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Metallica - Nothing Else Matters - Classical - Guitar Cover

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Key E minor
Metallica - Nothing Else Matters - Classical guitar cover video
Kfir Ochaion
Kfir Ochaion Top Contributor
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Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
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Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
Metallica Heavy Metal E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Nothing Else Matters - Classical

Few Metallica songs reward fingerstyle technique quite like "Nothing Else Matters," which opens with one of the most recognisable fingerpicked arpeggios in Hard Rock. That intro figure is deceptively approachable: all six strings are played open or fretted in first position in E minor, and the right-hand pattern is what demands the most attention early on. The challenge is keeping each note ringing cleanly while the picking hand moves across strings at a steady 60 BPM, which is slow enough to expose any hesitation or muting. Work through that arpeggio section one string at a time, then use the Practice Toolbar to loop it slowed down until the pattern feels automatic under your fingers. Further into the song, the chord voicings and the transition from the clean fingerpicked sections into the heavier strummed passages require a confident shift in right-hand approach. Pay particular attention to keeping consistent tone and volume between your picked and strummed sections, since the contrast between them is central to the feel of the piece.

  • The opening arpeggio uses all six strings in first position in E minor and is played fingerstyle, making clean right-hand technique the primary focus.
  • At 60 BPM in E Standard tuning, the slow tempo leaves no room to hide sloppy finger placement or unintended string muting.
  • The song requires a clear shift between fingerpicked clean passages and heavier strummed sections, so practising those transitions separately is worthwhile.

How to Play Nothing Else Matters - Classical

Tuning: E Standard · Key: E minor · Tempo: 48 BPM

Loop each section and focus on clean, even timing rather than speed, with the metronome at 48 BPM.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Kirk Hammett's vintage 1959 'Greeny' Les Paul Standard delivers warmer, more dynamic PAF-style tones that contrast his EMG-equipped ESP guitars, adding organic sustain to his lead work. This guitar's traditional construction gives his solos a thicker, less compressed character than his signature models.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

While not Hammett's primary choice, the Les Paul Custom shares the Les Paul's warm PAF pickup character and thick body resonance, offering heavier players an alternative to Strat-style designs for achieving Metallica's crushing rhythm tones.

Gibson Explorer
Guitar

Gibson Explorer

James Hetfield's early Gibson Explorer established his signature angular shape and thick body tone, delivering the aggressive midrange attack essential to Metallica's crushing rhythm style before his ESP signature models became his primary tool.

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Amp

Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier

Kirk Hammett's Dual Rectifier heads provide the high-gain, midrange-forward aggression that lets his solos cut through Hetfield's scooped rhythm tone, creating definition and clarity in Metallica's dense wall of distortion.

EMG 81
Pickup

EMG 81

Hetfield's bridge EMG 81 delivers the hot, compressed output with tight low-end that defines Metallica's palm-muted riffs, the ceramic magnet and active preamp cutting through heavy arrangements with focused, aggressive attack.

EMG 60
Pickup

EMG 60

Both guitarists use the neck EMG 60 for warmer, more articulate rhythm tones and smoother lead voicings, balancing the 81's aggression with clearer note definition across Metallica's dense arrangements.

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