Deftones - My Own Summer - Guitar Lesson

Around the Fur

1997 3:35

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About My Own Summer

Tuned down to Eb Standard, "My Own Summer (Shove It)" sits in C# minor and runs at a steady 100 BPM, giving the rhythm guitar a thick, slightly detuned weight that is central to the song's atmosphere. The main riff leans on a slow, churning palm-muted low-string pattern that sounds simple at first but demands tight picking control to keep the tension consistent throughout. Where the song really challenges you is in the contrast between those locked-down, almost static muted passages and the moments where the guitar opens up into fuller, more dissonant chords. Getting that dynamic shift to land cleanly is worth your attention. Deftones were pushing Alternative Metal into more atmospheric, textured territory on this record, and your picking hand needs to reflect that: restrained when the riff is tight, decisive when it opens up. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the transitions between those two modes slowed down, so the shift becomes muscle memory before you bring it back up to tempo.

• The Eb Standard tuning drops every string by a half step, giving the low-string riff a heavier, darker tone that is key to replicating the original sound.
• The signature riff relies heavily on palm muting on the lower strings, so focus on consistent pick pressure and mute placement to nail the controlled tension.
• The song's main difficulty is the dynamic contrast between tight muted riffing and open chord swells, practise each section separately before combining them.