Creator Area
Sign in Creator Area

Practice Studio

Metallica - One - Intro & Verse - Guitar Lesson

Sections · Loop · Speed · Metronome

Not in tune?

Select a Loop

Start of your loop
End of your loop

Speed Control

Speed
100%

Tools

BPM
Key B minor
Metallica - One - Intro & Verse guitar lesson video
Guitar 365
Guitar 365 Top Contributor
YouTube: 1.6Msubs
Creator Page →
PLAY WITH BACKING TRACK
·
–50¢ 0 +50¢
· Tap to start

Your browser will ask for microphone permission.

Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

AI-selected preset based on genre and era — adjust the knobs to taste.

Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
Listen on Spotify
Metallica Thrash Metal B minor
Capo Advisor 0 B minor · Original key

About One - Intro & Verse

The intro to "One" is one of the most recognizable clean guitar passages in heavy metal. Metallica built the opening around a sparse, arpeggiated figure in B minor that rewards careful attention to pick control and string muting. The notes need to ring clearly without bleeding into each other, so right-hand muting technique is just as important as fretting accuracy. Keeping each note clean at a slow, deliberate tempo is the real challenge here, before the verse kicks the tension up with heavier rhythm work. If the arpeggio pattern is giving you trouble, use the Practice Toolbar to loop just that phrase slowed down until your pick placement becomes consistent. The verse riff introduces palm muting and a darker, more driving feel, so shifting cleanly between the delicate intro touch and that harder attack is something worth spending real time on.

  • The intro is built on a clean arpeggiated figure in B minor, demanding precise pick control and careful string muting to keep each note distinct.
  • Shifting from the light, open intro tone to the heavier palm-muted verse riff is one of the main technique challenges in this section.
  • Practising the arpeggio pattern slowly before building speed will help lock in consistent pick angle and right-hand muting across the strings.

How to Play One - Intro & Verse

Key: B minor · Tempo: 110 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 110 BPM to build it up to tempo.

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.

Recommended for You

Solo (Backing Track)

Solo (Backing Track)