Muse - Stockholm Syndrome Pt.3 - PreChorus, Chorus & Turnaround - Guitar Lesson

About Stockholm Syndrome Pt.3 - PreChorus, Chorus & Turnaround

Drop D tuning sits at the heart of what makes this section of Muse's "Stockholm Syndrome" so physically demanding. The pre-chorus builds tension through low-register riffing that only really locks in when your fretting hand is comfortable with the dropped root on the sixth string, while the chorus unleashes a wall of heavily distorted power chords that need to land with real precision at 120 BPM. That tempo is deceptively brisk once you factor in the rhythmic tightness the part demands, so if the chord transitions are slipping, use the Practice Toolbar to loop the chorus slowed down until the changes feel automatic. The turnaround is where most players stumble: it asks you to shift position quickly and return to the opening figure cleanly, which is easy to rush. Treat the three sections separately at first, especially within Alternative Rock playing where dynamics between a tense pre-chorus and an explosive chorus are just as important as the notes themselves.

• Drop D tuning is essential here, giving the low-end riffs their thick, heavy character and making one-finger power chords on the bottom three strings much more accessible.
• At 120 BPM the chorus power chord transitions require clean, confident fretting hand movement, so practise the changes in isolation before running the full section.
• The turnaround is the trickiest moment in this excerpt, demanding a quick positional shift back to the opening figure without losing rhythmic momentum.