Lead Guitar Solo Lesson: Awesome Kirk Hammett Style Guitar Licks You Should Know
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If you like Metallica...
... and, specifically, Kirk Hammett's guitar solos 'in' Metallica...
... you're going to love this lead guitar article.
Here is why:
I'm going to show you simple guitar licks found all over Kirk Hammett's guitar solos in Metallica...
... tips for how to practice these guitar licks so you can play them cleanly and fast...
... as well as ideas for other guitar licks you can create (in the style of Kirk Hammett) that will level up your guitar solos and make you sound pro.
And don't worry...
These guitar licks (and lead guitar techniques they are based on) are quite simple.
And they don't require much practice time.
EMAIL TO GET ACCESS
By submitting your info, you agree to send it to Tom Hess Music Corporation who will process and use it according to their privacy policy.
Ready to start?
Then watch the video below.
In it, I show you simple Kirk Hammett guitar licks you'll have a lot of fun playing:
Now, let's go deeper.
Here are 5 more ways to create guitar licks in the style of Kirk Hammett:
Lead Guitar Tip #1: Learn the pentatonic scale inside out
Kirk Hammett's lead guitar style heavily relies on pentatonic scales, especially the minor pentatonic.
To play guitar solos that capture his essence in Metallica, master these scales all over the fretboard.
And here is where many lead guitarists go wrong.
Many lead guitar players only learn one or two pentatonic shapes.
This severely limits your ability to create Metallica-style guitar licks (and to play rock guitar licks in general).
So, instead...
... learn all five shapes of the minor pentatonic scale.
What makes Kirk Hammett's guitar solos stand out is how he moves across the fretboard using these connected shapes.
He doesn't stay in one position when playing his iconic Metallica lead guitar parts.
One powerful way to practice pentatonic scales away from the guitar is to visualize them away from the guitar.
Place your fretting hand on your forearm and move your fingers as if you're playing the scale. Mentally see the frets and notes as you do this.
This visualization technique is something I've taught thousands of my students to master fretboard knowledge faster. It's particularly effective for internalizing the pentatonic patterns used in Kirk Hammett's lead guitar style.
A common mistake many guitarists make when practicing pentatonic scales is only playing them up and down.
Kirk Hammett's Metallica guitar solos rarely use scales this way. Instead, practice moving horizontally across strings and diagonally across the fretboard.
Watch this lead guitar video to see what I mean:
Question: “Tom Hess, Should I practice the pentatonic scale shapes in all 12 keys as I learn them on guitar?”
Answer: No. The big benefit that you get from memorizing scale shapes as you practice lead guitar... is the ability to easily move them to any key when you need to. So, there is little benefit in practicing the same patterns in ‘all 12 keys’.
(You’ll become a far better lead guitar player a lot faster by focusing on other skills that help you reach your goals... such as the other 4 points I explain below).
However, do practice the pentatonic shapes in the most common guitar keys to train your fretting hand (and brain) to play on those frets. The most common keys include: A minor, E minor, D minor B minor and F# minor.
Bonus tip: to make it more fun to practice the pentatonic patterns, alternate between playing them with picking and legato (hammer ons and pull offs). More on how to train legato below.
Lead Guitar Tip #2: Practice Scale Sequencing
Scale sequencing is a powerful technique used extensively in Kirk Hammett's lead guitar playing.
This approach transforms ordinary scales into fun musical patterns that sound impressive in guitar solos (and feel like music, even when you’re playing fast lead guitar licks).
What are scale sequences?
They're patterns where you play a specific number of notes in the scale, then start the pattern again from the next note.
This creates a repeating structure that sounds much more musical than simply running up and down scales.
Kirk Hammett uses many pentatonic and natural minor scale sequences in his Metallica guitar solos.
Watch this video to see how to practice guitar lick sequencing:
A common mistake when practicing sequences is rushing through them and sacrificing accuracy and 2-hand synchronization for speed.
Kirk's lead guitar playing in Metallica is precise even at high speeds. Start slowly with a metronome and only increase tempo when you can play the sequence perfectly. (You can also use speed bursts to acclimate yourself to playing at faster tempos.)
Another tip:
When practicing sequence patterns for your guitar solos (or the Kirk Hammett guitar licks I showed you earlier), don't just focus on your fretting hand.
Pay equal attention to your picking hand technique.
(Many lead guitar playing mistakes and 2-hand synchronization breakdowns are caused by lack of control over the picking hand.)
Here is how:
1. Practice the Kirk Hammett guitar licks I showed you unplugged (some of the time).
This forces you to articulate each note more clearly and makes it easier to have a strong pick attack when playing with distortion.
2. Spend some time practicing guitar licks with your picking hand only, the way I show here:
3. Experiment with changing the rhythm of your sequences.
Try playing the same sequence pattern as eighth notes, then as triplets, then as sixteenth notes. Kirk Hammett often varies rhythmic groupings in his lead guitar parts to create more interesting guitar solos.
Lead Guitar Tip #3: Work On Your Legato Technique
Legato playing is essential to capturing Kirk Hammett's fluid lead guitar style. This technique involves playing notes smoothly connected using hammer-ons and pull-offs rather than picking every note.
Many of Kirk Hammett’s fastest Metallica guitar licks use legato technique. The sound is smoother and more flowing than strictly picked notes.
Watch this video to see how to practice legato the right way:
A few more tips on legato practicing (that will help you play lead guitar licks, like the ones used by Kirk Hammett) faster and cleaner:
1. When doing pull offs, pull your finger down toward the floor, not away from the fretboard. This produces a stronger sound for your guitar solos.
2. Practice playing legato unplugged (some of the time) and focus on keeping consistent and even articulation between your pull offs and hammer ons. This evenness in volume is key to making your guitar licks sound pro (whether you’re practicing the Kirk Hammett solos from Metallica or playing your own guitar licks).
3. Practice legato guitar licks with a lot of distortion to train your string noise control.
4. Try practicing legato guitar licks using open strings, which Kirk Hammett occasionally incorporates into his lead guitar playing. These create a unique sound because the open string has a different tension than fretted notes, challenging your legato technique.
5. Another excellent legato exercise for developing Kirk Hammett-style lead guitar playing is to practice trills (rapidly alternating between two notes). Start slowly and focus on clarity, gradually building speed while maintaining clean articulation in your guitar solos.
6. Work on your finger independence. Many guitarists struggle with unintentional finger movement, where unused fingers flail away from the fretboard. This wastes energy and makes it harder to play legato licks in general and Kirk Hammett’s faster guitar licks from Metallica’s guitar solos specifically.
Lead Guitar Tip #4: Work On 2-Hand Tapping
Two-hand tapping is a signature element in many Kirk Hammett guitar solos.
This lead guitar technique allows for wide intervallic jumps and unique sounds that have become iconic in Metallica's music.
Kirk frequently uses basic tapping patterns where he taps a note with his picking hand and then pulls off to notes played with his fretting hand. This creates a cascade of notes that's distinctive in many Metallica guitar solos.
Watch this video to see how to practice guitar tapping the right way:
A major mistake guitarists make when learning tapping is using too much force (in both the tapping hand and the fretting hand).
You don't need to hit the strings hard – a light, precise tap produces cleaner notes for your guitar solos.
Another common error is poor muting technique when tapping. Unwanted string noise can ruin the clarity of your tapped guitar licks. Rest your tapping hand’s thumb on the lower string and use the fretting hand’s index finger to mute the higher strings.
Many guitarists also struggle with maintaining rhythm during tapping passages. In Kirk Hammett’s Metallica guitar solos, his tapped sections stay in perfect time.
Use a metronome to develop this rhythmic consistency in your lead guitar playing.
To practice basic tapping like Kirk Hammett uses in his guitar solos, start with a simple pattern: fret a note with your index finger, another with your pinky, then tap a higher note with your picking hand's middle finger. (e.g. fret the 5th fret on the high E string with the index, hammer on to fret 8 with the pinkie and the 12th fret with your tapping hand’s middle finger.)
Pull off in sequence and repeat. This is a common pattern you’ll hear in many rock guitar solos (including some of Kirk Hammett’s guitar solos in Metallica).
Lead Guitar Tip #5: Work On Connecting Lead Guitar Techniques Together
What makes Kirk Hammett's Metallica guitar solos so engaging is how he seamlessly connects different lead guitar techniques.
Many guitarists practice techniques in isolation, but Kirk Hammett connects them fluidly.
For example, he might start with a pentatonic run, flow into a legato passage, then finish with a tapped lick – all within a single phrase in his guitar solos.
How to best practice this?
Start by isolating transition points between techniques you want to integrate.
Play the last 3 notes of lead guitar technique #1 and the first 3 notes of guitar technique #2. Practicing those 6 notes trains the smoothness of transition from one lead guitar technique to another.
Then, gradually expand outwards to add more notes to the first guitar lick and the second guitar lick.
Use this approach when learning Kirk Hammett’s guitar licks and guitar solos from Metallica and when practicing guitar technique integration in general.
Watch this video to see how to work on connecting guitar techniques the right way:
Make sure to practice guitar technique integration with a metronome.
Many guitarists also struggle with maintaining consistent tempo when switching techniques. Practice integration at the fastest speed you can smoothly switch from one technique to the next.
You can also try the "pause method" to master technique transitions in your lead guitar playing.
Play the first technique, pause for 8 beats, then play the second technique. Gradually reduce the pause to 4 beats, then 2, then 1, until there's no pause.
Pay attention to the technical requirements of each transition.
For instance, when switching from picking to tapping in your lead guitar playing, you need to change your picking hand position. Practice these physical movements slowly to make them efficient.
Or, when switching from a scale sequence to a bent note, change you fretting hand’s thumb position (to go from behind the neck to over the neck... and vice versa).
Now that you know how to create guitar licks in the style of Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, I want to show you how to boost your picking hand’s guitar speed, so you can have an easier time playing the fast guitar licks and solos that are out of reach of most guitar players. I show you how in my free eGuide: How To Build Lightning Fast Guitar Picking Speed. Download it today and discover the guitar speed secrets most lead guitarists don’t know.
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