Picket Line · level 2 · goal 170 bpm

Picket Line is an eight-bar punk riff in standard tuning: Punk, E minor, straight eighths, low strings. This is level 2 of 3, played at 170 bpm; the three levels of the riff run from 150 to 190 bpm. It works on palm muting, power chords. The player loops the riff with drums and bass, starts at 70% speed and steps up 5% after every clean pass until you play it at full tempo.

Every eighth is a downstroke. Lift the palm for the chords and drop it for the muted open E so the two sound clearly different. The F# and F in bar 2 walk down into the answer.

The three levels

1. Level 1 · 150 bpm · Punk, E minor, straight eighths, low strings. Bars 1-2 ask the question and bars 3-4 answer it.
2. Level 2 · 170 bpm · Punk, E minor, straight eighths, low strings. Every eighth is a downstroke.
3. Level 3 · 190 bpm · Punk, E minor, straight eighths, low strings. Reverse gallops go short-short-long, with the long note landing on the beat.