Applications of Dropped D Power Chords
The Minor Scale
First, we are going to take a look at the minor scale.  This scale is very commonly used in this style because of its dark, melancholic sound.  The formula for building a minor scale is as follows:

Let's apply the formula from above to create a D Minor scale along the 6th string (D).

This alone is enough to write some great single note riffs.  I encourage you to spend some time playing with this scale and seeing what ideas come out.  Be sure to include the stylistic elements from music you might have worked on up to this point such as syncopated rhythms, palm muting, pinch harmonics, etc.

Harmonizing The Minor Scale with Power Chords
Our next step will be to find out where we can play power chords within the context of the minor scale.  Here are two methods for figuring this out:

• Method #1:  Play the D Minor scale we laid out previously as power chords.  Then check to make sure that each note of the power chord fits into the key.
• Method #2:  If you have some experience with music theory, look at the notes of the D minor scale and place a perfect 5th above each of them.  Then look for any notes that are not in the key.

Whichever method you choose, you'll find that technically, a power chord on the 2nd degree of a minor scale (E in this case) does not fit in the key.  That being said, stylistically in hard rock/metal, we can often get away with playing a power chord here.  However, I think it's important to know that technically it isn't in the key.  You'll need to use your own discretion to decide if it sounds appropriate for the part/song you're writing.  Here is what the available power chords in the key of D minor look like:

​​Here are a couple of examples of some Dropped D power chord riffs:

Notice how these riffs start or end with the D power chord on the first degree of the scale.  This is to ensure that we hear D as the root as it will cause our ears to hear the sound of the D minor scale.  You don't HAVE to do this as there are many different tonalities to explore, but for our purposes and for the purpose of getting you writing some great sounding riffs quickly, let's make this a rule for our practice for now.

I hope you enjoyed this lesson.  In the next parts, we will explore Major/Minor Triads in Dropped D tuning as well as Sus2 chords.

If you’re interested in going into topics like this more, please contact me to schedule a free 30-min Zoom lesson!
​Interested in learning or writing guitar tablature like the ones in this lesson?  Check out Guitar Pro 8: www.guitar-pro.com/#ae898

A two-chord vamp, this track cycles between Am7 and Cm7. For the Am7 chord, we’ll improvise using the A minor pentatonic scale, specifically Pattern #1 starting at the 5th fret of the 6th string.

Instead of shifting this shape up to C at the 8th fret of the 6th string (a valid approach), let’s find a C minor pentatonic pattern that keeps us close to Pattern #1 of A Minor Pentatonic. Here's a look at Pattern #5 of C Minor Pentatonic.

Utilizing Pattern #5 when playing the Cm7 chord keeps us in the 5th position for both chords. Practice switching between patterns while playing over the backing track. Here’s a visual representation of the scale shapes to use while practicing over the jam track:

Once you become comfortable with switching back and forth between these scale patterns, try targeting the red and blue chord tones to emphasize the chord changes.

Here is an example solo over these chord changes.  Notice the notes I chose to land on as each chord goes by.

I hope you enjoyed this lesson and I encourage you to explore more ways over playing over this jam track.  Try utilizing the other patterns of the Minor Pentatonic or venture deeper into modes like Dorian!

I hope you found this lesson helpful.  If you’re interested in going into topics like this more, please contact me to schedule a free 30-min Zoom lesson!
​Interested in learning or writing guitar tablature like the ones in this lesson?  Check out Guitar Pro 8: www.guitar-pro.com/#ae898

Once I saw the announcement that Linkin Park had recruited a new singer and drummer, a lot of thoughts came to mind, especially about the new singer.
The first question I had was, "How do you fill shoes as big as Chester Bennington's?" How can anyone be expected to take on that role and step into the legacy Linkin Park created with Chester? I wrote down my thoughts as I tuned into their live concert stream, and after a while, the answer came to me: you don’t.

With a band like Linkin Park, Chester’s voice is ingrained in the DNA of all that great music. Continuing the band without him isn’t about replacing him, but about paying tribute to his legacy and the band’s while forging ahead and writing a new chapter.
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The new single, "The Emptiness Machine," gave me chills and continues to do so after multiple listens. Seeing a band I grew up with—whose music I’ve leaned on at various points in life—emerge from tragedy stronger than ever is truly inspiring.
The song itself is super catchy. It retains many elements of Linkin Park’s signature sound while still feeling modern and fresh.

Songwriting
The chorus of this song absolutely grabbed me. While the progression mainly consists of chords from the key of D minor, it starts with the I major chord—a technique Linkin Park has perfected (see: "Crawling"). I'm a total sucker for this songwriting move.

Production
The production is amazing, as always, from the LP crew. There are so many fine details and sound effects for your ears to latch onto. Also, the decision to delay the heavy chorus until Emily’s part is brilliant.
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Conclusion
The combination of Linkin Park’s classic sound with Emily Armstrong’s powerful vocals ushers in a new era for the band, and I’m excited to hear the new album From Zero.

However, I noticed that I somehow always had time to browse YouTube or scroll through social media. Even when I made a point to listen to an album, I’d open Spotify on my phone, and two songs into the album, it would become background noise to my Instagram feed.

This became more and more obvious as a problem, but I didn’t have a solution—until late 2022. One of my bands, Daughter Chaos, was recording drums for our album Noble Rot at Mark Lewis's studio in Tennessee. One night, after wrapping up for the day, Mark put on a Slayer record he had on vinyl. I was into Slayer when I was younger, but I didn’t listen to them much anymore. Yet when that record played, I found myself really getting into it. The experience wasn’t the same as streaming on my phone. There was so much more detail—it sounded almost like the band was in the room with us.
Shortly after returning home, I found myself rushing out to buy some records. The first three I bought were Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning by Metallica, and Dirt by Alice in Chains.

The experience of listening to these albums on vinyl felt like discovering them for the first time again. One of the main differences was how intentional the experience felt. I wasn’t skipping around or switching albums with the rapid pace streaming services allow. I was completely immersed in the album. With this level of immersion, you start to appreciate the fine details in a recording. Certain songs that you might typically skip over become an essential part of the whole album experience.
Collecting and listening to vinyl has helped me reignite my enjoyment of music over the last couple of years. I've decided that, for me, streaming services won’t be my primary method of listening anymore. While they are useful, I prefer to listen with intent and, not to mention, higher quality.
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I'm curious—how often do you find yourself passively listening to music? Have you ever tried to change that, and, if so, how did you do it and how did it work out? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Bryan Sutton’s Wide Open Flatpicking is a course that I had the pleasure of transcribing for TrueFire.com, launching on August 22, 2024

About The Artist
I’ll be honest, I was not familiar with Bryan Sutton prior to diving into this project. However, I was very impressed with his abilities both as a teacher and as a player. In this course, Sutton offers an approach to flatpicking on acoustic guitar with a variety of awesome tunes that is both detailed and easy to grasp.
Course Overview
The ten songs Bryan chose for this course cover a wide range of techniques, ensuring that you can get the most out of learning from Bryan as your teacher. I was blown away when I realized just how much improvisation Bryan is doing in these performances at such a high speed. He is a truly a master of his craft.
This is one of those courses that, even if you spend a ton of time on one example, you’d be able to see some great improvement in your playing. There is so much content in each tune that, even after I transcribed every single note, I found myself wanting to go back and dissect what he was doing.
Approach
It’s very obvious that Bryan has spent a lot of time thinking about how not only how to play pieces that sound great, but our relationship tot he instrument and how to optimize the quality of what we play. In this course, Bryan goes through 10 tunes that will help you hone your abilities to cleanly play through these awesome tunes, many of which are quite fast!
Just as valuable as the performances, the demonstration videos highlight man great insights for playing the instrument well. Bryan challenges you to observe your playing deeply so as to ensure you sound as good as your potential will allow. He talks about how you should really listen to the fine details of your playing and how this detailed listening will make you a better musician.
Bryan’s teaching style is just as articulate as his playing. You can rest assured that you will come away with a focused approach to set you on the path toward mastery of this style.
Recommended Prerequisites

• Basic open chords
• Basic understanding of alternate picking
• Basic understanding of 8th note rhythms

Includes

• 52 Video Lessons
• 18 Charts (.pdf)
• 10 Jam Tracks (.mp3)
• 18 Tabs (.gp or .gpx)

Conclusion
If you’re looking to add a couple of quick licks to your playing, this is not the course for you. Depth is the name of the game here and Bryan Sutton delivers a course loaded with years of knowledge. If you’re looking to develop bluegrass flatpicking mastery, look no further than Bryan Sutton’s Wide Open Flatpicking.