Gallop rhythm
A rhythmic figure of one long note followed by two short ones, usually built from muted low-string strokes.
The gallop is the signature rhythm of heavy metal and hard rock: a quarter or eighth note answered by two sixteenths, repeated so the pattern trips forward like a horse. On guitar it is nearly always played palm muted on the lowest strings, with the pick moving in a down-down-up pattern that keeps the hand in the same position and lets the accents land on the same strokes. Change the muting and it becomes a very different, more open sound.
Example: The driving main riff of a classic metal anthem, all low muted notes in a long-short-short pattern, is a gallop rhythm.
See also
Related
- PagePalm mute
- PageChug
- PageDownstroke
- PageAccent
- PageAction height
- PageAlternate picking
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley