I’m depressed coz I can’t play Master of Puppets

gearaddict

Fucks sake

flying_pie

I can *

*In short sections only then a break is needed
No faster than180bpm max 
And let's just forget Kirk's solo for the time being

Maybe one day...

digitalkettle

Don't be down, this came up in my feed:

You need to polish up your down picking

gearaddict

Yeah, there’s no way I can do those downstrokes. I can barely manage with alternate picking. 

CarpeDiem

Break it down into chunks, and build up the speed gradually. I struggle to get the down strokes up to tempo for the verses, so I’m doing up and downstrokes at the moment for those parts. 

Caffeine_Vampire

I'd be elated personally. 

fastonebaz

Start with an easy one like For whom the Bell tolls them work up to it. 

It's fun to play for a bit but ultimately seems a chore. But like Moth into flame. 

DiscoStu

I play Puppets a lot. Like, since it came out. I find it more of a battle to keep up these days but I can still do the downstrokes and palm muting.
I probably don't play it nearly as clean as I used to but I think my speed is alright.

flying_pie

gearaddict said:

Yeah, there’s no way I can do those downstrokes. I can barely manage with alternate picking. 

There's a good video by Art Of Guitar on YouTube for increasing downstroke speed. I found this approach helps

Basically the exercise is to use short bursts at increasing tempos. Once you've got that down you can try to work on keeping it going for longer

Bezzer

I wouldn't worry about it too much, neither can Metallica.


(actually, that's doing a diservice to James, but the rest of 'em can't)


Follow @flying_pie 's advice, he is wise and will show you the way. Short burst, build the tempo, try not to tense up.  And soon as you tense up it's all over I'm afraid ... or you'll rip the tendons from the bones ...

fretmeister

I can play the bass part.

Its a proper relentless bit of hard work too.

This dude is one of the few on YouTube who gets it right.

https://youtu.be/4ZsPsFZ0Q_U

gearaddict

fretmeister said:

I can play the bass part.

There's a bass part?  

gearaddict

CarpeDiem said:

Break it down into chunks, and build up the speed gradually. I struggle to get the down strokes up to tempo for the verses, so I’m doing up and downstrokes at the moment for those parts. 

I'm 52. I don't think I'm going to be getting much faster

I've dabbled with the first riff since the album came out but only tried to really play it recently...which was when I realised I can't.

flying_pie

gearaddict said:

I'm 52. I don't think I'm going to be getting much faster

I've dabbled with the first riff since the album came out but only tried to really play it recently...which was when I realised I can't.

Nonsense. Age has nothing to do with it.

If you set aside regular, focused practice sessions then it will start to pay off. If you spend, say, even only 10-15 mins every day just on downpicking and stick to one or two of the riffs then you'll notice a big improvement within as little as a few weeks.

The key is to make sure it's a routine that you can stick with and keep going every day

octatonic

It isn't too hard, compared to a lot of modern metal tunes.

You need the right angle of the pick (see Ben Eller video above), start at half speed (or less), play with a metronome and built it up 5-10 bpm a week.
In a month or two you will have cracked downstroke riffing.

If you find it running away from you then you are playing too fast too early.
Slow it down, get it tight then speed up.

CarpeDiem

I agree with @flying_pie and @octatonic Keep working at it and ignore your age. I’ve been working on it for months, and I’ve got faster with practice. Go for it!

flying_pie

One last thing to mention is another riff that's good to help build up technique is 2 Minutes To Midnight by Iron Maiden.

It's still fast but not as bad as MOP yet still has the mute-mute-open pattern that MOP uses

Lebarque

I could play it as a teen, but haven't really chugged for about 20 years. I'd back myself after a bunch of wrist-strengthening practice I reckon.

roberty

I started looking at it but it didn't seem worth the effort. Same with Slayer. I can't think of a situation where I would play solidly at that speed. I felt the time would be better used elsewhere

Shelders

I can play it alternate picking but it just doesn't sound the same as all downplayed sadly.

Just to keep this an echo chamber - it really is just practice. Mark Tremontis advice was just literally just sit and down pick for minutes at a time to build up stamina then increase the tempo. Boring but works.

prlgmnr

never got in the way of Kirk being in Metallica so I wouldn't worry about it