Power riff — descending in E
Instead of the eternal back-and-forth between two power chords, this riff drops through four: E5, D5, C5, B5, one per bar, moving steadily away from the root before looping. So the fretting hand has to relocate the whole power chord every bar, keeping the same shape (root plus fifth) and the same palm mute. It's a fretboard-mapping exercise as much as a rhythm one: by the end, the E-D-C-B descent should happen without looking, by ear and by feel.
Tips
Memorise the order of the four chords first by playing them as whole notes, one per bar, no rhythm: the mental map before speed.
Keep the edge of the palm resting on the strings near the bridge through the whole move: the palm mute must not jump between chords.
The descent moves by a tone or a semitone: feel the interval under your fingers rather than counting frets.
Chord progression — E
Chords
Related sheets
- Full round trip riff — D minor (Level 4)
- Drop D chord changes — speed in D (call and response) (Level 4)
- Metal in D — alternating bass fingerstyle (Level 4)