Metal · Electric guitar
Metal electric guitar rhythm: gallop
The metal electric guitar rhythm in 4/4: the strum goes down (↓) and up (↑). Beat by beat, one mark per sixteenth note, with · where there is no stroke: ↓·↓↑ ↓·↓↑ ↓·↓↑ ↓·↓↑. Play the audio here in your browser, set the tempo anywhere from 50 to 200 BPM and follow the grid, which marks every subdivision.
Sound summary
Metal is played with a chord strum — 4/4, straight (even subdivisions) — for the electric guitar: the groove strums the chord (A) up and down. In practice it sounds: A↓ — A↓ A↑ A↓ — A↓ A↑ A↓ — A↓ A↑ A↓ — A↓ A↑.
How to count it
There are 4 beats per bar (4/4), split into sixteenth-notes (four per beat). Speak the count: 1 e & a, 2 e & a, 3 e & a, 4 e & a. Foot on the beat, follow the grid above — each cell is one subdivision.
The rhythm grid
A = chord · ↓ down-stroke · ↑ up-stroke · — = no stroke
The ↓/↑ direction follows the bowed-string arcada convention (ᴨ down, V up; Ribeiro 2017).
How to play it
Right hand
The hand strums the whole chord (A). The arm swings down (↓) and up (↑) in constant motion — the up-stroke catches the treble strings and is naturally lighter. On the rests the arm keeps going: it stays in motion in the air and lands again on the next hit.
Left hand
Keep the chord well pressed through the whole pattern — the left hand rules pitch, the right rules the bar. Only release the shape at the end of the bar, moving the hand ahead to the next one.
Example in Em
Grab an EmEmEmEm and play the full strum over it: each stroke is the same chord. To carry it into any song, change only the shape in the left hand — the right hand’s rhythm doesn’t change. Listen below.
Common mistakes
- Weighing down the up-stroke. The up (↑) should just graze the thin strings; matching the down-stroke’s force thickens it and drags the time.
- Running the subdivisions. The faster the pattern, the easier to push ahead — lock the tempo on the metronome before speeding up.
- Stopping the arm on the rests. The hand never stops — it keeps swinging in the air and only touches the strings on the next hit. That’s what holds the time.
Guided practice
- Down-strokes only. Strum the chord on every down-stroke (↓), no up-stroke yet.
- Bring in the up-stroke. Let the arm rise (↑) lightly between hits, grazing the thin strings.
- Take it up on the metronome. Start slow, keep the pattern clean, and add a few BPM at a time.
You’ve got the theory; now the time has to enter the body. Play along with the audio, follow the count and raise the tempo bit by bit until every stroke lands in its place without rushing. The Chord and Fret Metronome is free and keeps that drill steady.
Practice in Chord and Fret →Variations & related patterns
Once the strum is steady, play the same pattern over Metal progressions: rhythm and chord changes in one exercise. In Chord and Fret, Progressions by Rhythm plays progressions from many styles, with diagrams and audio, free.
Apply to progressions →