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Guitar tuning · 6 string
Drop D Tuning
Standard with the lowest string dropped a whole step, putting a one-finger power chord under your hand.
The strings
Low to high, the way you would say it out loud.
D6th
A5th
D4th
G3rd
B2nd
E1st
Getting there from standard
Only one string moves; the rest stay where they are.
- 1st string — leave it at E
- 2nd string — leave it at B
- 3rd string — leave it at G
- 4th string — leave it at D
- 5th string — leave it at A
- 6th string — E down a whole step to D
Why players use it
Dropping the 6th string to D turns the lowest three strings into a stacked fifth, so a power chord becomes a single barred finger. It also hands you a low D — two semitones below the guitar's usual floor — which is why so much heavy music starts here.
What it buys you
Power chords with one finger, and riffs you can move up the neck without changing shape.
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