[Malevolence]

Creed's guitarist, Mark Tremonti, has created a vast array of different types of melodies, chords, bridges, and fills in his music to truly reward any guitarist with the patience to learn.

Now, a few basics: approximately 95% of Creed's songs are in Drop-D tuning.

If you don't know what that is, it's the same as standard, except that the 6th string is tuned a full step lower.

A few exceptions? Weathered, and What's This Life For?

Let's start from the beginning. You're going to want to start with the album, My Own Prison.

Pick up a tab book and learn these songs. This is the same path I took and enjoyed.

Illusion -- This is definately the easiest song you could choose to play in all of Creed's music. The opening toggle switch/bend after the bass intro gives you good practice on how to make consecutive bends. Also, the chorus, bridge, and solo will help you reach intermediate status as a guitarist.

If you practice this song, you'll get a good feel for timing and song structure. Plus, the solo is so much fun -- you'll be hooked. The bridge following the solo is pretty easy, too.

You may have minor difficulty catching the time on the part after the bridge, where he says .. "Just ... an ... Illusion" repeatedly.

Next song --

My Own Prison -- Definately one of the easier songs. You'll learn the basics of clean-tone picking, which will be important later on for a number of other songs. The chorus is easy too -- chromatic, so it just goes down a step. Also, the solo is one of the easiest in existence.

Just learn the three parts. The chorus, the solo, and then the clean tone melody. This will get you ready for our next song ...

Torn -- A step up beside the other songs. Here, you'll learn how to change up between a few easy Drop-D chords, and, more importantly, you'll establish a stronger base for your clean picking. The melody is tougher because it incorporates pull offs and quick, clean picking. Chorus and bridge are easy, although the fill in the chorus will prove a bit challenging to get a hold of. It's a great song, and it will prepare you for a few HC songs.

In America -- Next easy songs. Just slide the same chord shape up and catch the strumming rythm. The bridge is easy cheese. The part that'll give you trouble is the chorus. Get this song down, then move on to a cool one --

Ode -- Yeah. This is where the fun starts. The riff, ( 0-0-0-7-0-6 ...

0-0-0-7-0-6-0-4 .... 0-0-0-7-0-6-4-5-2-3-2-1 ... )

Is fun to learn, and play. It'll take you through most of the song. The chorus is tougher -- you've got a fill, and you have to learn the timing on when to slide the chord shape up. Finally, the bridge will get you to be faster. When you look at the tab, you'll notice you'll have to move from the twelfth fret up to the first one in a snap. It'll be fun. I promise.

Essentially, an easy song. Just learn the three main parts.

Next, try out One. It's not too bad. But from here, the songs only get harder.

Unforgiven is tough. The main riff will give you problems because of the picking/fretting.

Try out What's This Life For once you've got your clean tone picking down. It's in Standard, so be sure to tune your guitar correctly. The melody is really tough -- it's long, entirely clean, and very discreet. You won't have distortion to cover up your bloopers. This is, indeed, an intermediate guitarist song.

Finally, leave Pity For a Dime well enough alone. You won't be able to play it for a long, long time. So I suggest you forget about it until your able to play every other Creed song with your TOES. The melody, change of chords, bridge, and *especially* the solo are definately only for the advanced.

Took me four years to learn that song.

... On to Human Clay, the next logical step in our progession.

Starting off, you'll notice the music is a bit tougher all around. Faster paced, more difficult chords, and a combination of difficult techniques run amuck, making your life as an aspiring guitarist all the more difficult. Let's start simple, alright?

Start off with Beautiful. The main melody is easy, the chorus is fun, and you'll learn how to bend two strings at once. The solo may give you a bit of trouble, but I trust you'll keep along with it.

After you get this song down, try Are You Ready? -- It'll teach you how to slide around with power chords. The extra distortion will give you a bit of help in covering your mistakes.

After this, try What If? .. the intro is great, and it's really easy once you figure out how to bar the chords and fingerpick correctly -- two very important skills you'll need as a guitarist are being able to bard clean melodies with strength and consistency. Also, fingerpicking is an important skill for every guitarist. The Main riff is easy, and the chorus is wacky. Took me a while before I was able to play something that sounded close to the track. However, ... the chorus is just tough, at least, for me to sound out. I play what I can, though. The tab book doesn't help so much with how to play the chorus though. Bleh.

Finally, the bridge will teach you how to palm mute and downstroke, as well as how to move around a bar on a guitar with ease.

Next song has got to be Say I. Great song! The chorus will give you trouble, as will the melody. It's an intermediate song. Also, the bridge has a short little solo that will be tough to pull off IF you're doing the palm muted bridge. You'll have to jump from the first fret all the way down to the tenth fret in a split second. Fun.

Also, the part after the bridge -- tough to learn for starters. Fingerpicking several strings at the same time, and then changing which ones you fingerpick, will prove challenging.

Next, you need to learn how to play Wrong Way. Tough song to play perfectly, but man ... it's gorgeous. The part that will give you the greatest difficulty, besides the main melody, is the clean tone fingerpicking -- "I hope I helped you live" ...

It's life What If's intro, except ... 300% faster with MUCH harder chord shapes. Enjoy.

Skip Never Die. It's not worth playing.

Faceless man is fun if you have the time. Check the tuning -- it's different. Something exotic. I can't remember.

With Arms Wide Open -- Again. Fingerpicking. Learn how to do it. Chorus will have you stretch a bit. Solo is simple. Hardest part -- the melody.

Higher -- A bit tough. Just incorporate what you've learned into mastering this song.

Wash Away Those Years -- Same

Inside Us all -- This song will give you trouble because of the fingerpicking AND the difficulty of the chord shapes. It's a stretch to hold a couple, so ... you may have to wait a few months before you gain the bar-strength to hold the shapes consistently enough to pull off the melody.

Ok. Now, we graduate on to Weathered, the most (technically) difficult album of Creed's.

Most of the songs here will be in the advanced guitarist's field. Paticularly, you'll have trouble with all the solo's, all the fingerpicking, and most of the chords -- Especially Weathered, Bullets, One Last Breath, My Sacrifice ( actually, it's not too bad. But still. ), and Stand Here With Me -- which are the songs I took the time to learn.

... If you're going to try out one of the songs, I say start with Bullets. It's a really tough song that requires endurance, mental acuity, and a tenacious picking attack that sounds only of celerity. It's my favorite song to play though.

Easy to learn notes, difficult to master. ... But that's a lesson for another day.

Now go. And learn well, for one day you shall master the great and mighty sound of Creed.