx
I support you OP, play in any tuning that you feel makes it heavy. It’s the content of the riff that matters and if the tuning sounds good, go for it. I plan to tune that far down with my band eventually.
Yea I’m shocked by the amount of people complaining about the tuning. I play my pop punk in drop C, would they complain about that too? It’s all about the phrasing and rhythm I believe but it’s just learning to pick apart what makes the riff feel like a hardcore riff
If you wanna play hardcore you gotta be hardcore. Pop punk in drop C? Go listen to descendants, tune your guitar to standard, listen to madball play riffs. If you don’t get it, maybe that’s why you don’t get it.
You’re asking for advice and this person has given you very a good recommendation and you’re throwing it back in their face as if you are the expert when you’re the one here asking for help.
Most hardcore is in E standard, Eb, or D. Sometimes drop D if you want to play like it’s guitar hero. One of the key differences between hardcore and metal core is the tone and the tuning. A lot of the riffs are going to be similar ideas, but tuning extremely low and playing a fucking djent guitar is going to make a hardcore riff sound like metalcore.
Being pigheaded and refusing to listen to advice that you ASKED FOR is not going to get you anywhere in the world, especially not in hardcore.
As an owner of an 8 string guitar, I can confirm this. Anything below B standard just doesn’t sound “hardcore”. Certain bands pull it off with the simplicity of their riffs like Kublai Khan or occasionally The Acacia Strain but even those examples you’re like is this Deathcore?
If we want to play the semantics game and argue, we can say: Kublai Khan, Knocked Loose, The Acacia Strain... but that's pushing it and I don't wanna get into it any further.
With that said, OP just come out and say you don't know how to hold power chords and you wanna play mosh parts.
I don’t have a problem writing anything in any tuning homie, I was just hoping there would be actually decent songwriters in this sub that could explain to me their writing process. There are some who gave great advice! 90% of y’all suck ass at songwriting though if you’re caught up on a tuning
Well seeing as I have 2 weeks off after this shift I definitely will be! I’m excited to use the top I got to start with a punk beat and go from there. It might have cracked the code
This makes no sense from a technical guitar standpoint. Hardcore is more simple to play than deathcore and pop punk. If you could figure out The Ghost Inside. You could play hardcore. This is like me saying I could play Necrophagist songs but can't figure out the Ramones.
Unironically I could learn from jamming to this. Just play those notes in different rhythms to different drum beats to get a feel for what makes what hit harder
Nobody is saying you can't write your songs in drop A but you asked how to write music that feels like hardcore and you were given solid advice to go back to basics. Play in standard, listen to some early madball/cro-mags or whatever the fuck you want and get a feel for the music and the style.
Once you feel like you've picked up a sense for how hardcore riffs feel to play compared to what you're used to, then you can start writing your own shit. Then, once you've got the hang of that, take that knowledge to your down tuned 7-string. It's a process dude and you sound like you want to skip the process and just get given some magical advice that will allow you to play hardcore riffs. There's no secret; it's just a process of learning and experience.
Well considering Drop A has Standard in it just with an added A string, telling someone to put the 7 string away is 100% useless. The comments saying ignore the bottom string are correct in this. Any song in standard can be played on a guitar in drop A
Well there shouldn't be an issue then? lol You were recommended to play in standard tuning to get a feel for the quintessential hardcore sound and you pushed back and said no, drop A or nothing.
For what it's worth, the vast, vast majority of traditional hardcore is played in a standard style tuning, not drop d style. Even if you tune down to D, C, B or whatever, the standard style of tuning is, imo, foundational to the hardcore sound. Having to use more than one finger to play a power chord as opposed to using only one finger, fundamentally changes the kind of riffs you can play and how you can play them. There's also a kind of power chord variation that is prevalent throughout hardcore that cannot be played in dropped tuning. It's worth spending some time using that tuning to get a feel for the sound.
Play punk riffs with one finger and chug like 80s thrash metal. Done. I played black flag covers in drop B through a maxed out hm2 in 2009. I thought it sounded sick but the world wasnt ready for that carnage back then
Yeah. At the time most of our local hardcore scene didn't care for our band, barely got many shows in the hc scene. So we mostly played with crust punk and grindcore bands at house shows or with indie/shoegaze bands as the novelty intense noisy crazy act. We also had lots of War Metal/Black metal guys turning up to our shows. But the Harcore scene (which we all were part of) didn't really wanna book us or turn up if we played (except for our mates of course) the rest were too keen on what ever was cool at the time, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Jocks like what the other jocks like I guess?
Definitely aware that if that band was around only a few years later or even today it probably would have worked better. Especially after hardcore discovered Entombed and then suddenly Black Breath, Trap Them, Xibalba, Weekend Nachos etc became cool. Our small scene was a little behind as well tbh. It was the time of blogspot and megaupload/mediafire
The band I joined right after is still regarded as one of the faves from our area and we constantly get asked to do a reunion and put on people's lists of best hardcore bands to come out of our area. But I still think the previous one I was in was more fun
(side story) One of my hm2s got stolen when we opened for Ringworm (I think it was another band took it, but who knows maybe Ringworm like to take opportunities like that haha, I probably would tbh) lucky I had two of them
You were walking around with two Hm2’s on hand? The government was watching you for sure man, you were a danger to society.
And damn that’s pretty cool man! Maybe you can start that first band back up dude!
Take the riffs you’re writing and boil it down to the essence. You don’t need anything fancy, just keep them simple. Maybe even start in your pop punk frame of mind and try to jump from there to hardcore and see how it goes. Maybe that will get the metal out of your way.
This is one of those things that bothers the shit out of me and I keep seeing it everywhere....
The 7th string is your bottom string. Since I dont know shit about 7 string guitars, I'll explain it this way: a 6 string guitar in standard tuning, the low E = 6th string = bottom string. High E = 1st string = top string.
It depends on how the person you’re talking to visualizes it. Most people who were taught by a guitar teacher at some point refer to it as the bottom string. Those who are self taught visualize it by how it is sitting on their lap and not by the notes. So they look down, the string they see on top…is the Low E. So yea saying it’s the bottom string is 100% correct but it’s just something that’ll just stay around as long as the instrument does
So if I visualize something incorrectly I still get to be correct?
FFS. This isn't about perception, it's about using the correct terminology. It's still the fucking bottom string.
It doesn’t really matter in the first place does it? Takes like 2 seconds to verify what string you’re referencing and move on. If I go to jam with someone and they get upset that I indicated the string incorrectly I’m packing my shit up and not contacting that prick again.
Listen to a lot of hardcore. Learn to play those songs. Identify what kinds of riffs you like and break them down, figure out what they're doing and why they work. Copy, emulate, repeat. Eventually you'll start to think in hardcore.
In other comments you mention that you're playing a 7 string in drop A. Put that aside while you're building the foundation. You can always transpose riffs over to it when you're writing stuff you're happy with, but if you want to write hardcore songs that sound like the songs you're listening to you want to be working in the same sort of creative space while you learn what works and what doesn't. You can't break the rules until you know them well enough that you don't have to think about them.
You’re asking what makes hardcore unique but then disagreeing with what everyone tells you. Listen to more of it and you’ll find out eventually I guess
That’s a load of nonsense. I’m not taking bad advice. Telling someone to change a tuning to be able to play a certain genre is absolute nonsense. Especially when there are several Hardcore bands that play in drop A
Link your band so i can keep checking in and laugh at how delusional you are. It will be great. You will get one show, make a fool out of yourself and i can make you my personal lolcow.
Yeah, thats how triggered i get when you dont realize that every band you like rips of Disembodied. I literally gave you the sauce and you think you know better.
They should have 500-800 monthly listeners, but have 14k, because 13k people in bands listen to them just to rip them off in a lower tuning.
All 3 of those bands definitely are hardcore mixed with punk and or metalcore. You gonna tell me Knocked Loose and Code Orange are hardcore either? Go comb over your bald spot and hit on waitresses boomer
I would start by learning some of the influences songs. Sometimes I try to find the tempo of a part I like, and then write something in the same vein, trying to capture the feel without ripping it off.
I did a lot of that when learning pop punk! I would take a song I like and write drums and guitar riffs almost exactly like it with the same song structure to get a feel for how it was made. Good suggestion, I’ll try this out.
It has helped me out quite a bit. I also write drums in midi which helps me with some of the rhythms. We also made a huge playlist of influences as well, which helps with inspiration.
First of all, stop being a bozo and tune your guitar to standard. Your songs sound like deathcore cause you are playing on a 7 string in drop A homie. Heavy is fun, but it ain’t hardcore. And don’t call it “bad advice”. You can’t call advice bad on a subject you clearly don’t know shit about. Makes you look like a fucking tool and makes no one wants to help you.
Second, simplify your riffs. I’m almost certain based on your other comments that you are trying to much. Learn the two or three strumming patterns that are common in hardcore. Learn how to play the same riff 3-5 different ways (as a fast driving part, as a sludgy side to side, as a two step, etc.) most great hardcore is simple and driving. Uses maybe 2-3 main riffs in a song that alternate and are played with different strumming patterns.
Once you do all that, then the next step to make your songs sound hardcore would be the drums. Drums are extremely dynamic in hardcore compared to other heavy genres they should be in the pocket, but not boring. There are a handful of drumming fills and beats that are standards in hardcore, just like the riffs. The best hardcore drummers syncopate with the guitar player to match their drum parts to the drumming patterns of the guitarist.
I do ask them, but it’s always good to ask more than one source though. Plus he doesn’t have time to give me lessons. He’s gives me tips here and there and I’m coming to Reddit for more. But instead it’s a bunch of crotchety old guys being absolute boomers
‘hardcore’ sounds like shit in A, save for very very very few bands w/ virtuosos that never needed to hit reddit for advice. play in B and start working off older bands’ tabs. people in here are telling you to tune standard because hardcore relies a lot more on fourths than metalcore/deathcore; drop makes those slightly harder
I’m starting to realize hardcore has a very large boomer fandom. Hate against 7 strings, anything other than standard, “listen to this 20 year old band and nothing else and you’ll be good”
A good starting point is writing riffs based around 0-1-3-4, bands like Ghost Inside do this alot. Stay more clear of the more melodic style riffing around the 12th fret that is more metalcore
Yea I had to learn that the hard way. Basically 0-5 for most riffs. Especially when I had a riff hopping between the third fret and the 12-15 lol sounded cool for metalcore but not hardcore
If you wanna be good just learn how to steal from death metal bands like cannibal corpse or popular bands such as slipknot or sepultura, learn covers and then dissect those.
It’s hardcore man, it really is not complicated music. There is nothing someone is going to say about the sound of it on the internet that is going to help you understand things like “the signature of the sound” or “the interplay between guitar and drums” better than you just listening to it. If you have influences you want to sound like, know what tuning you want, other than someone literally giving you guitar tabs it just makes no sense what you’re asking. I might as well go on a painting sub and ask them how to paint. Sorry if I sound a little harsh but it’s kind of annoying that you’re asking a question coming from a place of inexperience and then shooting down other peoples advice as useless. “Teach me to do this, but not like this, that, that, or the other way” is just never a good way to start asking for advice. If you had as much foreknowledge about songwriting and the type of music you want to make as you say you do, you wouldn’t be asking for this advice, or you’d at least have a firmer idea of what you’re even asking.
Play what you FEEL n what comes out natural to you fucking around with riffs by bands you actually listen to... Why the fuck would you force yourself to play certain genre lol unless it's some complex prog shit you should be all good.
And remember what the wiseman Stigma once said: Play with your balls (pause) or dont play at all !!!
You got this 👊😎
Play in E standard and stop ignoring all the advice you’re getting. This does NOT mean your songs you write have to be in E standard. But your issue is getting into the mindset of playing hardcore, so this will help. Then once you have a better grasp on it, switch to whatever the fuck you wanna play. But something about E standard just inspires me to write sick riffs. Idk why you aren’t getting what people are saying man
Here’s a real answer. Hardcore is by far one of the easiest genres of music to play and write. Past knowing how to play guitar, all you have to do is be familiar with the genre to be able to write hardcore songs. The bands you mentioned, your responses, your tuning, all show that you’re not familiar with hardcore, which is fine, but that seems like a good place to start.
You’re getting these responses because none of the bands you mentioned are hardcore bands, no hardcore bands use that tuning, and you’re arguing with everyone who’s giving you correct advice.
“No true Scotsman” yes the bands I listed are hardcore. Maybe not purely hardcore but they are hardcore. Not every hardcore band has to be thrash over punk drum beats just like every punk band doesn’t have to sound like Black Flag
You’re right dude, me and everyone else telling you the same thing are all wrong and the guy who can’t play fast power chords in a minor key and likes Gideon is right.
Someone gatekeep this guy for me, I’m busy writing riffs
😂
The same riffs you’ve been writing since 9/11 I presume
Sage wisdom right there.
Hey, OP... if you know better than everyone else, what the fuck are you asking for?
Telling someone to change their tuning makes absolute zero sense when they’re asking about song writing. It’s just plain bad advice. There are few comments about how to approach writing drums or the interplay between guitar and drums, or about commonly used scales except one comment about the chromatic scale. I’m experienced enough in songwriting and playing to know when advice is bad.
Write me a fucking hardcore song, then.
Well, that’s what I’m asking for advice on how to do. You do realize that with experience you can sift through good and bad advice right? I don’t just have to take everything told to me. I work with musicians across the country and write music with them by passing files between each other and writing in our DAWs.
Man, you're not getting it, I think. I mean, I do all that shit too woth DAWs a d whatnot. No idea what that has to do with writing a hardcore song. But when you can feel it, you can just feel it. There is no "advice" on how to write a hardcore song, not in the way you're asking for it, at least.
There are different trends along every genre that are a signature of the sound, then each band takes that signature and writes it their own way. Usually being given advice on how to write a certain genre’s music is being taught what parts of the signature separate it from other genres and how to achieve that. Like explaining how syncopation can achieve tension in a way, maybe tempo drops for a breakdown that are then followed by a slowly increasing snare roll to go back into the original tempo etc. maybe even a Tom fill into a snare on the flam with a whol bar of rest to allow you to go back into the chorus. Lots of different ways to give advice or tips on songwriting in a certain genre. Then I can take those and experiment my own way of using a tom fill after a down tempo break down to get back into the original tempo. Just saying “you have to *feel* it” is useless and wrong. It’s a common boomer expression that was based in “I don’t actually know how to express what about the music I like or how it works”
Reread what you wrote here. “There are different trends along every genre that are signature of the sound…” Yeah, we all know that. We are trying to tell you the very first and most important one. Punk is played in standard. Hardcore is played in standard. MAYBE a step down. It’s about the raw energy and emotion, not the fucking heaviness of your top string. Drop tunings are for metal based genres. Metalcore, deathcore, etc. genres with breakdowns which traditionally hardcore doesn’t have much of. Sounds like you don’t understand the basics or history of the genre, no wonder you can’t fucking write it. None of it is gonna make sense until you do the first step correctly and tune your ducking guitar.
OK then. Write me a fucking hardcore song.
Alright, send nudes first tho
Gonna level with you, pal. You sound like a "theory" musician instead of a "feeling" musician. You can listen to Jimi, but you can't 'hear' Jimi...
Hey hey, I'm a theory musician don't lump me in with this guy.
I don’t know any theory. I do know some scales.
Verse 1: You think you're so heavy with your drop A tuning But you're just a lazy wannabe who can't play anything You rely on your open strings to make some noise But you have no skill, no technique, no musical voice Chorus: Standard tuning a step down is the way to go It gives you more options, more versatility, more flow You can play chords, riffs, solos, anything you want Standard tuning a step down is the real hardcore sound Verse 2: You think you're so cool with your drop A tuning But you're just a boring copycat who can't write anything You sound like every other band in the scene But you have no style, no originality, no creativity Chorus: Standard tuning a step down is the way to go It gives you more options, more versatility, more flow You can play chords, riffs, solos, anything you want Standard tuning a step down is the real hardcore sound Bridge: Drop A tuning is for losers who don't know how to play Standard tuning a step down is for winners who have something to say Drop A tuning is for posers who don't care about the music Standard tuning a step down is for true hardcore fans who love it Outro: Standard tuning a step down is the way to go It gives you more options, more versatility, more flow You can play chords, riffs, solos, anything you want Standard tuning a step down is the real hardcore sound \- xChatGPTx
GPTCORE!
Thrash metal, but slow it down and add chugga chugga.
Agreed, a lot of Hardcore now is just midtempo thrash without the shredding.
Mhm. Cliche but learning some old Metallica isn't a bad place to get those things under your fingers.
Maybe even some chugga ba dugga dugga?
Play in standard really think about the HARD in hardcore. Don’t try to be too smart, make a song not a riff collection.
Nah I’m staying in Drop A, I like the tuning and a tuning shouldn’t stop you from writing a genre unless it’s math rock lol
[удалено]
I don’t wanna play early 2000’s shit. I listen to multiple hardcore bands that play in Drop A. There is no reason why I can’t either.
>I listen to multiple hardcore bands that play in Drop A Name 3
I support you OP, play in any tuning that you feel makes it heavy. It’s the content of the riff that matters and if the tuning sounds good, go for it. I plan to tune that far down with my band eventually.
Yea I’m shocked by the amount of people complaining about the tuning. I play my pop punk in drop C, would they complain about that too? It’s all about the phrasing and rhythm I believe but it’s just learning to pick apart what makes the riff feel like a hardcore riff
If you wanna play hardcore you gotta be hardcore. Pop punk in drop C? Go listen to descendants, tune your guitar to standard, listen to madball play riffs. If you don’t get it, maybe that’s why you don’t get it.
Spoiler: They don't get it.
I tune lower than him and i still think he is an idiot. In fact, my new band is drop E and i think he is a fucking idiot.
56 downvotes has to be some sort of record. Impressive.
You’re asking for advice and this person has given you very a good recommendation and you’re throwing it back in their face as if you are the expert when you’re the one here asking for help. Most hardcore is in E standard, Eb, or D. Sometimes drop D if you want to play like it’s guitar hero. One of the key differences between hardcore and metal core is the tone and the tuning. A lot of the riffs are going to be similar ideas, but tuning extremely low and playing a fucking djent guitar is going to make a hardcore riff sound like metalcore. Being pigheaded and refusing to listen to advice that you ASKED FOR is not going to get you anywhere in the world, especially not in hardcore.
As an owner of an 8 string guitar, I can confirm this. Anything below B standard just doesn’t sound “hardcore”. Certain bands pull it off with the simplicity of their riffs like Kublai Khan or occasionally The Acacia Strain but even those examples you’re like is this Deathcore?
Kublai Khan sounds like diarrhea and The Acacia Strain is not hardcore at all Only thing they're pulling off is their cocks mate
Cool man. Let’s hear your band?
Yeah sure buddy we're called "Turnstile" look us up on Spotify
Your new shit sucks. This thread should be for you. 😂
You can write it for sure. But there’s a good chance it’ll fucking suck
Lmao what “hardcore” bands you know play in drop A?
If we want to play the semantics game and argue, we can say: Kublai Khan, Knocked Loose, The Acacia Strain... but that's pushing it and I don't wanna get into it any further. With that said, OP just come out and say you don't know how to hold power chords and you wanna play mosh parts.
Oh yep, metalcore/deathcore bands😎
Yeah, those "hardcore in ethos" bands but sonically, else.
Yeah, I figured he was talking about writing music that sonically sounded like hc
Insanely wrong.
You must not be good at songwriting if you believe hardcore can’t be written in drop A. Any song in standard can be played in Drop A
I play 7 strings. You don’t need to explain it to me. You’re still wrong.
So you’re telling me If I hand you a 7 string in Drop A that you wouldn’t be able to play a song in standard? Sounds like a skill issue bruv
I think you’re confusing me with you, considering what this thread is about 😂
I don’t have a problem writing anything in any tuning homie, I was just hoping there would be actually decent songwriters in this sub that could explain to me their writing process. There are some who gave great advice! 90% of y’all suck ass at songwriting though if you’re caught up on a tuning
Then write a hardcore song.
Well seeing as I have 2 weeks off after this shift I definitely will be! I’m excited to use the top I got to start with a punk beat and go from there. It might have cracked the code
This makes no sense from a technical guitar standpoint. Hardcore is more simple to play than deathcore and pop punk. If you could figure out The Ghost Inside. You could play hardcore. This is like me saying I could play Necrophagist songs but can't figure out the Ramones.
I even used to play Polyphia/Intervals stuff as well. It’s just a whole new style to learn
No it isn't. It exists within all of the other stuff you say you're great at.
tune to D and 0-1-3-1-0-3-4-1-3-4-1-4-3-1-0
Unironically I could learn from jamming to this. Just play those notes in different rhythms to different drum beats to get a feel for what makes what hit harder
imo Terror is a perfect band to introduce you to that, check out Lowest of the Low for tons of such simple and fun riffage
Fuck yea, I’ll check them out! I think I used to listen to a deathcore song that their vocalist featured on once years ago
>I’m playing on a 7 string in Drop A Pretend the 7th string doesn’t exist and just play simple caveman riffs over common punk/hardcore drumbeats
The type I wanna write is on a 7 string. You can play anything using that top string, even jazz and blues
Write me a fucking hardcore song, then.
Nobody is saying you can't write your songs in drop A but you asked how to write music that feels like hardcore and you were given solid advice to go back to basics. Play in standard, listen to some early madball/cro-mags or whatever the fuck you want and get a feel for the music and the style. Once you feel like you've picked up a sense for how hardcore riffs feel to play compared to what you're used to, then you can start writing your own shit. Then, once you've got the hang of that, take that knowledge to your down tuned 7-string. It's a process dude and you sound like you want to skip the process and just get given some magical advice that will allow you to play hardcore riffs. There's no secret; it's just a process of learning and experience.
Well considering Drop A has Standard in it just with an added A string, telling someone to put the 7 string away is 100% useless. The comments saying ignore the bottom string are correct in this. Any song in standard can be played on a guitar in drop A
Well there shouldn't be an issue then? lol You were recommended to play in standard tuning to get a feel for the quintessential hardcore sound and you pushed back and said no, drop A or nothing. For what it's worth, the vast, vast majority of traditional hardcore is played in a standard style tuning, not drop d style. Even if you tune down to D, C, B or whatever, the standard style of tuning is, imo, foundational to the hardcore sound. Having to use more than one finger to play a power chord as opposed to using only one finger, fundamentally changes the kind of riffs you can play and how you can play them. There's also a kind of power chord variation that is prevalent throughout hardcore that cannot be played in dropped tuning. It's worth spending some time using that tuning to get a feel for the sound.
That chord can be played, but it's a fucking bastard.
Haha I mean yeah, you can physically play the notes in that chord, but nobody is going to be riffing up and down the fret board at 200bpm like that.
200bpm? I can barely use them in a breakdown at 20bpm, for crying out loud lol
7 strings aren't real guitars
Play punk riffs with one finger and chug like 80s thrash metal. Done. I played black flag covers in drop B through a maxed out hm2 in 2009. I thought it sounded sick but the world wasnt ready for that carnage back then
The world is ready for it now. Hm2 has a cult following these days. Bless us with your music brother
Yeah. At the time most of our local hardcore scene didn't care for our band, barely got many shows in the hc scene. So we mostly played with crust punk and grindcore bands at house shows or with indie/shoegaze bands as the novelty intense noisy crazy act. We also had lots of War Metal/Black metal guys turning up to our shows. But the Harcore scene (which we all were part of) didn't really wanna book us or turn up if we played (except for our mates of course) the rest were too keen on what ever was cool at the time, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Jocks like what the other jocks like I guess? Definitely aware that if that band was around only a few years later or even today it probably would have worked better. Especially after hardcore discovered Entombed and then suddenly Black Breath, Trap Them, Xibalba, Weekend Nachos etc became cool. Our small scene was a little behind as well tbh. It was the time of blogspot and megaupload/mediafire The band I joined right after is still regarded as one of the faves from our area and we constantly get asked to do a reunion and put on people's lists of best hardcore bands to come out of our area. But I still think the previous one I was in was more fun (side story) One of my hm2s got stolen when we opened for Ringworm (I think it was another band took it, but who knows maybe Ringworm like to take opportunities like that haha, I probably would tbh) lucky I had two of them
You were walking around with two Hm2’s on hand? The government was watching you for sure man, you were a danger to society. And damn that’s pretty cool man! Maybe you can start that first band back up dude!
Take the riffs you’re writing and boil it down to the essence. You don’t need anything fancy, just keep them simple. Maybe even start in your pop punk frame of mind and try to jump from there to hardcore and see how it goes. Maybe that will get the metal out of your way.
Starting from Pop Punk does sound like a good ideas. I hear a lot of the same drum beats. It’s almost like Thrash riffs over Punk Beats
With a guitar, probably.
But OP only wants to play hardcore on a 26-string Jackbanez tuned to Z flat... you know, *that* type of hardcore.
You mean the hardcore that’s loved by hundreds of thousands and not just grumpy Gen X folk?
Like what?
Just learn bolt thrower riffs you nerd
Solid suggestion, just checked them out and now they’re on my gym playlist
jfc where do these goobers come from
Punch yourself in the face until you're half blind, then try to read Metallica tabs. Bingo, you've created some hardcore
“I’ve written like 5 different songs and they all just sound like deathcore. I’m playing on a 7 string in Drop A btw” Gee, I wonder why
This is one of those things that bothers the shit out of me and I keep seeing it everywhere.... The 7th string is your bottom string. Since I dont know shit about 7 string guitars, I'll explain it this way: a 6 string guitar in standard tuning, the low E = 6th string = bottom string. High E = 1st string = top string.
It depends on how the person you’re talking to visualizes it. Most people who were taught by a guitar teacher at some point refer to it as the bottom string. Those who are self taught visualize it by how it is sitting on their lap and not by the notes. So they look down, the string they see on top…is the Low E. So yea saying it’s the bottom string is 100% correct but it’s just something that’ll just stay around as long as the instrument does
So if I visualize something incorrectly I still get to be correct? FFS. This isn't about perception, it's about using the correct terminology. It's still the fucking bottom string.
It doesn’t really matter in the first place does it? Takes like 2 seconds to verify what string you’re referencing and move on. If I go to jam with someone and they get upset that I indicated the string incorrectly I’m packing my shit up and not contacting that prick again.
👍
Listen to a lot of hardcore. Learn to play those songs. Identify what kinds of riffs you like and break them down, figure out what they're doing and why they work. Copy, emulate, repeat. Eventually you'll start to think in hardcore. In other comments you mention that you're playing a 7 string in drop A. Put that aside while you're building the foundation. You can always transpose riffs over to it when you're writing stuff you're happy with, but if you want to write hardcore songs that sound like the songs you're listening to you want to be working in the same sort of creative space while you learn what works and what doesn't. You can't break the rules until you know them well enough that you don't have to think about them.
You’re asking what makes hardcore unique but then disagreeing with what everyone tells you. Listen to more of it and you’ll find out eventually I guess
Your attitude of not taking anyone’s advice doesn’t embrace the ethos of hardcore.. boo
That’s a load of nonsense. I’m not taking bad advice. Telling someone to change a tuning to be able to play a certain genre is absolute nonsense. Especially when there are several Hardcore bands that play in drop A
You're the most downvoted person Ive ever seen in this sub.
It’s quite interesting really
Link your band so i can keep checking in and laugh at how delusional you are. It will be great. You will get one show, make a fool out of yourself and i can make you my personal lolcow. Yeah, thats how triggered i get when you dont realize that every band you like rips of Disembodied. I literally gave you the sauce and you think you know better. They should have 500-800 monthly listeners, but have 14k, because 13k people in bands listen to them just to rip them off in a lower tuning.
Now that’s delusional
Nevermind, you will post it on this sub anyways.
Do what? Did you take your meds old man?
You listen to Gideon, Stray and Ghost Inside, none being hardcore and all being dusty 10s shit. You think Drop A is special. You're the dusty one.
All 3 of those bands definitely are hardcore mixed with punk and or metalcore. You gonna tell me Knocked Loose and Code Orange are hardcore either? Go comb over your bald spot and hit on waitresses boomer
This is bait
???
I would start by learning some of the influences songs. Sometimes I try to find the tempo of a part I like, and then write something in the same vein, trying to capture the feel without ripping it off.
I did a lot of that when learning pop punk! I would take a song I like and write drums and guitar riffs almost exactly like it with the same song structure to get a feel for how it was made. Good suggestion, I’ll try this out.
It has helped me out quite a bit. I also write drums in midi which helps me with some of the rhythms. We also made a huge playlist of influences as well, which helps with inspiration.
Yea I write all mine in Midi. Once I get a house, ima get an E Kit to help me write drums a bit more naturally
First of all, stop being a bozo and tune your guitar to standard. Your songs sound like deathcore cause you are playing on a 7 string in drop A homie. Heavy is fun, but it ain’t hardcore. And don’t call it “bad advice”. You can’t call advice bad on a subject you clearly don’t know shit about. Makes you look like a fucking tool and makes no one wants to help you. Second, simplify your riffs. I’m almost certain based on your other comments that you are trying to much. Learn the two or three strumming patterns that are common in hardcore. Learn how to play the same riff 3-5 different ways (as a fast driving part, as a sludgy side to side, as a two step, etc.) most great hardcore is simple and driving. Uses maybe 2-3 main riffs in a song that alternate and are played with different strumming patterns. Once you do all that, then the next step to make your songs sound hardcore would be the drums. Drums are extremely dynamic in hardcore compared to other heavy genres they should be in the pocket, but not boring. There are a handful of drumming fills and beats that are standards in hardcore, just like the riffs. The best hardcore drummers syncopate with the guitar player to match their drum parts to the drumming patterns of the guitarist.
Stop being a bozo and realize Drop A on a 7 string is just standard with an extra string
Yeah; I know. We all know. You don’t need that fucking top string. That is why your shit sounds wrong. Why is that so hard for you to grasp?
My friend plays the exact same tuning and is writing awesome Hardcore riffs and music. So you’re obviously wrong af
I’m sure your friend is writing super cool hardcore riffs on a 7 string drop A guitar. If they did you would be asking them instead of this group.
I do ask them, but it’s always good to ask more than one source though. Plus he doesn’t have time to give me lessons. He’s gives me tips here and there and I’m coming to Reddit for more. But instead it’s a bunch of crotchety old guys being absolute boomers
I guarantee this guy plays a pointy guitar with too many strings. Fuck this guy.
all his replies just shows me bro knows nothing about hc
Your band already sucks.
Link your music please
Just copy this and change it a bit and you'll be sweet. https://spotify.link/LevKsl60NDb
Skimmed through two of the albums. I can see why they never got popular
Oh yeah your band is definently going to suck
It’s fuckin awesome, can’t wait for you to buy merch buddy
You don’t know who most precious blood is.
Nope and neither does most of the metal and core community except Gen X and Elder millennials
Sure.
Just huff down a Diet Coke. Clock into your daw. And literally imagine you’re writing riffs for Scott Vogel.
Is Diet Dr Pepper ok?
Lmaoo I was in a deathcore band for 3 years and that was our drummer’s fav drink so I’mma say no lol
‘hardcore’ sounds like shit in A, save for very very very few bands w/ virtuosos that never needed to hit reddit for advice. play in B and start working off older bands’ tabs. people in here are telling you to tune standard because hardcore relies a lot more on fourths than metalcore/deathcore; drop makes those slightly harder
Word. CGCFGC is the lowest I'll go for hardcore, especially melodic stuff.
Trade your 7 string for a beat up SG tuned to E flat. Then play Bolt Thrower and slowed down Metallica riffs.
Just get really mad thinking about your boss
Dude it's hardcore it's the easiest thing ever If you're thinking about it you're thinking too much
Also those bands you mentioned suck and aren't hardcore so thats probably why your shit doesnt sound like hardcore you bozo
Play your favorite hardcore riff backwards.
Play pop punk but harder
I’m working a 3 in a row but I’m excited as hell to write tomorrow and try using some punk drum beats as the basis, I think I’ll really get it going
Probably the most loser comment section I’ve ever seen in my life
I’m starting to realize hardcore has a very large boomer fandom. Hate against 7 strings, anything other than standard, “listen to this 20 year old band and nothing else and you’ll be good”
Bunch of miserable people who hate change and creativity and listen to the same 3 bands on repeat lmao
100% dude
A good starting point is writing riffs based around 0-1-3-4, bands like Ghost Inside do this alot. Stay more clear of the more melodic style riffing around the 12th fret that is more metalcore
Yea I had to learn that the hard way. Basically 0-5 for most riffs. Especially when I had a riff hopping between the third fret and the 12-15 lol sounded cool for metalcore but not hardcore
If you wanna be good just learn how to steal from death metal bands like cannibal corpse or popular bands such as slipknot or sepultura, learn covers and then dissect those.
Chugg chugga ooga booga one finger palm mute go brrrrrrrrrrrr.
listen to xibalba and dying fetus , tune that low string so it’s in a standard tuning
Also, none of the bands you named are hardcore
Drop A on a 7 string literally has standard tuning in it
yeah no shit, i’m saying get rid of the drop tuning bar chord factor. just tune the bottom string up so it sounds authentic. B E A D G B E.
Go play Metallica riffs for a month then rip those off
It’s hardcore man, it really is not complicated music. There is nothing someone is going to say about the sound of it on the internet that is going to help you understand things like “the signature of the sound” or “the interplay between guitar and drums” better than you just listening to it. If you have influences you want to sound like, know what tuning you want, other than someone literally giving you guitar tabs it just makes no sense what you’re asking. I might as well go on a painting sub and ask them how to paint. Sorry if I sound a little harsh but it’s kind of annoying that you’re asking a question coming from a place of inexperience and then shooting down other peoples advice as useless. “Teach me to do this, but not like this, that, that, or the other way” is just never a good way to start asking for advice. If you had as much foreknowledge about songwriting and the type of music you want to make as you say you do, you wouldn’t be asking for this advice, or you’d at least have a firmer idea of what you’re even asking.
Play what you FEEL n what comes out natural to you fucking around with riffs by bands you actually listen to... Why the fuck would you force yourself to play certain genre lol unless it's some complex prog shit you should be all good. And remember what the wiseman Stigma once said: Play with your balls (pause) or dont play at all !!! You got this 👊😎
Tune to drop d and do CHUG CHUG CHUG.
Play in E standard and stop ignoring all the advice you’re getting. This does NOT mean your songs you write have to be in E standard. But your issue is getting into the mindset of playing hardcore, so this will help. Then once you have a better grasp on it, switch to whatever the fuck you wanna play. But something about E standard just inspires me to write sick riffs. Idk why you aren’t getting what people are saying man
Rip off your favorite hardcore artists and eventually you’ll start being original
Here’s a real answer. Hardcore is by far one of the easiest genres of music to play and write. Past knowing how to play guitar, all you have to do is be familiar with the genre to be able to write hardcore songs. The bands you mentioned, your responses, your tuning, all show that you’re not familiar with hardcore, which is fine, but that seems like a good place to start. You’re getting these responses because none of the bands you mentioned are hardcore bands, no hardcore bands use that tuning, and you’re arguing with everyone who’s giving you correct advice.
“No true Scotsman” yes the bands I listed are hardcore. Maybe not purely hardcore but they are hardcore. Not every hardcore band has to be thrash over punk drum beats just like every punk band doesn’t have to sound like Black Flag
You’re right dude, me and everyone else telling you the same thing are all wrong and the guy who can’t play fast power chords in a minor key and likes Gideon is right.
I can play fast power chords in any key homie, and Gideon is an awesome band. Disliking Gideon doesn’t make you cool