Rock in D (Drop D II) — syncopated rhythm
This syncopated variant of the advanced Drop D grid (D5d-G5d-D5d-E5d-G5d-D5d-E5d-D5d) isn't uniformly harder: D5d rings on all 3 low strings completely open (no finger needed), while G5d and E5d need a one-finger barre that has to land exactly on the off-beat. The real difficulty isn't the syncopation itself, but having to slam a barre precisely on a weak beat, without the usual strong beat to anchor against.
Tips
First isolate the barre placement alone, in silence, until the finger lands exactly on the metronome click.
Only work on the off-beat once that placement is reliable: adding the syncopation before that just stacks two problems at once.
On D5d, take advantage of needing no fretting finger at all to check your picking-hand timing on its own.
Chord progression — D
Chords
Related sheets
- Rock in D (Drop D II) — alternating bass fingerstyle (Level 6)
- One-hand tapping (Level 6)
- Rock in B minor — alternating bass fingerstyle (Level 6)