I’m not* saying that I’m a little bit behind in my blogging, but Megatober was actually a successful challenge for me. I did manage to attempt 31 new Megadeth riffs during Megatober. I just didn’t manage to write about them or the things I learned—other than the riffs themselves—in a timely manner. So I thought as 2016 comes to an end I would wrap up the challenge that was Megatober—two months after the fact.
* I’m saying I am incredibly behind!
The final few songs I attempted in the closing stages of Megatober included Killing is my Business—and let me say [expletive] that is a hard one for me to play— and Never Walk Alone—another [expletive] tough one. For both of those songs I had to slow the tempo down. So the first thing I learned towards the end of this process was that my hand/eye coordination needed work. A lot of work.
One song I did a bit better with though was Black Curtains. For me, it went a little something like this.
OK. It went exactly like that for me.
Blackmail the Universe was another song I had to slow down initially. Well, still today I need to slow it down. But that’s part of the reason I wanted to do this challenge. I know I’m not Dave Mustaine. I know my guitar hero is an incredibly difficult player to attempt to emulate. But that’s why this was a challenge. If it was easy, I wouldn’t have had anything to swear at and my guitar playing would not be potentially improved through the learning of new tricks.
Another new track that I found somewhat easier—because let’s be honest … none of this comes easy to me—was Peace Sells … But Who’s Buying?
Then there was Dystopia. Damn … I love this riff in the middle of the song. I did fairly well. I’m sure I’ll improve with time and practice.
There were other tracks—full listing for Megatober is at the end of this article—but there are two final tracks I enjoyed the most and will share with you—no matter how imperfect my playing was. Dread and the Fugitive Mind and Vortex. I just love the main riffs in these tracks. I gave them a go. For one day of practice each—and by one day I mean I played for about 30 minutes each day as my current lifestyle allows for—I feel I did OK.
So, Dread and the Fugitive Mind went like this.
Vortex, went like this.
I’m pretty sure I had to slow that one down too. But damn! … That one is fun to play when you nail it. It’s a real finger tester. That’s why I intentionally left it until the end. I was hoping that the previous songs would have somehow prepared me somewhat for the pain to come. I was partially right.
But there was another thing I learned. Megadeth have a lot of different rhythm patterns and picking techniques that they apply to different songs. Megatober was not about learning one trick and improving it in 31 days. Nope. I discovered that the challenge was a lot tougher than I’d anticipated. And I’m glad.
I’d totally recommend this kind of challenge to any guitarist. Pick a band/artist, pick a month and learn a new riff each day. You may grow from it.
The complete Megatober list:
- Angry Again
- Prince of Darkness
- Reckoning Day
- How the Story Ends
- Symphony of Destruction
- Bite the Hand
- Cold Sweat
- Something That I’m Not
- Skin o’ My Teeth
- Wake Up Dead
- Mary Jane
- New World Order
- Youthanasia
- Trust
- The Killing Road
- Disconnect
- This Was My Life
- Washington is Next
- Sleepwalker
- Hangar 18
- Holy Wars … The Punishment Due
- Black Curtains
- Killing is my Business
- Never Walk Alone
- Blackmail the Universe
- Peace Sells … But Who’s Buying?
- Dystopia
- Built for War
- Dread and the Fugitive Mind
- The Threat is Real
- Vortex
Looking back now, I can’t believe I managed to do it. Especially the keeping to it for 31 days part. That part amazes me the most. It’s probably why I then did nothing for two months. Maybe I’ll be better at time management next year. Fingers crossed for 2017.