The Big Picture

Combining varying approaches in my “Hard Wired” solo

- JAMES JARED NICHOLS

LAST MONTH, I talked about how I devised the primary riffs in the title track to my 2023 album Hard Wired, which is played in drop D tuning (low to high: D, A, D, G, B, E). I'd now like to share some of the varied approaches and techniques I use in the song's breakdown and solo sections.

One of the cool things about the breakdown section is that I take the opportunity to interpret the chord progression in different ways. The first thing I do is switch things up by establishing a progression of D - G - F. But instead of playing straight major chords or root-5th power chords, I like to bring in the sound of open strings to help broaden the harmony, as well as the timbre.