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Drop D tuning is an alternative form of
guitar tuning Guitar tunings are the assignment of pitches to the open strings of guitars, including acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and classical guitars. Tunings are described by the particular pitches that are made by notes in Western music. By ...
in which the lowest (sixth) string is tuned down from the usual E of standard tuning by one whole step to D. So where standard tuning is E2A2D3G3B3E4 (EADGBe), drop D is D2A2D3G3B3E4 (DADGBe). Drop D tuning, as well as other lowered altered tunings, are often used with the
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...
in heavy metal music. It is also used in blues,
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
,
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...
(often with acoustic guitar), and classical guitar.


Uses

In drop D, the three open bass strings form a D5
power chord A power chord (also fifth chord) is a colloquial name for a chord in guitar music, especially electric guitar, that consists of the root note and the fifth, as well as possibly octaves of those notes. Power chords are commonly played on ...
. Other fifth chords are made when barred with the index finger of the fretting hand shifted up the
fretboard The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments) is an important component of most stringed instruments. It is a thin, long strip of material, usually wood, that is laminated to the front of the neck of an instrument. The st ...
. Drop D tuning is frequently used in heavy metal and its various subgenres, as guitarists in these styles often need fast transitions between power chords. Drop D is also used in metal because it adds two lower semitones to the bass range of the rhythm guitar, which adds two more low-range power chords (Eb and D) and enables a heavier, deeper sound. The tuning has also been used in many other styles of music, including blues,
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
,
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...
, and classical. Due to its similarity to standard tuning, drop D is recognised as a useful introduction to alternative tunings, leading logically to an exploration of
DADGAD , or Celtic tuning is an alternative guitar tuning most associated with Celtic music, though it has also found use in rock, folk, metal and several other genres. Instead of the Guitar tuning#Standard and alternatives, standard tuning () the six gui ...
,
open D Open D tuning is an open tuning for the acoustic or electric guitar. The open string notes in this tuning are (from lowest to highest): D A D F A D. It uses the three notes that form the triad of a D major chord: D, the root note; A, ...
, D tuning (in which all strings are tuned 1 full note lower DGCFAD), drop D (in which only the 6th string is tuned 3 frets lower DADGBe) and drop D drop G (in which both the 5th and 6th strings are dropped a tone DGDGBe) tunings. The tuning allows for chords with a root or bass note of D to be played with a D an octave lower than with standard tuning. It also allows the playing of open D chords that include the fifth and sixth strings, letting the full sonority of the guitar be heard. This can be especially useful for songs in the keys of D major or minor and is particularly effective on acoustic guitar. Drop D also allows fingerpickers to play chord shapes higher up the neck while maintaining an
alternating bass In music, alternate bass is a performance technique on many instruments where the bass alternates between two notes, most often the root and the fifth of a triad or chord. The perfect fifth is often, but not always, played below the root, tra ...
. The bottom three strings, if left open, will vibrate sympathetically and, using chord shapes limited to the top three strings, a
drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...
effect can easily be achieved. The trade-off is the loss of the open bass E note in chords or fingerings, which the player can adjust to include fretting the sixth string at the second fret (now E).


In rock and metal

Although the drop D tuning was introduced and developed by blues and classical guitarists, it is well known from its usage in contemporary heavy metal and hard rock bands. Early hard rock songs tuned in drop D include
The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
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I Want You (She's So Heavy) "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney). The song closes side one of their 1969 album '' Abbey Road'' and features Billy Preston playing the organ. It ...
" and
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
's "
Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whi ...
", both first released in 1969. Tuning the lowest string one tone down, from E to D, allowed these musicians to acquire a heavier and darker sound than in
standard tuning In music, standard tuning refers to the typical tuning of a string instrument. This notion is contrary to that of scordatura, i.e. an alternate tuning designated to modify either the timbre or technical capabilities of the desired instrument. Viol ...
. Without needing to tune all strings (Standard D tuning), they could tune just one, in order to lower the key. Drop D is also a convenient tuning, because it expands the scale of an instrument by two semitones: D and D. In the mid 1980s, three
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
bands,
King's X King's X is an American rock band that originated in 1979 in Springfield, Missouri. They were first called The Edge and later became Sneak Preview before settling on its current name in 1985. The band's current lineup has remained intact for ...
,
Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yama ...
and Melvins, influenced by
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
and
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
, made extensive use of drop D tuning. While playing
power chords A power chord (also fifth chord) is a colloquial name for a chord in guitar music, especially electric guitar, that consists of the root note and the fifth, as well as possibly octaves of those notes. Power chords are commonly played on ...
(a chord that includes the prime, fifth and octave) in standard tuning requires a player to use two or three fingers, drop D tuning needs just one, similar in technique to playing
barre chord In music, a barre chord (also spelled bar chord) is a type of chord on a guitar or other stringed instrument played by using one finger to press down multiple strings across a single fret of the fingerboard (like a bar pressing down the string ...
s. It allowed them to use different methods of articulating power chords (
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for example) and more importantly, it allowed guitarists to change chords faster. This new technique of playing power chords introduced by these early grunge bands was a great influence on many artists, such as
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...
and
Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
. The same drop D tuning then became common practice among
alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
acts such as the band
Helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
, who used the tuning a great deal throughout their career and would later influence many alternative metal and nu metal bands. Nu metal bands including
Deftones Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first f ...
and Slipknot went one step further and decided to tune "drop" tuning even lower. By lowering the 6th string one whole step in lowered tunings they created a heavier and grittier sound. Lower tunings such as Drop D, used prior by groups such as
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and
Alice In Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...
,
Drop C This article contains a list of guitar tunings that supplements the article guitar tunings. In particular, this list contains more examples of open and regular tunings, which are discussed in the article on guitar tunings. In addition, this list ...
, Drop B, Drop B, and Drop A were utilized. These tunings are very popular among
Alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
, metalcore and
deathcore Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns. While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with me ...
acts like
Trivium The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The trivium is implicit in ''De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii'' ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but t ...
,
Emmure Emmure () is an American metalcore band formed in 2003. Originally based in New Fairfield, Connecticut, before moving to Queens, New York, the group has released eight albums, with their first public release being a 2006 EP entitled '' The Comp ...
,
Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is an American Rock music, rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink an ...
,
August Burns Red August Burns Red is an American metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, formed in 2003. The band's current lineup consists of lead guitarist John Benjamin "JB" Brubaker, rhythm guitarist Brent Rambler, drummer Matt Greiner, lead vocalist ...
, and
Suicide Silence Suicide Silence is an American deathcore band from Riverside, California. The band was established in 2002, and has released six studio albums, three EPs, and nineteen music videos. They were awarded the ''Revolver'' Golden God award for "Bes ...
, where fast chord changes are an essential part of the sound.
Progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...
acts such as
Pain of Salvation Pain of Salvation is a Swedish progressive metal band led by Daniel Gildenlöw, who is the band's main songwriter, lyricist, guitarist, and vocalist. Pain of Salvation's sound is characterised by riff-oriented guitar work, a broad vocal range, o ...
, Opeth, Fates Warning and Dream Theater use these tunings in some of their E-tuned songs.


Chords in drop D tuning

Chords Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord ( ...
in drop 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 5th chord is an octave from the root note so it is not necessary to play it to achieve a 5th chord.


Relation to other tunings

Drop D tuning is the most basic type of "drop 1" tuning, where the 6th string is tuned down a
whole step In Western music theory, a major second (sometimes also called whole tone or a whole step) is a second spanning two semitones (). A second is a musical interval encompassing two adjacent staff positions (see Interval number for more de ...
(a tone). A large number of other "drop 1" tunings can be obtained simply by tuning a guitar to drop D tuning and then tuning all strings down some fixed amount. Examples are Drop D,
Drop C This article contains a list of guitar tunings that supplements the article guitar tunings. In particular, this list contains more examples of open and regular tunings, which are discussed in the article on guitar tunings. In addition, this list ...
, Drop B, Drop B, and Drop A tunings. All of these use the same fingerings as for drop D tuning.


References


External links


Drop D Tuning
- Song Examples
Tyrannosaurus X
-
Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and politica ...
's Vincent DeMasi interviews
Ty Tabor Ty Tabor ( ; born September 17, 1961) is the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-lead vocalist for the progressive metal band, King's X. Tabor has a wide-ranging guitar style, from big guitar riffs to middling melodic passages. His use of volum ...
about dropped tunings
Online Tuners for Drop D, C and B
- Drop tuning audio references

- Drop D-Tuning and Basic Chords
Music Stackexchange
- Why Is Dropped D Tuning Used So Often? {{Guitar tunings Guitar tunings da:Guitarstemning#Drop D