A gallop is a beat or rhythm typically used in traditional heavy metal songs.^[1] It is created by playing an eighth note followed by two sixteenth notes (

),^[2] usually on rhythm guitar, drums, or bass.

Gallop on bass

Gallop played on a bass with a pick

Gallop played on drums

Gallop pattern played on drums

Gallop triplet variation

Triplet gallop variation on MIDI guitar

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One technique on guitar involves strumming palm muted power chords in an up-and-down motion with a pick, thereby creating an ostinato.^[3]^[4] Variations include the triplet gallop^[5] and the reverse gallop.^[6]

On drums, the technique often uses a double kick pedal. A typical drum gallop is formed around this skeleton:

H- x---x---x---x---|
S- ----o-------o---|
B- o-ooo-ooo-ooo-oo|

Examples of early or "proto" gallops

Several early examples are variations on the pattern that do not strictly use the "eighth note followed by two sixteenth notes", but nonetheless have been identified as gallops.

"Hard Lovin' Man" – Deep Purple (Deep Purple in Rock, 1970)^[7]
"Immigrant Song" – Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin III, 1970)^[8]
"Children of the Grave" – Black Sabbath (Master of Reality, 1971)^[7]
"Highway Star" – Deep Purple (Machine Head, 1972)^[9]
"Keep Yourself Alive" – Queen (Queen, 1973)^[10]

Examples of songs using the gallop

"Achilles Last Stand" – Led Zeppelin (Presence, 1976)^[4]
"Barracuda" – Heart (Little Queen, 1977)^[4]
"Exciter" – Judas Priest (Stained Class, 1978)^[4]
"Stained Class" – Judas Priest (Stained Class, 1978)^[4]
"Air Dance" – Black Sabbath (Never Say Die!, 1978)^[11]
"The Oath" – Kiss (Music from "The Elder", 1981)^[4]
"Killers" – Iron Maiden (Killers, 1981)^[12]
"Run to the Hills" – Iron Maiden (The Number of the Beast, 1982)^[13]
"Motorbreath" – Metallica (Kill 'Em All, 1983)^[14]
"Holy Diver" – Dio (Holy Diver, 1983)^[15]
"Exciter" – Kiss (Lick It Up, 1983)^[4]
"Disposable Heroes" – Metallica (Master of Puppets, 1986)^[14]
"Damage, Inc." – Metallica (Master of Puppets, 1986)^[14]
"Raining Blood" – Slayer (Reign in Blood, 1986)^[15]
"Over the Wall" – Testament (The Legacy, 1987)^[13]
"Headless Cross" – Black Sabbath (Headless Cross, 1989)^[1]

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b Stolz 2017, p. 142: "the so-called heavy metal gallop, which by 1988, had become a heavy metal trope"
^ Marshall 1993, p. 24.
^ Chappell, Phillips & Serna 2014, eBook.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Stang & Purse 2014, p. 8: "gallop rhythm"
^ Woods & Green 2008, p. 58.
^ Revill 2017.
^ ^a ^b Popoff 2011, p. 237: "proto-power metal gallop"
^ Popoff 2018b, p. 67: "prototype of the heavy metal gallop"
^ Hal Leonard 2011, eBook: "key heavy metal rhythm commonly called the gallop"
^ Encabo 2015, p. 35: "The opening guitar riff is based on the so called gallop rhythm"
^ Popoff 2011, p. 247: "sublime chords set to a soft gallop"
^ Popoff 2018a, p. 32: "a classic Iron Maiden gallop"
^ ^a ^b Chlasciak 2018: "utilizes a classic metal 'gallop' rhythm, which is an eighth note followed by two 16ths"
^ ^a ^b ^c Pillsbury 2006, eBook: "Tightly palm-muted ostanati are also heard in other Metallica songs, ranging from the straightforward gallop in 'Motorbreath' from Kill 'Em All to the faster, more complex figures used in the verses of 'Disposable Heroes' and 'Damage, Inc.' from Master of Puppets.
^ ^a ^b Revill 2017: "['Holy Diver' uses] a much slower and simpler version of a gallop rhythm is in the verse riff"; "This version [used in 'Raining Blood'] is commonly known as the Reverse Gallop"

Sources

Chappell, Jon; Phillips, Mark; Serna, Desi (2014). Guitar All-In-One For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1118872109.
Chlasciak, Metal Mike (May 7, 2018). "Play Mega-Metal Licks in the Style of Metallica, Testament and Pantera". Guitarworld.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
Encabo, Enrique, ed. (2015). Reinventing Sound: Music and Audiovisual Culture. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4438-8105-0.
Hal Leonard (2011). Rock Bass Songs for Dummies. Hal Leonard. ISBN 978-1458434937.
Marshall, Wolf (1993). The Wolf Marshall Guitar Method. Hal Leonard.
Pillsbury, Glenn (2013). Damage Incorporated: Metallica and the Production of Musical Identity. New York City: Routledge. ISBN 978-1136091223.
Popoff, Martin (2011). Black Sabbath FAQ: All That's Left to Know on the First Name in Metal. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1617131097.
Popoff, Martin (2018a). Iron Maiden: Album by Album. Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0760360880.
Popoff, Martin (2018b). Led Zeppelin: All the Albums, All the Songs (Expanded ed.). Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-76035-211-3.
Revill, Simon (April 13, 2017). "Gallop Rhythms for Heavy Metal Guitar, Part 1". Guitarworld.com. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
Stang, Aaron; Purse, Bill (2014). Sound Innovations for Guitar, Teacher Edition Book 2: A Revolutionary Guitar Method for Individual or Class Instruction. Alfred Music. ISBN 978-1470633172.
Stang, Aaron; Warner, Daniel (1996). Guitar Rock Shop, Volume 3. Alfred Music. ISBN 978-1576237311.
Stolz, Nolan (2017). Experiencing Black Sabbath: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1442256927.
Woods, Tricia; Green, Raleigh (2008). The Versatile Guitarist: A Complete Course in a Variety of Musical Styles. Alfred Music. ISBN 978-0739048054.

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