The Metal Gallop
Long, short, short, again and again: one rhythm that makes heavy metal charge forward. Count the gallop (one eighth note plus two sixteenths on every beat, "1 & a"), flip it into the short-short-long William Tell rhythm and hear the difference, and find out why it drives so hard: it suggests hooves, palm muting makes every note short and percussive, low power chords turn it into a wall of rhythm, and bass, guitars and drums often gallop together. Then play it yourself on E5, G5 and A5 with our own buzzy synth. The last lesson of Modern Grooves, with a look back at the whole module.
In this lesson you'll
- Count the metal gallop: one eighth note plus two sixteenths on every beat (1/2 + 1/4 + 1/4 of a beat, lesson 38), counted "1 & a" in sixteenths, skipping the e: long, short, short.
- Compare it with the reverse pattern, short, short, long (two sixteenths then an eighth, the William Tell rhythm), and hear how the same three notes per beat feel different in the opposite order.
- Explain why the gallop drives (hooves and forward motion, palm muting for short percussive notes, low power chords from lessons 15 and 86, bass, guitars and drums together) and play it on E5 (E2 + B2), then E5 → G5 → A5 → E5.
Music in this lesson
- The TrooperIron Maiden · 1983 (named only)
- Run to the HillsIron Maiden · 1982 (named only)
- William Tell OvertureRossini (rhythm pattern only, no melody)
Remember
The gallop is long-short-short on every beat: an eighth note plus two sixteenths (DA-da-da). Counting four sixteenths per beat, "1 e & a", the gallop plays 1, & and a. Iron Maiden made it famous in The Trooper (1983) and Run to the Hills (1982), driven by bassist Steve Harris.
Flip it and you get short-short-long, the William Tell rhythm (Rossini): two sixteenths, then an eighth. Same beat, same three notes, opposite order.
Long-short-short suggests hooves and forward motion. Palm muting (the picking hand resting on the strings near the bridge) makes each note short and percussive; on low power chords (root + fifth, E5 = E2 + B2 on the lowest string) it becomes a wall of rhythm, and it hits even harder when bass, guitars and drums gallop together.