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Trivium's Matt Heafy Guitar Lesson

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by UG Team on September 2, 2011

(9.9, 154 votes)

Hey there! My name is Matt Heafy from Trivium, and this is my first lesson for Ultimate-Guitar.com.

In this lesson, I will be chatting about the fundamentals of rhythm guitar playing; chatting about song-writing, the songs that helped shape my rhythm guitar style and exercise routine, and creating some hybrid-exercise-riffs based off of some Trivium songs.

At first, I talk a little bit about gear and music in general - the concept that we should all allow ourselves to be influenced by all genres and all things in life. When getting into the exercises themselves, I first show a variated form of the pre-chorus of "Ascendancy." With this form, it can be easily moved from the actual strings on the record (A,D,G) and shifted around to work on any of the lower strings or higher strings. (I goof a note or two... and the audio clips a bit... but hey - it is my first time - practice makes perfect.) I show different picking styles that can be applied to the riff itself.

The second riff exercise I go into is a variated form of the bridge section of "Down From The Sky." Same thing applies on this song with the ability to be swapped in and out of different rhythm picking styles.

I hope everyone enjoys this guest "video column/lesson-thing." As I mentioned - this was my first time trying this and there may be some note flubs and some audio silliness... but hell - it's all in good fun right? Anywho - thanks so much; be sure to check out www.trivium.org, www.twitter.com/matthewkheafy, www.matthewkiichiheafy.tumblr.com (my food blog) and our new record "In Waves." Thanks so much!

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User comments »

comments posted

disillusia :

Hi Matt. I enjoyed this lesson as much as u enjoyed creating it! One question and i hope it's not inappropriate to ask, what gears/softwares do u use to record this video? thanks! hope to hear more from you!

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 08:21 am / quote |

ChucklesMginty :

I've never been a big Trivium fan, but I actually really like the new stuff. I think they've definitely found their sound, not bad when you're still in your 20s. Guitar tone is killer too.

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 10:07 am / quote |

SOADriff :

Great lesson Matt, thanks alot

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 10:40 am / quote |

BlaqIc3 :

This was great lesson and good advice. Thanks for breaking it all down and being true to the music. You sir are a God.

Trivium for life!

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 10:53 am / quote |

rutnik :

pro

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 11:00 am / quote |

wilstrong :

I really enjoyed this, thanks! I like the new record, and I'll give black metal a go too... I do a similar sort of thing when I practice, I just play whatever comes out my guitar that day and if a song or decent riff comes out then that's great! Great work, I'd love to see another soon.

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 11:07 am / quote |

PLOP :

Hey Matt. Thanks for the awesome lesson. Very useful and informative I do the exact same thing when tremelo picking. The weird claw thing hahaha. I can't hep but worry that one day it'll probably give me carpal tunnel or RSI though :/ lol. hope to see more lessons soon!

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 11:14 am / quote |

jkielq91 :

Great video!!

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 12:38 pm / quote |

bodom alexi :

whats the name of the second song? and what band is it by? thanks matt your awesome

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 12:56 pm / quote |

azote87 :

Hi from Argentina! Im mad about a Trivium sudamerican tour.. great lesson, I love Matt`s triplets, trelomo and other picking styles.

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 02:56 pm / quote |

gabocrbll :

Matt is an amazing guitarist. He can do very hard rythym parts while singing/screaming and thats the shit, and his solo awesome too.

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 03:04 pm / quote |

TomGates :

what was that monstrosity song matt played

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 03:49 pm / quote |

StillSoundRG :

He's easily one of the most down to earth guys that's made it big. He's really in touch with his fan base. Answers to most of the tweets I send him on twitter. He's @matthewkheafy and i'm @DrewChrist87 on twitter.

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 04:11 pm / quote |

lessy_p :

What a nice guy!

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 04:28 pm / quote |

m4ss3 m/ :

Matt is cool as f*ck and he is like the only person that looks great with those "hipster glasses". Thank god I'm seeing Trivium in November.

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 04:31 pm / quote |

RocknRoll7425 :

Awesome Matt, very helpful! And love In Waves the best album so far for me!

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 04:36 pm / quote |

TheModestMatt :

Thanks for the vid. I've always used that Ascendancy riff for warming up, and the bridge section which has pretty much the same picking pattern but more triplets. Also cant wait to see you guys live in December

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 04:39 pm / quote |

GoochMcScrotes :

Matt! I met him at that Meet and Greet at Park Ave CDs! Awesome meeting those guys in their home town, he's one of my favorite guitarists/vocalists, and it's awesome to finally see him do a guitar lesson video for UG. Awesome. And if he actually reads these comments; I was the big dude with glasses, a ponytail, beard, asked about the video for Black

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 04:40 pm / quote |

drug.me.2.hell :

Matt is a true guitar hero! Thanks for the lesson, its helped me alot to sync my hands together, and I'll give Black Metal a shot too!

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 05:08 pm / quote |

henrihell :

It's in the middle of the night and my whole family is sleeping, so obviously I couldn't practice as I was watching, but still I feel like I learned a lot from watching this! Thank you =)

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 05:46 pm / quote |

sakura'sdarkest :

Great video, but I do wonder...what's keeping his guitar up?

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 06:27 pm / quote |

Yeshy :

disillusia wrote:

Hi Matt. I enjoyed this lesson as much as u enjoyed creating it! One question and i hope it's not inappropriate to ask, what gears/softwares do u use to record this video? thanks! hope to hear more from you!

He said in the video he was just using his macbook

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 06:42 pm / quote |

Lethal Dosage :

Great video anyone that hasnt seen these guys live needs to they were great I saw them in july.

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 09:03 pm / quote |

surgex :

Awesome lesson -- check out In Waves if you haven't already, definitely el Trivium's best album!
Side note...I really wish there was a production version of Matt's Les Paul Customs...It looks like a black beauty with (I'm guessing) a slimmer neck and no pick guard...I know one of them has EMG's (from the STSA video) and the one in this video looks like burstbuckers but I can't really tell. Anyone have any suggestions? I can't find a Les Paul version that Gibson actually sells that comes close to the ones he plays. He said on his twitter that he has both a 6 string and a 7 string Epiphone signature model coming out next year -- but I am not too keen on Korean made guitars. I just returned an Epiphone Prohpecy Les Paul EX because of shotty craftsmanship (terrible neck finish, paint peeling, shotty binding, etc.). If anyone knows of any guitars to check out let me know...Right now I'm thinking of just getting an ESP Eclipse.

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 09:32 pm / quote |

ADguitarmetal :

awesome lesson Matt.
we appreciate it.
\\m//

POSTED: 09/02/2011 - 11:55 pm / quote |

trussrodking :

Drop c#? Tried playing along in drop D but to no avail.

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 01:24 am / quote |

Zdsguitar :

Really liked the video and it gave me some good practice techniques too Thanks Matt!!!

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 01:28 am / quote |

eckdawg5 :

surgex wrote:

Awesome lesson -- check out In Waves if you haven't already, definitely el Trivium's best album!
Side note...I really wish there was a production version of Matt's Les Paul Customs...It looks like a black beauty with (I'm guessing) a slimmer neck and no pick guard...I know one of them has EMG's (from the STSA video) and the one in this video looks like burstbuckers but I can't really tell. Anyone have any suggestions? I can't find a Les Paul version that Gibson actually sells that comes close to the ones he plays. He said on his twitter that he has both a 6 string and a 7 string Epiphone signature model coming out next year -- but I am not too keen on Korean made guitars. I just returned an Epiphone Prohpecy Les Paul EX because of shotty craftsmanship (terrible neck finish, paint peeling, shotty binding, etc.). If anyone knows of any guitars to check out let me know...Right now I'm thinking of just getting an ESP Eclipse.

They're emg 81/85

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 01:41 am / quote |

eckdawg5 :

trussrodking wrote:

Drop c#? Tried playing along in drop D but to no avail.

Their new stuff is drop d flat...they said that should have been the tuning for ascendency too. He was in e for this video

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 01:43 am / quote |

Mahabajaba :

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 02:24 am / quote |

trussrodking :

eckdawg5 wrote:

trussrodking wrote:

Drop c#? Tried playing along in drop D but to no avail.
Their new stuff is drop d flat...they said that should have been the tuning for ascendency too. He was in e for this video

Thanks mate

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 02:31 am / quote |

Timothychents :

Its a 1990 gibson les paul custom with emgs 81/85
surgex wrote:

Awesome lesson -- check out In Waves if you haven't already, definitely el Trivium's best album!
Side note...I really wish there was a production version of Matt's Les Paul Customs...It looks like a black beauty with (I'm guessing) a slimmer neck and no pick guard...I know one of them has EMG's (from the STSA video) and the one in this video looks like burstbuckers but I can't really tell. Anyone have any suggestions? I can't find a Les Paul version that Gibson actually sells that comes close to the ones he plays. He said on his twitter that he has both a 6 string and a 7 string Epiphone signature model coming out next year -- but I am not too keen on Korean made guitars. I just returned an Epiphone Prohpecy Les Paul EX because of shotty craftsmanship (terrible neck finish, paint peeling, shotty binding, etc.). If anyone knows of any guitars to check out let me know...Right now I'm thinking of just getting an ESP Eclipse.

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 03:26 am / quote |

tricksy16 :

Awesome lesson matt. Great playing and techniques shown, would have been cool if you included something about palm muting.

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 05:22 am / quote |

JediMaster123 :

wheres the Like button pls

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 06:27 am / quote |

Patrijz :

Truly amazing lesson and person! He should be doing more of this... Makes me respect him as an artist so much more, partly because I agree on so much he's saying.

So thanks Matt for the influence in my playing!

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 08:31 am / quote |

surgex :

eckdawg5 wrote:

surgex wrote:

Awesome lesson -- check out In Waves if you haven't already, definitely el Trivium's best album!
Side note...I really wish there was a production version of Matt's Les Paul Customs...It looks like a black beauty with (I'm guessing) a slimmer neck and no pick guard...I know one of them has EMG's (from the STSA video) and the one in this video looks like burstbuckers but I can't really tell. Anyone have any suggestions? I can't find a Les Paul version that Gibson actually sells that comes close to the ones he plays. He said on his twitter that he has both a 6 string and a 7 string Epiphone signature model coming out next year -- but I am not too keen on Korean made guitars. I just returned an Epiphone Prohpecy Les Paul EX because of shotty craftsmanship (terrible neck finish, paint peeling, shotty binding, etc.). If anyone knows of any guitars to check out let me know...Right now I'm thinking of just getting an ESP Eclipse.
They're emg 81/85
eckdawg5 wrote:

surgex wrote:

Awesome lesson -- check out In Waves if you haven't already, definitely el Trivium's best album!
Side note...I really wish there was a production version of Matt's Les Paul Customs...It looks like a black beauty with (I'm guessing) a slimmer neck and no pick guard...I know one of them has EMG's (from the STSA video) and the one in this video looks like burstbuckers but I can't really tell. Anyone have any suggestions? I can't find a Les Paul version that Gibson actually sells that comes close to the ones he plays. He said on his twitter that he has both a 6 string and a 7 string Epiphone signature model coming out next year -- but I am not too keen on Korean made guitars. I just returned an Epiphone Prohpecy Les Paul EX because of shotty craftsmanship (terrible neck finish, paint peeling, shotty binding, etc.). If anyone knows of any guitars to check out let me know...Right now I'm thinking of just getting an ESP Eclipse.
They're emg 81/85

They have the chrome covers right? They look awesome.

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 11:15 am / quote |

southpaw_tdg :

JediMaster123 wrote:

wheres the Like button pls

we're still on the star rating system here at UG

awesome stuff. looking forward to more!

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 03:21 pm / quote |

beccal58 :

I'm so pleased to see a video from Matt; it's been very informative.

I'm hoping to see Trivium live in December after loving (and learning) their tunes since '05!

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 05:26 pm / quote |

hevechvy :

saw Trivium at Raleigh nc mayhem fest. great band. so impressed, that i bought a t-shirt. why the change from the dean trivium guitar? does the les paul sound better? both had set neck and 24.75 scale, mahogany bodies. as for epi, i had an lp ace frehley model and preferred my gibson studio over it. but, these days, i prefer my ibanez rg1570 prestige over everything. the neck is awesome. brent.

POSTED: 09/03/2011 - 06:49 pm / quote |

DSG3002 :

He's not wearing a strap but the guitar is being supported magically...?

Very nice lesson regardless.

POSTED: 09/04/2011 - 05:15 am / quote |

unnamedplayer :

Really cool lesson, so personal and open!!

POSTED: 09/04/2011 - 12:43 pm / quote |

johnzacharkan :

Not loud enough, but great.

POSTED: 09/04/2011 - 02:23 pm / quote |

motorizer :

Yawn ..

POSTED: 09/04/2011 - 02:28 pm / quote |

Breakr_ :

Keep it up bro, like what you said about gear not really making the diffrence is all inside ourselves and not so much the tools, youth musicians overvalue the gear these days.

POSTED: 09/04/2011 - 05:04 pm / quote |

CoolMcAwesome :

I have been on UG for some years now, and this lesson has got to be one of the better ones - easily. The only ones which compare are the ones with that guy with the accent (wish I could recall his name, he made great videos!). Anyway, I enjoyed that Matt took time to say a few things which other lessons don't (ie; star slow, work up speed, play what you are comfortable with first, know your weakness!!). Here is to hoping he makes more.

p.s. -

johnzacharkan wrote:

Not loud enough, but great.

POSTED: 09/04/2011 - 08:46 pm / quote |

d__o__a :

Very informative lesson. I think he should release a lesson dvd in the near future, if he hasn't already. It wouldn't be a bad idea

POSTED: 09/05/2011 - 05:49 am / quote |

LTDman90 :

My respect for Heafy has grown again. Very good video that I think lots of guitarist no matter their experience need to watch. I for one will be spreading this video.

POSTED: 09/05/2011 - 11:09 am / quote |

Jordanator :

Thanks Matt if you read this you did awesome!! Keep em coming!!

POSTED: 09/05/2011 - 02:13 pm / quote |

cole.trickole :

If you're learning guitar, listen to this guy.

POSTED: 09/05/2011 - 10:14 pm / quote |

ZehnDannyD :

awesome video
btw, followed u at tumblr, http://karmanized.tumblr.com/

POSTED: 09/07/2011 - 05:34 pm / quote |

guitarist41 :

Great lesson!

Cool dude, too!

POSTED: 09/08/2011 - 08:08 pm / quote |

Twofly :

hey Matt.U r awesome man thanx for spreading the techniques and helping us get better

POSTED: 09/09/2011 - 05:25 am / quote |

Adiel_Mahadeo :

Hi Matt, what an awesome lesson! Thanks for all that you've taught me. Hope to one day see you guys perform live. God bless.
Trivium Rocks \m/

POSTED: 09/09/2011 - 09:55 am / quote |

bowbows :

great

POSTED: 09/10/2011 - 07:40 am / quote |

trivium_4_eva :

CoolMcAwesome wrote:

I have been on UG for some years now, and this lesson has got to be one of the better ones - easily. The only ones which compare are the ones with that guy with the accent (wish I could recall his name, he made great videos!). Anyway, I enjoyed that Matt took time to say a few things which other lessons don't (ie; star slow, work up speed, play what you are comfortable with first, know your weakness!!). Here is to hoping he makes more.

p.s. -
johnzacharkan wrote:

Not loud enough, but great.

I think the guy you're referring to is Kristofer Dahl. And you're right, his videos were awesome.

POSTED: 09/11/2011 - 07:15 am / quote |

WackenSoldier :

awesome guy but lol at food blog

POSTED: 09/13/2011 - 10:53 am / quote |

Vasckin :

does anyone has the tabs?

POSTED: 10/01/2011 - 11:36 am / quote |

imagtarhero :

Where can you buy this guitar?

POSTED: 10/28/2011 - 01:41 am / quote |