Tremolo picking

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Tremolo picking or double picking describes the musical technique of picking on a guitar or other string instrument in which a single note is played repeatedly in quick succession. It can be achieved either with the fingers or with a plectrum. In the latter case, the plectrum is moved up and down rapidly to hit the intended string of the guitar evenly. This technique adds sustain to a melodic line where the notes would otherwise decay rapidly.

One famous example of tremolo picking with a plectrum is on the famous Dick Dale's song, "Misirlou", and many of his other recordings. Another example of tremolo picking would be the majority of Dave Mustaine's solo in "Hangar 18" by Megadeth. Another band that uses a lot of tremolo picking is Dragonforce, like in the song "Though The Fire and The Flames", the intro, and the pre solo are all tremolo picking. The technique is also exhibited frequently in Bluegrass mandolin playing, some forms of heavy metal (especially black metal), flamenco, thrash metal, and Turkish folk music. There is also the intro to "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. All notes in this picking style are even--and there is not commonly a note in a tremolo sequence that is played harder than another. It sounds as if the player is letting one note ring, but that note is broken up in a staccato sequence.