Drop D guitar tuner
D-A-D-G-B-E · Drop
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Drop D lowers only the 6th string from E2 to D2, giving you one-finger power chords and a heavier low end while the other five strings stay in standard. Play your low string and this tuner will show exactly how far to drop it.
About Drop D tuning
Compared with Standard E, Drop D moves 1 string. Every change is downward, the largest by 2 semitones, so the instrument sits at lower tension than in Standard E.5 strings stay exactly where they were.
| String | Standard E | Drop D | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | E2 | D2 | down 2 semitones |
Played open, the strings sound D-A-D-G-B-E – from D2 at the bottom to E4 at the top, a span of 2 octaves and 2 semitones. Step by step across the neck the intervals are a fifth, a fourth, a fourth, a major third, a fourth, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.
Drop D lowers one string and changes what the whole instrument is for. With the low string a whole step down, the bottom three strings line up as a root-fifth-octave power chord that one finger can barre anywhere on the neck, which is why the tuning runs through hard rock and metal from Led Zeppelin to Rage Against the Machine to Foo Fighters.
Everything else stays put, so all your standard chord shapes still work above the sixth string and the change takes about ten seconds – match the low string to the open D string an octave up and you are there. That combination of a heavier low end with an unchanged fretboard is why Drop D is by far the most used alternate tuning on the guitar.
The drop is small enough that a standard set handles it. If the lowest string starts to rattle against the frets, one step up in gauge fixes it.
History
Where the Drop D tuning comes from
Lowering the sixth string to D is much older than rock. Classical guitarists have used it since the early 19th century – the instruction “6th string to D” (6ª en Re) is common in the repertoire from Fernando Sor onward – because it gives a deep tonic bass for pieces in D.
In rock it began to spread in the late 1960s: Led Zeppelin's “Moby Dick” (1969) is in Drop D. It became the backbone of grunge and alternative metal in the early 1990s, through Soundgarden, Nirvana, Tool and Rage Against the Machine, because a one-finger power chord on the bottom three strings made heavy riffs fast and easy.
Other 6-String Guitar tunings
Standard
Drop
Open
Chords for this tuning
What is Drop D tuning?
Drop D is standard tuning with the 6th string lowered a whole step from E2 to D2: D-A-D-G-B-E. It is the most common alternate tuning in rock and metal.
How do I get to Drop D from standard?
Lower only the 6th string until the tuner reads D2 in the green zone. A quick check without a tuner: the 6th string fretted at the 7th fret should match the open 5th string.
Will Drop D damage my guitar or strings?
No. Lowering tension is gentle on the instrument. The string may feel slightly looser and buzz more on hard picking – raise the pick attack or use a heavier gauge if it bothers you.