Guitar tuning
Drop D Tuning
Drop D lowers the sixth string to D while the other five strings stay in standard tuning.
- Notes low to high
- D, A, D, G, B, E
- Strings
- 6
- Default frets
- 24
- Open pitch range
- D2 to E4
- 24-fret pitch range
- D2 to E6
- Also called
- DADGBE
How this tuning changes the guitar
Only the sixth string moves, dropping from E to D while strings 1 through 5 remain in standard tuning. The open sixth, fifth, and fourth strings form D-A-D: a root, fifth, and octave.
Fretboard and chord implications
A single fret across the lowest three strings produces a movable power-chord shape. Standard-tuning material on the upper five strings remains unchanged, while any pattern that crosses onto the sixth string must account for its two-fret shift.
Drop D Tuning fretboard notes
Drop D Tuning string notes
| String | Note | Pitch |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | D | D2 |
| 5 | A | A2 |
| 4 | D | D3 |
| 3 | G | G3 |
| 2 | B | B3 |
| 1 | E | E4 |
Common uses
- hard rock
- heavy music
- power chords
- fingerstyle
- modern rock
Practice this tuning
- Tune from low to high as D A D G B E, then play each open string while saying its note name and string number aloud.
- Alternate D power chords on the lowest three strings with D minor pentatonic notes on strings 4 through 1.
- Rework a standard-tuning riff in drop D, adjusting only notes that fall on the sixth string and comparing both fingerings.
Open this tuning in the fretboard tool
Start with drop d tuning loaded, then adjust root, scale, fret count, labels, colors, and orientation.
Open in interactive fretboard