We study the playing style of Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath. Toni is one of the founding fathers of the Heavy Metal genre with his mastery of intervals and pentatonic based runs.
Tony Iommi's playing features many techniques and approaches common to other rock and heavy metal guitarists, such as fast pentatonic patterns and dramatic string bending. Repeating hammer ons and pull offs are commonplace, as well as repeating phrases to create tension and drama.
Key learning points;
One of the founding fathers of the Heavy Metal genre
Lost the tips of the middle and ring fingers of his right hand in an accident, an event which crucially impacted his playing style
Mastery of intervals and pentatonic based runs
Toni Iommi player study - Interactive TAB
Shocking story of Tony Iommi's finger injury
Shockingly, at aged 17 he suffered a horrific accident while working in a factory and lost the tips of his middle and ring fingers. He was told he would never play guitar again. Distraught at the news, he eventually found hope after learning about Gypsy Jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt (who has also lost the use of two fingers in a fire) and was astonished by his ability to play despite the injury. This inspired him to continue playing, and led him to construct thimbles made of melted down plastic bottles covered in leather to attach to his fingers.
Iommi reflected in 2016 saying that his greatest regret is losing his fingertips.
"It became a burden. Some people say it helped me invent the kind of music I play, but I don’t know whether it did. It’s just something I’ve had to learn to live with. It affects your playing style; you can’t feel the strings, and there are certain chords I can’t play. Right at the beginning I was told by doctors: “You won’t be playing guitar.” But I believed I could do it, and I did"
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1 hour Interview with Tony Iomi on Gibson TV
Some amazing insight here from the man himself!
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'Sound like Black Sabbath' on Andertons TV
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