Saltglass Hymn (hard) · level 3 · goal 160 bpm

Saltglass Hymn is an eight-bar melodic riff in standard tuning: Melodic death, F# minor, syncopated open-position riff into a lead line. This is level 3 of 3, played at 160 bpm; the three levels of the riff run from 115 to 160 bpm. It works on palm muting, open chords, hammer-ons and pull-offs, slides, vibrato. 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.

Alternate the gallop and the reverse gallop in each bar so the stab moves around the beat. Count the sixteenths, not the chords. The pickup in bar 4 should flow straight into the lead line without a breath.

The three levels

1. Level 1 · 115 bpm · Melodic death, F# minor, syncopated open-position riff into a lead line. In bars 1-4 the accented chords fall on the "and", so keep the picking hand going down-up in eighths and let the stabs land on the upstroke.
2. Level 2 · 140 bpm · Melodic death, F# minor, syncopated open-position riff into a lead line. Gallop, then stab on the off-beat: the chord should feel late.
3. Level 3 · 160 bpm · Melodic death, F# minor, syncopated open-position riff into a lead line. Alternate the gallop and the reverse gallop in each bar so the stab moves around the beat.