Gallop Rhythm
How to play Gallop Rhythm on Guitar. 10 Great Exercises. There are two main gallop rhythms. One is an 8th note follow by two 16th. The other is two 16th notes followed by an 8th note. Both are used in a variety of music, but most players probably associate the rhythm with that found in the Heavy Metal style.
8th note followed by two 16th notes
The picking pattern is: down down up
The count is: 1 +a 2 + a 3 + a 4 + a (one and uh, two and uh, three and uh, four and uh)
Two 16th notes followed by an 8th note:
The picking pattern is: down up down
The count is: 1 e + 2 e + 3 e + 4 e + (one eee and, two eee and, three eee and, four eee and)
The question is, “How do you get good at playing these two rhythms?” The short answer is to practice each rhythm as is, but there are other drills and exercises that can help you build strength, accuracy, and fluidity.
The concept of each rhythm is easy, but to play it at a fast tempo, with accuracy, and have the endurance for a long passage is difficult.
10 Exercises for Guitar. Build Physical Strength, flexibility, and accuracy with the Gallop Rhythm
Start with an exercise that increases wrist mobility. Lay your palms flat on the table, palms down, with your arms perpendicular to your body. Keep your arms straight and then rotate your wrists so that your thumbs turn inward toward your body. This is an exercise that you can do when ever you have the opportunity. 10 reps would be good. Follow that with the same exercise, but this time rotate your wrists so that your pinky fingers rotate outwards. The purpose of this physical exercise is to loosen up your wrist.
2. Let your arms hang by your side. Create a 90 degree angle at your elbow so that your forearms are pointed in front of you. Rotate your wrists back and forth as if you are opening an imaginary door knob. A few seconds of this is good for control and to loosen up the wrist.
3. Let your arm rest on the table so that your wrist hangs over the edge. Lift your wrist up and down. You can do this with some light weights as well and it will help build strength.
4. Close your fingers into a fist, squeeze, and then open them as wide as they go and stretch them. Do this for a minute or so everyday. This builds strength and flexibility.
*Starting any physical exercise, regardless of how small, you should first consult a physician. Particularly if you have carpal tunnel syndrome or similar problems.
5. The first picking exercise that we are going to do is a straight 16th note drill on the sixth string. We are still working on getting the wrist that is doing the picking loose and comfortable. We are going to liken this exercises to that of dropping a basketball and watching it bounce. The first bounce comes almost as high as to where it was originally dropped. The second bounce not quite as high as that, The third bounce even less high, and so on until the ball is barely bouncing off the ground at all. In other words, it is very small and tight bounces. In this exercise, we want to do the same thing with the pick. Our first pick strokes all the way through the string and is very wide. Our second pick is a little less distance, and so on until we have a very tight up down motion happening on the 6th string. Do this exercise 3-4 times.
6. Practice playing fast. Play 16th notes as tight and comfortably as you can. Find a tempo that presses you a bit, but that you can still maintain 16th notes for at least 1 minute at that speed. Remember to hold your pick so that there is not much hanging out. You want just a small portion of the pick grazing across the string. Many speed pickers will tell you to use just the very tip of the pick, and to use a pick that has some thickness to it. With a soft pick, you can end up out playing the pick itself. In other words, because the pick is too flexible, it will not have followed all the way through and actually picked the string, yet your hand is already moving in the opposite direction. Like trying to write with a rubber pencil.
7. Now, on to playing the gallop rhythms. Let’s start with the 8th note followed by two 16th notes. Stay relaxed and maintain the right hand picking pattern of: down down up. down down up, down down up, down down up. That is coinciding with our count of: 1 +a 2 +a 3 +a 4 +a. Some players naturally want to play down up down up down up etc.. It can be done that way, but there is a strong inclination to start playing the notes all even, or defaulting to playing triplets rather than the gallop rhythm. Therefore, I am going to advise against that, and instead use the picking pattern of down down up. Play this exercise at a tempo that you are comfortable with for at least 1 minute.
8. Next exercise. Play the 8th note followed by two 16th’s at a fast rhythm. First, discover the tempo where the groove falls apart after a measure or so. In other words, too fast for you to actually play for more than a measure or so. This exercise is for you to play 1 measure at that very fast tempo and then follow that with a measure of rest. Keep the exercise rolling for a minute.
9. On to practicing the Gallop Rhythm where two 16th notes are followed by an eighth note. First, find a comfortable tempo where you can play the rhythm for an extended period of time. Use the picking pattern of: down up down, down up down, down up down, down up down. The count is now one eee and, two eee and, three eee and, four eee and. (1e +, 2e +, 3e +, 4e +) Before you start to practice playing the rhythm, practice just saying the count out loud. This will help you get comfortable with the flow of the rhythm. Play the exercise for a minute.
10. Similarly, play the two 16th notes followed by an 8th’s at a fast rhythm. Discover the tempo where the groove falls apart after a measure or so. A tempo that is too fast for you to actually play for more than a measure or so. The exercise is for you to play 1 measure at that very fast tempo and then follow that with a measure of rest. Keep the exercise rolling for a minute.
Other Tips
Experiment with the angle of your wrist, but avoid getting it too high.Keep adjusting and tweaking and you will find an angle that works best for you.
The angle of the pick is subjective. Different instructors will offer up opposing advice. Some will tell you to turn your pick at an angle so that the pick slices through the string. Others will tell you to hold your pick horizontal with the string so that you get a nice clean percussive attack. Both are good. Why not do both?
Develop a constant practice routine where you work on your right hand picking technique as part of your daily practice.
Jim Sutton Institute of Guitar