Creator Area
Sign in Creator Area

Practice Studio

Metallica - Star Spangled Banner - Guitar Tab

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 E minor
Metallica - Star Spangled Banner guitar tab video
Guillaume Vrac
Guillaume Vrac Top Contributor
YouTube: 144Ksubs 166Kviews
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 Heavy Metal E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Star Spangled Banner

Few arrangements signal a set opener quite like Metallica's take on the Star Spangled Banner, a staple of their live shows that asks you to make a familiar melody sound enormous on a single guitar. The performance lives in Eb Standard tuning, which drops every string a half step and gives the notes a slightly darker, heavier colour than you might expect from a patriotic anthem. At 100 BPM there is no hiding behind speed, so every bend and vibrato is fully exposed, and that is really where the work is. The key of E minor leans into the brooding quality of the tuning, and getting the phrasing to feel deliberate rather than stiff is the real challenge. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop any phrase slowed down and focus on matching pitch precisely before bringing it back up to tempo. Clean intonation and controlled sustain matter far more here than any flashy technique. Heavy metal delivery through a slow, melody-first piece is a genuinely useful exercise in restraint.

  • The song is played in Eb Standard tuning, dropping all strings a half step to give the melody a heavier, darker character.
  • At 100 BPM the pace is moderate, so vibrato and bending accuracy are fully exposed and worth isolating with slow-down practice.
  • The key of E minor gives the arrangement a brooding quality that rewards attention to sustain and note control over the whole neck.

How to Play Star Spangled Banner

Tuning: Eb Standard · Key: E minor · Tempo: 100 BPM

It is played in Eb standard, a half step down, so tune down before you start or every position and bend will sit a half step sharp against the recording.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 100 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

Play with Backing Track

Play with Backing Track

Solo (Backing Track)

Solo (Backing Track)