# Drop D tuning
Drop D tuning is a guitar tuning in which only the lowest string is lowered by one whole step, from E to D, producing the string pattern D-A-D-G-B-E while the other five strings remain in standard tuning.[1](https://www.fender.com/articles/setup/drop-d-tuning-on-guitar) It is one of the most popular ways to tune a guitar, heard across rock, metal, folk, and blues.[1](https://www.fender.com/articles/setup/drop-d-tuning-on-guitar) • [2](https://www.fender.com//articles/setup/tune-like-a-rock-star)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| String pattern | D-A-D-G-B-E, low to high; only the sixth string differs from standard tuning[1](https://www.fender.com/articles/setup/drop-d-tuning-on-guitar) |
| Pitch change | The low E string drops a full step (two semitones), from E2 to D2[3](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/guitar-101-what-is-drop-d-tuning-learn-guitar-technique-and-easy-instructions) |
| Signature chord | The bottom three open strings form a D5 power chord, movable with one barred finger[4](https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/techniques/drop-d-tuning) |
| Tension effect | On a set built for standard tuning, the dropped sixth string loses roughly 20-25% of its original tension[5](https://guitar.care/blog/setup-for-drop-tunings) |
| Setup impact | Minor truss rod or intonation adjustments are usually not required for Drop D alone, unlike more aggressive dropped tunings such as Drop C[5](https://guitar.care/blog/setup-for-drop-tunings) |
| Notable users | Nirvana, Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, The Beatles, Neil Young, and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NrrTCWXrUs) • [7](https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/drop-d-tuning/) • [8](https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/artist-lessons/joe-bonamassa-drop-d-blues-lesson) |
## How to tune to Drop D
The procedure changes only one string. Tune the guitar to standard first, then lower the sixth string a whole step by turning its tuning peg while repeatedly plucking it, until it sounds D.[1](https://www.fender.com/articles/setup/drop-d-tuning-on-guitar) Without a tuner, the low string can be tuned by ear: pluck the open fourth string (D) and lower the sixth string until it matches that pitch an octave below.[1](https://www.fender.com/articles/setup/drop-d-tuning-on-guitar) Another ear method is to fret the seventh fret of the lowered string and match it to the open A string above it.[9](https://openfret.com/learn/drop-d-tuning)
Because adjusting one string can affect the others, especially with the new octave created between the sixth and fourth strings, it is worth rechecking the whole guitar after the change.[10](https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/rocksmith/plus/news-updates/67fZUatDbTVhXZ3zaO8gaI/drop-d-tuning-how-to-tune-your-guitar-to-drop-d)
## What the tuning changes for the player
**One-finger power chords.** In standard tuning, a power chord on the lowest strings requires two or three fingers. In Drop D, the bottom three strings (D, A, D) form a D5 chord when played open, and any fretted version needs only a single barred finger laid across the fret, which can then be slid up and down the neck. Ubisoft's [Rocksmith](https://www.edgepedia.org/rocksmith)+ guide describes this as the reason the tuning is popular in hard rock: the power chord hand shape becomes a simple barre that produces full-sounding chords with ease.[4](https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/techniques/drop-d-tuning) • [10](https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/rocksmith/plus/news-updates/67fZUatDbTVhXZ3zaO8gaI/drop-d-tuning-how-to-tune-your-guitar-to-drop-d)
**Extended low range.** The tuning adds a low D below the standard guitar range, expanding the instrument's range a full step lower and giving riffs a bass note that does not exist in standard tuning; Fender notes that this also makes it easier to accompany singers with lower voices.[1](https://www.fender.com/articles/setup/drop-d-tuning-on-guitar) Blues guitarist [Joe Bonamassa](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-bonamassa), writing in [Guitar World](https://www.edgepedia.org/guitar-world), calls drop D "oft-used" and values it for presenting more options, including octave figures in which each note of the octave sits at the same fret on the sixth and fourth strings.[8](https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/artist-lessons/joe-bonamassa-drop-d-blues-lesson)
**What stays the same.** The upper five strings keep their standard intervals, so chord shapes, scales, and muscle memory on those strings carry over unchanged, and Fender describes Drop D as one of the easiest alternate tunings to learn.[1](https://www.fender.com/articles/setup/drop-d-tuning-on-guitar)
## Setup and strings
Because Drop D changes only one string and does not hugely change overall tension, a guitar set up for standard tuning generally handles it without a full setup, though the dropped string may benefit from a slightly heavier gauge to avoid excess buzz.[11](https://www.acousticcentre.com.au/blogs/acoustic-centre-guides/setting-up-one-guitar-for-multiple-tunings) The loosened string still loses roughly 20-25% of its original tension on a standard-gauge set, which can cause floppiness during aggressive playing; D'Addario's drop tuning guide, as quoted by guitar.care, states that minor truss rod or intonation adjustments are usually not required for Drop D alone, while more aggressive dropped tunings like Drop C may demand a full setup.[5](https://guitar.care/blog/setup-for-drop-tunings) Guitar World advises a slightly thicker sixth string, since the drop in pitch makes the string looser and easier to sound out of tune.[4](https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/techniques/drop-d-tuning) Ibanez's owner's manual likewise cautions that the neck or intonation may need adjustment when a guitar is tuned to pitches other than its factory specification.[12](https://www.hoshinogakki.co.jp/pdf/ibanez/manual/en/eg/eg2014_prestige.pdf)
## History and notable players
Dropped-D tuning has a history well beyond electric guitar. Premier Guitar traces it back to the Beatles, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, and even a guitar transcription of Bach's Musette in D Major.[13](https://www.premierguitar.com/bass-bench-dropped-tuning-delirium) In D major and [D minor](https://www.edgepedia.org/d-minor) works, classical players have a lengthy history of tuning down to a low D, letting the open sixth string sound as a bass beneath the melody, and certain contemporary guitar transcriptions of [John Dowland](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-dowland)'s Renaissance lute pieces require drop D in order to approximate the original instrument's low pitch.[14](https://musicproductionglossary.com/what-is-drop-d-tuning/) • [15](https://musichub.maurisson.com/en/guide/accordages-alternatifs-guitare/)
In rock, the tuning is strongly associated with heavy music. [Kim Thayil](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-thayil), guitarist of [Soundgarden](https://www.edgepedia.org/soundgarden), recalled learning it in his early twenties from [Buzz Osborne](https://www.edgepedia.org/buzz-osborne) of the Melvins, who told him Black Sabbath had used "this thing called drop D": "You tune the E string down to D, and it sounds heavier." Thayil found chords easier to play and faster as a result, and Soundgarden's first song written in the tuning was "Nothing to Say," followed by "Flower" and Chris Cornell's "Beyond the Wheel."[16](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/kim-thayil-soundgarden-a-screaming-life) Eddie Van Halen used drop D on "Unchained," with the whole guitar also tuned down a half step, and the tuning subsequently became a standard of heavy metal.[17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH8buhA-ORE) Fender lists Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Foo Fighters among its users.[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NrrTCWXrUs)
The tuning also appears outside heavy genres. Songs as varied as "Dear Prudence" ([The Beatles](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beatles)), "Blackwater" (Doobie Brothers), and "I Love This Bar" ([Toby Keith](https://www.edgepedia.org/toby-keith)) use it.[7](https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/drop-d-tuning/)
## Variants and related tunings
**Double drop D** lowers both E strings, giving D-A-D-G-B-D. Bonamassa associates this tuning with [Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young](https://www.edgepedia.org/crosby-stills-nash-and-young) territory: both [Neil Young](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-young) and [Stephen Stills](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-stills) have explored it, as has Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin's "Going to California."[8](https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/artist-lessons/joe-bonamassa-drop-d-blues-lesson)
**Lower drop tunings** apply the same principle further down. Drop C pairs a lower standard pitch with the lowest string dropped again, and because such tunings change overall tension substantially, D'Addario notes they may require a full setup, unlike Drop D.[5](https://guitar.care/blog/setup-for-drop-tunings) Fender's tuner article lists drop tunings alongside half-step-down and open tunings as options a player can explore from standard.[18](https://www.fender.com/online-guitar-tuner/)
**Electronic alternatives** reduce the need to retune. The DigiTech Drop, introduced in 2014, is a polyphonic pitch-shifting pedal that lowers the guitar's whole signal from one semitone all the way down to a full octave, letting a player reach lower drop tunings without touching the tuning pegs.[14](https://musicproductionglossary.com/what-is-drop-d-tuning/) Guitar World's review of Solar's Chug Capo describes the same idea in a newer pedal, pitching the entire signal by a set number of semitones.[19](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/guitar-pedals/solar-chug-capo-review)
## References
1. [Drop D Tuning on Guitar, Fender](https://www.fender.com/articles/setup/drop-d-tuning-on-guitar)
2. [Tune Like a Rock Star, Fender](https://www.fender.com//articles/setup/tune-like-a-rock-star)
3. [What Is Drop D Tuning?, MasterClass](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/guitar-101-what-is-drop-d-tuning-learn-guitar-technique-and-easy-instructions)
4. [Drop D tuning lesson: everything you need to know, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/techniques/drop-d-tuning)
5. [Setting Up a Guitar for Drop and Lowered Tunings, guitar.care](https://guitar.care/blog/setup-for-drop-tunings)
6. [Drop D Tuning on Guitar, Fender Play (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NrrTCWXrUs)
7. [Drop D Tuning, Sweetwater InSync](https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/drop-d-tuning/)
8. [Joe Bonamassa explains how he uses drop D for blues guitar, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/lessons/artist-lessons/joe-bonamassa-drop-d-blues-lesson)
9. [Drop D Tuning: How to Tune, Chords & Riffs, OpenFret](https://openfret.com/learn/drop-d-tuning)
10. [Drop D Tuning: How To Tune Your Guitar to Drop D, Ubisoft Rocksmith+](https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/game/rocksmith/plus/news-updates/67fZUatDbTVhXZ3zaO8gaI/drop-d-tuning-how-to-tune-your-guitar-to-drop-d)
11. [One Guitar, Multiple Tunings: Setup Guide, Acoustic Centre](https://www.acousticcentre.com.au/blogs/acoustic-centre-guides/setting-up-one-guitar-for-multiple-tunings)
12. [Ibanez Prestige Electric Guitar Owner's Manual, Hoshino Gakki](https://www.hoshinogakki.co.jp/pdf/ibanez/manual/en/eg/eg2014_prestige.pdf)
13. [Bass Bench: Dropped-Tuning Delirium, Premier Guitar](https://www.premierguitar.com/bass-bench-dropped-tuning-delirium)
14. [What is Drop D Tuning?, Music Production Glossary](https://musicproductionglossary.com/what-is-drop-d-tuning/)
15. [Alternate Guitar Tunings: Drop D, Open Tunings and DADGAD, Maurisson Music Hub](https://musichub.maurisson.com/en/guide/accordages-alternatifs-guitare/)
16. [Kim Thayil on how Soundgarden took rock guitar into the superunknown, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/kim-thayil-soundgarden-a-screaming-life)
17. [How to Use Drop D Tuning, Heavy Metal Guitar, Howcast (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH8buhA-ORE)
18. [Guitar Tuner, Fender](https://www.fender.com/online-guitar-tuner/)
19. [Solar Chug Capo review, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/guitar-pedals/solar-chug-capo-review)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical practice and theory › Instruments, theory, and world traditions › Guitar*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license