Five Right-Hand Exercises for Drop-Tuned Riffs

In low tunings, most of the sound of a riff comes from the picking hand. A loose string, a late mute or an uneven pick stroke is easy to hear in Drop C and very easy to hear in Drop A. These five exercises build the control that tight riffs need.

Each one opens in the tool with the tablature, a play-along and a metronome. Start slowly. Every note should start and stop exactly on the beat.

1. Palm-muted chugs (3-3-2)

The 3-3-2 rhythm is the basis of countless metal riffs. Rest the edge of your picking hand on the strings, right next to the bridge, and play the open low string with down strokes.

• Open the 3-3-2 chugs in Drop C at 80 BPM.
• Keep the mute pressure the same on every note. Too much and the note dies; too little and it rings.

2. The gallop

The gallop (an eighth note and two sixteenths, or the reverse) drives thrash and power metal. It needs a fast down-up-down motion with an even sound on all three notes.

• Practise the gallop in Drop C at 100 BPM.
• If the up stroke is quieter, slow down until all three notes are equally loud.

3. Alternate picking across strings

Strict down-up picking keeps fast single-note lines even. The difficulty in low tunings is crossing from the thick low strings to the thinner ones without changing the attack.

• Play the alternate picking exercise in C minor at 90 BPM.
• Keep the motion small and from the wrist, not from the elbow.

4. Tremolo picking on the pedal note

Tremolo picking is very fast alternate picking on one note, typical of black metal and death metal. Use a relaxed wrist and the tip of the pick.

• Start with the pedal tremolo exercise at 80 BPM.
• Stop if your forearm tenses up. Speed comes from staying relaxed.

5. Power chords with muting

The one-finger power chord in Drop tunings makes riffs easier for the fretting hand, but the picking hand still has to mute every other string.

• Practise the power chord exercise at 90 BPM.
• Mute the higher strings with the underside of your fretting finger and the low ones with the picking hand.

How to practise them

• Five minutes per exercise is enough. Daily practice beats one long session a week.
• When an exercise is clean three times in a row, raise the tempo by 5 BPM. The tool's speed trainer can do this for you.
• Record yourself once a week. Timing problems are much easier to hear on a recording than while playing.