How To Gallop: An ESSENTIAL Rhythm For Metal & Rock Guitarists

One of the most fun and expressive rhythm techniques is the gallop. While it knows no bounds regarding what genre you'll find the gallop in, it's pretty essential if you're gonna play metal--especially thrash. In this lesson, I'm gonna break down how to master this technique once and for all. You'll learn proper technique, how to play the rhythm itself, and how to work it up to speed.

Understanding The Rhythm

First, it's important to know what the gallop looks, feels, and sounds like. You'll find the rhythm notated by two 16th notes connected to an eighth note. The example shown below depicts four gallop groupings in a single measure.

Each gallop is picked in a "down-up-down" fashion when starting on a downbeat. Each gallop takes the value of one beat. Since there are four beats in a 4/4 measure shown above, the entire measure can consist of up to four gallops.

To lock in any new rhythm, I like to start by tapping the rhythm with my hands on a table or my lap. In this case, I would get a feel for the rhythm by tapping the downstrokes with my right hand and upstrokes with my left hand.

Downstroke

Upstroke

Technique

When playing anything fast or intense, I like to make sure I use a thicker pick (1 mm or greater). Make sure you are holding the pick properly between your thumb and index finger as shown below.

Since I'm a metal guy who likes to play thrashy stuff, I like to palm mute when I gallop by resting the heel of the palm of my picking hand against the strings near the bridge of my guitar.

Make sure you are not picking with the pick perfectly parallel to the string. Instead, it would be more efficient to tilt the pick slightly toward the headstock of your guitar. This will make it easier for the pick to cut through the strings. In addition, you should avoid picking by moving your arm with your elbow. Instead, localize the movement closer to the pick by moving your hand from your wrist. If you can, take this a step further and move the pick with the fingers that are holding it.

Work The Gallop Up To Speed

Like any other speed-building exercise, you should be using a metronome to accelerate your galloping.  You could even use a drum loop if you want to feel like you're playing with a band.  Start at a tempo of 100 BPM (beats per minute) and see if you can play the gallop cleanly and consistently at that speed.  You may need to slow it down, or you may even be able to start at a higher tempo.  Make sure the starting note of each gallop lands on the beep or click of your metronome.  

Another method for speed building involves playing one note of the gallop at a time. Start by only playing the first note of each gallop on each click of your metronome.

Once you're comfortable with that, you can introduce the second note of the gallop.

From there, you would of course bring in the third note at the same tempo.

Gradually increase the tempo over time until you are ripping through the gallops like you're the new guitarist for Slayer or Iced Earth.

Conclusion

Use the proper technique combined with my speed-building method to conquer this essential rhythm. You may need to start slowly and tap out the gallop by using your hands before grabbing the pick and grinding it into your strings. This technique is sort of a knack, so be patient with it and stay consistent so that it becomes second nature to you. Once you get this rhythm down, you'll have a blast using it.

Watch the full lesson here: How To Gallop: An ESSENTIAL Rhythm For Metal & Rock Guitarists