Drop D tuning

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Dropped D tuning: DADGBE, also known simply as drop D, is an alternate guitar tuning style in which the lowest (sixth) string is tuned down ("dropped") one whole step (2 frets) to D rather than E as in standard tuning (EADGBE or EADG).

Uses of dropped D tuning

In dropped D the three bass strings form a D5 power chord, which can be shifted up or down the fretboard with a single finger (usually the index) to produce any power chord.

Dropped D tuning is perhaps most widely used in heavy metal, as guitarists in that style often need extremely fast transitions between power chords. However, the tuning has also been used in many other types of music, including blues, country, folk, and classical.

This tuning may be the most prominent alternate tuning in modern rock and metal, but it is not uncommon for these guitarists to play in E-flat tuning/down tuning or dropped C tuning.

Drop D also allows fingerpickers to play chord shapes higher up the neck while maintaining an alternating bass. The tuning also allows for chords with a root or bass note of D to be played with a D an octave lower than with standard tuning, and allows playing of open D chords to include the fifth and sixth strings for a fuller sound. This can be especially useful for songs in the keys of D major or minor. The tradeoff is the loss of the bass E note in chords or fingerings which the player cannot adjust to include fretting the sixth string at the second fret.

Examples of chords in dropped D tuning

Chords in dropped D tuning are formed as they are in standard tuning, with the exception of the sixth string, which is either omitted or fretted one whole step higher:

Note that these chords are not the power chords commonly played in drop D tuning. Power chords generally mute the higher notes rather than the lower notes.

For purposes of making the table easier to read, spaces are provided between each number when the fret number becomes a double digit. Additionally, the highest note in any '5' chord is an octave from the root note so it is not necessary to play it to achieve a '5' chord.

References

External links

• Drop D Guitar Tuning - How to Tune a Guitar
• Drop D Tuning - Song Examples
• Guitar Tunings Explained - Guitar School Online
• Tyrannosaurus X - Guitar Player's Vincent DeMasi interviews Ty Tabor about dropped tunings
• Online Tuners for Drop D, C and B - Drop tuning audio references
• Drop D Picture Reference - Drop Visual Reference