Palm-muted 16ths: an alternate picking exercise for riffs
Sixteenth notes on the palm-muted low E, alternate picked. When a riff gets too fast for downstrokes this is how you play it, and the challenge is making the upstrokes as strong as the downs so the riff doesn't limp. It builds speed and a tight, even picking hand.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with the metronome on, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 120 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 120 bpm
- Starts at
- 72 bpm
- Length
- 2 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
How to play it
Picking from the wrist; the mute stays the same for downs and ups.
The same palm mute as the eighths exercise, at the bridge, but now four notes a beat, alternating down and up. The last beats of each loop change to G and A at the 3rd and 5th frets.
Keep the motion in the wrist and the palm still on the strings: the hand pivots on the mute rather than lifting off it.
Mistakes to watch for
- A loud downstroke and a weak upstroke on every pair, which gives the riff a lopsided gallop.
- The mute changing between down and up strokes, so every other note rings more.
- Speeding up over the bar and arriving at the G early.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 72
- 78
- 84
- 90
- 96
- 102
- 108
- 114
- 120
That's 16 loops and about a minute before you're playing at 120 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one.
Questions
How fast should I play Palm-muted 16ths?
The goal is 120 bpm in 16th notes, which is 8 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 72 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
When should I use alternate picking instead of downstrokes?
When a riff is too fast for downstrokes to stay relaxed. Many players switch somewhere around 16ths at 100 to 120 bpm, but it depends on the hand and the sound you want.
How do I know my upstrokes are as strong?
Record a take and listen back, or watch the take check: notes that are consistently quieter or late on the off-beats point to weak upstrokes.