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It's one technique that I can not get my head around for the life if me and it's in absolutely everything...

The strum pattern I'm talking about is the dum dumdumdum dumdumdum dealie, like the open e at the beginning of metallica's battery when the electric guitars kick in.

Any training techniques for this? I can do it at Half speed but as soon as I go above that my strumming hand just goes stupid.

Heeeelllllllllppppppppp! Why can't I do this it seems so easy... Is it mental or am I just physically incapable of playing metal...

start fap fafafap fafafapping...

you'll get it in no time, bro.

is that what you'd call the strumming pattern for the opening riff of heart's 'barracuda?' a friend of mine always referred to it as 'triple picking,' and i can only replicate it once or twice before totally losing my rhythm.

hotrodperlmutter wrote:is that what you'd call the strumming pattern for the opening riff of heart's 'barracuda?' a friend of mine always referred to it as 'triple picking,' and i can only replicate it once or twice before totally losing my rhythm.

precicesly the pattern, it's just faster in metal.

So it's not just me then?

If you got a metronome just practice triplets to the click and keep bumping up the bpm after you get more comfortable with it. I know for me its easiest to practice it a certain way. Like barracuda for example the picking pattern thats easiest is down down up, down down up, down down up, etc. rather than alternating down up down, up down up, down up down, etc. Then its just a matter of getting used to it and speeding it up after being comfortable with it. Once its in muscle memory then it becomes nothing, like the main part from battery there are a few spots where you (or at least I) have to switch the picking pattern for one or two notes and bring it back to the original but because the triplet/gallop feel is ingrained in muscle memory it doesnt pose much of a problem.

just fucking put barracuda on the computer and speed it up a little each time you play it.

If you're not playing bottom strings it helps anchoring your forearm on the body at an angle to the strings (whatever is comfortable). You should be able to do it with just your wrist - forearm should be still. Otherwise it's hard to control.

count "one and a two, and a three, and a four," with the "and a' a little slow. its like a triplet version of a shuffle

the strum pattern is down on the "one", down on the "and", and up on the "a"

This may be a really bad way of describing it....

If you play a simple DOWN UP DOWN UP DOWN UP DOWN UP etc rhythm to start. Then start missing the up stroke every other time: DOWN UP DOWN ... DOWN UP DOWN... Then it becomes that galloping pattern. When i do it my wrist action still is doing the DOWN UP DOWN UP DOWN UP simple rhythm but i just miss the strings on the way up.

BOOYA, I can play barracuda like a champ reliably now. Just got to speed the buh-duh-duh up to metalica speeds... sigh...

At least I've got the muscle memory for the technique built, thats something right?

awesome. also it would probably benefit you to practice alternate picking with a metronome as well, slow and build to speed. that and when you get better at alternate picking and triplets and whatever it would be wise to practice things like economy picking, string skipping, etc. because there might be some songs where you will be using a certain picking pattern and have to break it for a note or two and that stuff will help you do it without flubbing or slowing down.

I eventually learned to play through Death Magnetic last summer so I can assure you it takes plenty of practice to get that pattern down to where you can do it all day consistantly. Relax the pick in your fingers and let your wrist do all of the strumming. Like George said, it helps to keep your forearm planted. I wouldn't agree with Dan entirely, skipping beats like that makes me think of Mark Morton when he dubs his rhythm tracks. He'll play a galloping line with some variations, then go back and overdub it but skip random notes. So you have an already fairly complicated pattern but then you just take certain strums out and your up/down gets all messed up. FREAK OUT!!!!

I wanted to thank you guys for your help with this, with some of the tips listed and alot of practice it's sounding alot better.