Chapter 2 of 4 · Control and expression · Lesson 5 of 6

Lesson 11: Drop D exploration

Suggested stage · practice days 71-77

Lesson 11 of 26

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Main goal and readiness

This lesson's goal: Drop D exploration.

Tuning: Drop D: D-A-D-G-B-e.
Optional review reference: Tune D-A-D-G-B-e; check every string. Use the weekly scale and chord tasks below for your two two-minute blocks; do not add time.
Technique cue: In Drop D, a two-string power chord uses the same fret.

How to read the tabs and symbols

Standard tuning is E-A-D-G-B-e, thickest to thinnest. In the tab, top e is thinnest and bottom E is thickest. A number means fret; 0 means open. Vertically aligned numbers are a chord. A dash means that string is not played at that slot. ~ holds the previous note without another pick; r is a silent rest. h7 means hammer onto 7 at that slot; p5 means pull off to the already fretted 5. /7 means slide from the preceding note and arrive on 7 at that slot.

Eight columns fill one bar of 4/4: count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &. Each column is half a beat. Sixteen columns fill one bar: count 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a. Each column is a quarter of a beat. The metronome clicks only on 1, 2, 3, 4. Learn finger placement slowly first, then apply this written rhythm. A bar always lasts four beats. Stop or hold the final note as indicated.

Power chords on E/A use the upper string two frets higher: E5 0/2, G5 3/5, A5 5/7. On A/D, A5 is 0/2, C5 3/5, D5 5/7. Use index and ring finger where comfortable, and pick only those two strings. Drop D power chords use the same fret on low D and A. Palm muting means resting the picking-hand edge lightly on the strings near the bridge. Move it slightly until notes are short but pitched. For rests, use both hands to stop all ringing strings.

Technique

Technique exercise

Weekly picking focus: P1: downstrokes on low D, then two-string D/A chords. Use the 1-minute rhythm + 2-minute picking + 1-minute technique split above.

Bar A:

Plain-text tab — Bar A

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

Power chords. Drop D tuning.
   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
A| 0   0   0   0   3   ~   5   ~ |
E| 0   0   0   0   3   ~   5   ~ |

Bar B:

Plain-text tab — Bar B

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

Power chords. Drop D tuning.
   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
A| 0   0   3   0   5   ~   0   ~ |
E| 0   0   3   0   5   ~   0   ~ |

Bar C:

Plain-text tab — Bar C

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

Power chords. Drop D tuning.
   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
A| 0   0   0   0   3   ~   r   r |
E| 0   0   0   0   3   ~   r   r |

Scale and chord work

This week's scale and chords

Weekly scale: D minor pentatonic. Use the seven-day scale routine above.

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

Hand position V; first route.
   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   5   7   ~   ~ |
D| -   -   5   7   -   -   -   - |
A| 5   8   -   -   -   -   -   - |
E| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
LH 1   4   1   3   1   3   -   -
Pos V   V   V   V   V   V   -   -

Hand position V; first route. • LH 1 4 1 3 1 3 - - • Pos V V V V V V - -

Weekly chord/neck task: Drop D roots: low D frets 0-2-3-5-7 = D-E-F-G-A. Power chords use equal frets on D/A.

Chord tabs (static shapes, not rhythm):

Plain-text chord reference

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

D5 drop | position open
       fret   LH finger
e|     x      x
B|     x      x
G|     x      x
D|     x      x
A|     0      0
E|     0      0

E5 drop | position II
       fret   LH finger
e|     x      x
B|     x      x
G|     x      x
D|     x      x
A|     2      1
E|     2      1

F5 drop | position III
       fret   LH finger
e|     x      x
B|     x      x
G|     x      x
D|     x      x
A|     3      1
E|     3      1

G5 drop | position V
       fret   LH finger
e|     x      x
B|     x      x
G|     x      x
D|     x      x
A|     5      1
E|     5      1

A5 drop | position VII
       fret   LH finger
e|     x      x
B|     x      x
G|     x      x
D|     x      x
A|     7      1
E|     7      1

Original piece

Piece corner · Week 11: Low Horizon

Your music · use the existing seven-minute block

Play “Low Horizon”

Your musical focus: drop d exploration. Start with the first two beats of bar 1, then build bars 1–2 before adding bars 3–4. The complete original piece and its visual tabs are directly below.

2 min · isolate3 min · connect2 min · perform

Isolate: count the hardest two beats slowly, then play them. Connect: add the notes immediately before and after, working towards one complete phrase. Perform: give a count-in and play the section you know without stopping to repair every mistake.

Use this plan on original-piece days (1 and 3). On familiar-song days (2, 4 and 5), apply the same approach to your ongoing song section. Day 6: record and listen. Day 7: enjoy an easy review. These replace the music block, not the rest of the routine.

Ready to extend? Play your current section three times with a steady pulse, clear note starts, quiet rests and comfortable hands. Add the next two beats. The weekly check below is the goal for the complete piece; repeat the week if needed.

Make it musical: hear the phrase as a question and answer, leave its written rests, and settle the final note. Keep finished pieces in your repertoire. There is no need to start a new full song each week.

A complete original four-bar melody using this week's scale notes and hand route. Play bars 1-2 as a question and 3-4 as its answer. Play all four bars twice, then stop on the held final root. Aim for a gentle opening, a slightly stronger bar 3 and a settled ending. One run lasts about 16 seconds at 60 bpm; repeating it makes about 32 seconds. Use your comfortable tempo, not a required target. These are original pieces, not excerpts from the named artists.

Bar 1:

Plain-text tab — Bar 1

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| -   -   -   -   5   ~   -   - |
A| 5   8   5   r   -   -   8   ~ |
E| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |

Bar 2:

Plain-text tab — Bar 2

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| 7   ~   5   -   -   -   -   - |
A| -   -   -   8   5   ~   r   r |
E| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |

Bar 3:

Plain-text tab — Bar 3

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| 5   ~   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| -   -   7   ~   5   -   5   ~ |
A| -   -   -   -   -   8   -   - |
E| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |

Bar 4:

Plain-text tab — Bar 4

Plain-text tab and fingering reference

   1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
e| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
B| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
G| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
D| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |
A| 8   ~   5   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~ |
E| -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - |

Music-block plan: day 1 learn bar 1 then bar 2; day 2 work on your familiar-song section; day 3 learn bars 3-4 then join the piece; day 4 familiar-song section; day 5 song consolidation or your weakest piece transition; day 6 record the whole mini-piece twice and listen; day 7 play your favourite earlier piece slowly. The piece REPLACES the old A/B/C form during music time. A/B/C remain short technique studies. Scale fingerings are your guide for the same notes here; the MusicXML piece file also contains suggested fingers. Do not try to fit every reference exercise into one session.

This is an original study written for the course, not a transcription of an artist recording.

Real-song corner

One small song section

Use this on music days 2, 4 and 5, inside the same seven minutes. Continue a song across weeks if it is unfinished. These are suggested fragments and practice adaptations, not a claim that the complete songs fit your current level.

Recommended: Metallica — Nothing Else Matters

Only the first open-string picking figure, played slowly with a pick as a practice adaptation. Learn the source rhythm; the full intro and solo are later work.

Open the song lesson / source version ↗

Nothing Else Matters [Intro] — Metallica, part 1 of 3 — JustinGuitar Songs

Alternative — only if you want to swap

Alternative — only if you want to swap: Pink Floyd — Wish You Were Here

A tiny picked opening fragment, using a pick. Let the source fingering guide the string changes; leave the complete intro for later.

Open the song lesson / source version ↗

5 levels of Wish You Were Here on guitar — JustinGuitar Songs

This week’s focus: The artist study is separate from the Drop D exercise: retune to the source lesson before playing it.

Simplifying rule: shorten the passage and slow the pulse first. Any change of technique, rhythm, key or chord voicing is your practice adaptation. Use the linked lesson for actual song notes. If both options need unfamiliar skills, keep your current song or use the original piece instead. Match the lesson/recording tuning before playing along; all original studies remain separate.

Daily practice

Your practice plan for these seven days

Day

One-minute technique task (inside the four-minute block)

Seven-minute music assignment

71: Learn Drop D

Tune the thickest E down to D; check it against the open D string an octave above; learn A.

Weekly piece: learn bars 1-2, one bar at a time. Hum the phrase, play slowly, then join it.

72: Learn B

Learn B slowly; isolate any chord change or string crossing.

Drop D music: practise the original weekly piece. Use the final minute to listen/count your familiar song section; retune before playing standard-tuning song material.

73: Learn C

Learn C; count aloud through its ending rests.

Weekly piece: learn bars 3-4; join all four bars and finish on the held root.

74: Connect

Practise the B-to-A transition in two-bar loops.

Drop D music: practise the original weekly piece. Use the final minute to listen/count your familiar song section; retune before playing standard-tuning song material.

75: Make it musical

Play A once softly and once more strongly without changing tempo.

Drop D music: practise the original weekly piece. Use the final minute to listen/count your familiar song section; retune before playing standard-tuning song material.

76: Record and assess

Repair the hardest two beats, then reconnect their full bar.

Record the complete weekly piece twice. Listen for pulse, quiet rests and a clear ending; repair one transition.

77: Light review

Listen to your recording and clap its pulse; identify one improvement.

Play an earlier weekly piece slowly for four minutes; enjoy or hum a familiar-song section for three minutes.

Check

Completion check

Weekly check: record the four-bar weekly piece, repeated twice with a steady pulse, audible note starts and quiet rests. Log the tempo and the hardest transition. Advance using the rule above.