If you want to capture the passion and the fury of metal guitar, then you must learn to play the galloping rhythm!
What is the Galloping Rhythm for Guitar?
The galloping rhythm mimics the sound of a horse’s hooves hitting the ground. For that reason, legendary heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Black Sabbath have been playing the galloping rhythm on guitar for years to capture the sound of a military cavalry charging into battle.
How to Count the Galloping Rhythm?
While there are many variations, the basic galloping rhythm is played by connecting a single eighth to two-sixteenth notes like this:
The Galloping Rhythm
If you’re familiar with the basic rhythms, then you already know that 8th notes are counted like this:
8th Notes
And 16th note rhythms are counted like this:
When you connect a single 8th note with two 16th notes, its counted like this:
Galloping Rhythm + Power Chords = Metal
Now that you know how to count the galloping rhythm, let’s combine it with some easy moveable power chords for metal guitar madness!
Brian Parham is the author of Guitar for Beginners: Rock Dojo Yellow Belt Edition
