Drop D Tuning on 6-String Guitar: Notes, Chords and How to Use It

Drop D is the easiest alternate tuning there is, and one of the most useful. You change just one string, and suddenly your guitar sounds deeper, power chords take one finger instead of two or three, and you get a big low drone you can ring under almost anything in the key of D. If you've never strayed from standard tuning, this is the perfect first step, and you can be playing in it within a couple of minutes.

What Drop D Actually Is

In standard tuning, your six open strings are E, A, D, G, B, E, from the thickest string (string 6, nearest your chin) to the thinnest (string 1). In Drop D, only the thickest string changes. It goes down a whole step, from E to D. A whole step is the distance of two frets, so the string now sounds the same pitch it would if you could play "fret minus two" on it.

So your open strings in Drop D are:

• String 6: D (lowered from E)
• String 5: A (unchanged)
• String 4: D (unchanged)
• String 3: G (unchanged)
• String 2: B (unchanged)
• String 1: E (unchanged)

Notice you now have two D strings, string 6 and string 4, an octave apart. An octave is the same note name at a higher or lower pitch, like the same word sung by a bass singer and then a tenor.

How to Tune Into It, Step by Step

1. Start in standard tuning and make sure it's in tune.
2. Play your open string 4 (D) and let it ring. That's the note you're aiming for, just lower.
3. Slowly loosen the tuning peg on string 6 while plucking it. You'll hear it drop. Keep going until it sounds like a deeper version of open string 4. When it's right, the two notes blend smoothly with no wobbling or "beating" sound.
4. Check it a second way: play string 6 at fret 7. That should now match your open string 5 (A). In standard tuning you'd match at fret 5, but because the string is two frets lower, the match moves up two frets.
5. If you have a tuner, just tune string 6 to D. Easy.

Tip: tune up to the note if you overshoot. Coming up to pitch helps the string hold its tuning better.

What Changes and Why Players Love It

In standard tuning, strings 6 and 5 are a perfect 4th apart, which is five frets. In Drop D, strings 6 and 5 are a perfect 5th apart, seven frets. The rest of the guitar keeps its usual relationships: perfect 4ths between most strings, and the familiar major 3rd (four frets) between G and B.

That one change on the bottom pair is the whole secret. Here's what it gives you:

• A deeper sound. Your lowest note is now D instead of E. Riffs feel heavier and fuller.
• One-finger power chords. A power chord is just a root note, its 5th and often the octave, no major or minor flavour. In Drop D, the bottom three strings already form that shape. Lay one finger flat across strings 6, 5 and 4 at the same fret and you've got one.
• Fast, heavy riffs. Because the shape is one finger, you can slide and jump between chords quickly. That's why Drop D is a staple of hard rock, grunge and metal.
• Open-string drones. A drone is a note that keeps ringing while other notes move above it. The low open D is a fantastic drone for songs in D, and folk and acoustic players use it for exactly that.

Strumming the Open Strings

Strum all six open strings and you'll hear D, A, D, G, B, E. It's not a neat, finished chord; it sounds open and a little unresolved, with a strong low D underneath. Interesting, but not the main event.

Now strum only the bottom three strings: D, A, D. That's a clean, solid D power chord, the root, the 5th and the octave. Listen to how wide and stable it sounds. This is the sound Drop D is famous for.

Try the one-finger trick at a few frets on strings 6, 5 and 4:

• Fret 2: E, B, E (an E power chord)
• Fret 3: F, C, F (F)
• Fret 5: G, D, G (G)
• Fret 7: A, E, A (A)

Bonus: play your normal open D chord shape on the top four strings and strum all six. The low D and A now belong to the chord, so you get a huge, full D major.

How Scale and Chord Shapes Shift

Here's the good news: strings 1 through 5 are exactly as you know them. Every scale shape and chord shape that avoids string 6 works the same.

On string 6, every note is now two frets higher than it was. A G that lived at fret 3 now lives at fret 5. An E that was the open string is now at fret 2. So when a scale pattern or a chord's bass note uses string 6, slide that note up two frets and leave everything else alone.

Chords with their root on string 6, like the barre shapes you might know, need reworking, which is why many players simply switch to the one-finger power chords or play those chords from string 5 instead. Explore it on the interactive fretboard: watch how only the bottom row of notes moves.

Your First Thing to Try

Let the open low D ring and play a simple riff: strike the bottom three strings open, then fret 3, then fret 5, then back to open. Keep it slow and steady, mute the higher strings lightly with the underside of your fretting fingers, and listen for that big, even power chord sound each time. Once it feels comfortable, add a quick open D between each chord. Give it five minutes a day for a week, and Drop D will feel like home.

More on the instrument itself: the 6-String Guitar guide.