Drop D arpeggios — pick note by note in D (metal)
On a power chord (root-fifth, no third), 'arpeggiating' doesn't mean plucking a full chord finger by finger like on an open chord: it means picking each note of the power chord (root, fifth, octave) individually, one after another with a pick — the 'gallop' technique so central to metal riffing. Here on the D grid (D5d, G5d, A5d), each power chord breaks down into three separate hits before moving to the next one.
Tips
First practice root-fifth-octave as a one-way pass, without going back, before adding any pick back-and-forth motion.
Chord progression — D
Bar 1
D5d
i
Bar 2
D5d
i
Bar 3
G5d
IV
Bar 4
D5d
i
Bar 5
A5d
v
Bar 6
A5d
v
Bar 7
D5d
i
Bar 8
D5d
i
Chords
Related sheets
- Three-note rolling lick riff — G minor (Level 3)
- G minor pentatonic scale — working the descent (Level 3)
- syncopation power riff — E (Level 3)