Drop A Tuning on 7-String Guitar: Notes, Chords and How to Use It
Drop A is one of the simplest and most rewarding changes you can make on a 7-string guitar. You only retune one string, yet the whole instrument suddenly sounds deeper, heavier and more powerful. If you've ever wanted thick, chugging riffs or a big low note ringing under everything you play, this tuning is a great place to start. Better still, almost everything you already know stays exactly where it was.
What Drop A Actually Is
A standard 7-string guitar is tuned, from the thickest string (string 7, nearest your chin) to the thinnest (string 1): B, E, A, D, G, B, E. In Drop A, you take that lowest B string and lower it to A. Everything else stays put.
So your open strings, from string 7 down to string 1, become: A, E, A, D, G, B, E.
The amount you lower it is a whole step. A half step is the distance of one fret, so a whole step is two frets. In other words, your new open string 7 sounds the same note that used to live at the 2nd fret below it... or put more simply, it's two frets' worth lower than before.
How to Tune Into Drop A, Step by Step
- Start in standard tuning. Make sure all seven strings are in tune first. It makes the next step much easier.
- Play your open string 5 (A). This is your target note. Your new low string will be the same note, just one octave lower. An octave is the same note at a higher or lower pitch, like a man and a woman singing the same tune together.
- Slowly loosen string 7. Turn the tuning peg so the pitch drops. Pluck as you go. You're moving down from B to A.
- Listen for the match. Play open string 7 and open string 5 together. When they're in tune, they blend smoothly into one big note. If you hear a wobbling or "beating" sound, keep adjusting until it settles.
- Double-check against string 6. Fret string 7 at the 7th fret. That note is E, and it should sound exactly the same as open string 6.
- Check once more. A loosened string often drifts a little at first, so pluck it again after a minute and touch it up.
You'll notice the string feels a bit slacker under your fingers. That's normal. Pick it with a little less force at first so the note doesn't go sharp or rattle.
Why Players Use It
A deeper, heavier sound
Dropping to A gives you a lower bottom note than standard tuning offers. That extra weight is why drop tunings on 7-string guitars are so common in modern metal, progressive metal and other heavy styles. The low end feels huge and slightly growly.
One-finger power chords
Here's the big practical win. Normally, string 7 and string 6 are a perfect 4th apart. In Drop A, they're a perfect 5th apart (A to E). A perfect 5th is the interval that makes a power chord, the strong, simple two-note chord used all over rock and metal.
That means you can lay one finger flat across strings 7 and 6 at the same fret and get a power chord instantly. Add string 5 at the same fret and you get the root note doubled an octave up, which sounds even fuller.
- Open strings 7, 6 and 5: A, E, A. That's an A5 power chord with no fingers at all.
- Barre those three strings at the 3rd fret: C, G, C. That's C5.
- Barre them at the 5th fret: D, A, D. That's D5.
Sliding one finger around makes fast riffs far easier than stretching into standard power chord shapes.
Open-string drones
A drone is a note that keeps ringing or repeating under a melody. With the low A open, you can chug on it between chords, or let it ring while you play melodies higher up. It anchors everything to a strong home note.
What Happens When You Strum the Open Strings
Strum all seven open strings and you'll hear A, E, A, D, G, B, E. It isn't a neat, familiar chord. It sounds wide, open and a little unresolved, with a slightly tense shimmer on top.
Now strum just the bottom three strings. That A, E, A is a solid, punchy power chord. This is where Drop A really lives: the low strings give you weight, while the upper strings carry your melodies and fuller chords.
Listen to how the low A makes everything feel like it's pulling back to that note. That sense of "home" is what makes riffs in this tuning so satisfying.
How Scale and Chord Shapes Change
The good news: strings 6 through 1 are completely unchanged. Every scale, chord and lick you know on those six strings works exactly as before.
Only string 7 is different. Because it's two frets lower, any note on that string now sits two frets higher than it did in standard tuning. If a scale shape used the 5th fret on string 7, that same note is now at the 7th fret.
The other thing to watch is the jump from string 7 to string 6. In standard tuning it's a perfect 4th, like most string pairs. Now it's a perfect 5th, so scale patterns crossing those two strings need a slight adjustment. Many players simply use string 7 for root notes, power chords and riffs, and play their scales mostly on the strings above.
Your First Thing to Try
Mute the strings lightly with the side of your picking hand, near the bridge, and chug the open low A in a steady rhythm. Then, without stopping the pulse, throw in one-finger power chords on strings 7 and 6 at the 3rd and 5th frets before landing back on the open A.
Keep it slow, keep it even, and listen for the moment it starts to feel like a real riff. Five minutes of this a day and the tuning will feel like home before the week is out.
More on the instrument itself: the 7-String Guitar guide.