TUNELIT

Guitar tuning · D A D G B E

Drop D tuner.

D A D G B E: String 6 dropped to D2. Tune with your mic or by ear, at A4 = 440 or any pitch you need.

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  • Set A to anything: 440, 432, 442…

D A D G B E

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Guitar · Drop tuning

About Drop D

E Standard with String 6 dropped a whole step, to D2: D A D G B E. Drop tunings make a power chord from one finger across the lowest three strings, so heavy riffs get easier to play.

Drop D is the most popular alternate tuning. Only one string changes, so it takes seconds to get there and back, and it adds a low D for riffs and for songs in D.

Also written: DADGBE

How to get there from standard

  • String 6: lower a whole step (E2 → D2)
  • String 5: no change (A2)
  • String 4: no change (D3)
  • String 3: no change (G3)
  • String 2: no change (B3)
  • String 1: no change (E4)

Why players use it

Why Drop D

Drop D gives speed and weight for almost no effort. With the low string on D, a power chord is one finger laid flat across the three thickest strings, so a riff can jump between chords as fast as your hand moves. When players asked Kim Thayil how he played Soundgarden's Flower so fast, his answer was the low string tuned to D.

It suits quiet songs just as well. Anything in D gets a deep open root, and fingerpicked parts can drone on the low string while the melody moves above it. Brian May wrote Fat Bottomed Girls around open-position chords in Drop D, and The Beatles' Dear Prudence rings over the same low D, proof that the tuning is older than grunge.

On the records

Who plays in Drop D

Seattle made it famous all the same. Thayil learned it in 1985 or 1986 from Buzz Osborne of the Melvins, who told him Tony Iommi tuned his low E down to D. He went home and wrote Nothing to Say, and Soundgarden went on to use it for Outshined, Jesus Christ Pose and Spoonman: 22 songs on TuneLit.

TuneLit has 250 Drop D songs. Clawfinger lead with 48, Rammstein have 43 from Herzeleid to Zeit, and Linkin Park 41, most of their songs from Minutes to Midnight on. Dave Grohl drops to D for Everlong and Monkey Wrench, and bands that otherwise live in E borrow it for single songs: Iron Maiden's The Legacy, Aerosmith's Livin' on the Edge, Deep Purple's The Battle Rages On.

Songs on TuneLit

Famous songs in Drop D

Each song has its own page: the exact tuning, the pitch of the record and how to get there string by string. Tune sets the tuner to the record, cents included.

250 songs · 27 bands

Every Drop D song on TuneLit

Open a band to see its songs in this tuning. Each song opens on its album page, at its own Tune button, set to the pitch of the record.

Clawfinger 48 songs
Rammstein 43 songs
Linkin Park 41 songs
Soundgarden 22 songs
Foo Fighters 17 songs
Sepultura 11 songs
Aerosmith 8 songs
Radiohead 7 songs
Deep Purple 6 songs
Pantera 6 songs
Van Halen 6 songs
Nirvana 5 songs
Queen 4 songs
The Pretty Reckless 4 songs
Deftones 2 songs
Green Day 2 songs
Guns N' Roses 2 songs
Iron Maiden 2 songs
Led Zeppelin 2 songs
Megadeth 2 songs
Pink Floyd 2 songs
The Offspring 2 songs
ZZ Top 2 songs
AC/DC 1 song
Black Sabbath 1 song
Metallica 1 song
The Beatles 1 song

Playing tips

Playing in Drop D

Everything on String 6 now sits two frets higher: the G that was at fret 3 is at fret 5, the A at fret 7. Chords on the top five strings do not change, but a barre chord with its root on String 6 does, so either use the one-finger power chord or mute the low string with your thumb.

Lowering one string takes a little pull off the neck, and on a floating tremolo the other strings creep sharp as you do it, so check all six once the D has settled. If you switch often, a drop lever on the String 6 tuner, or a D-Tuna on a Floyd Rose, does it in one move. On bass, drop the E to D as well.

6 strings

Notes and frequencies

Drop D: notes and frequencies in Hz at three common A4 references
StringNoteA = 440A = 432A = 442
6D273.4272.0873.75
5A2110.00108.00110.50
4D3146.83144.16147.50
3G3196.00192.43196.89
2B3246.94242.45248.06
1E4329.63323.63331.13

The tuner on this page works at any A4 from 300 to 600 Hz, and can shift the whole tuning by half steps or fine cents.

Measured

How the tuner hears D2

Drop D goes down to D2 on String 6, 73.42 Hz. A phone mic hears D2 faintly: in our phone-mic model its fundamental arrives 6 dB quieter. Read from its overtones, D2 stayed within 1 ¢.

How the tuner listens →

String tension

Strings and tension

String 6: about 21% less tension (approx., same strings, same scale length).

Most players keep their usual strings for this. If the lowest string feels floppy or buzzes, go one gauge heavier on that string only.

Check string tension → String by string, with your own set and scale length.

Neighboring tunings

Higher tunings first. Each rung moves every string of Drop D by a half step; in the tuner, the ◂ ▸ arrows on the tuning chip do the same.

  1. Drop EDrop D, 2 half steps higher. Notes: E B E A C sharp F sharp
  2. Drop E♭Drop D, 1 half step higher. Notes: E flat B flat E flat A flat C F
  3. Drop DThis pageLow string down to D. Notes: D A D G B E
  4. Drop C♯Drop D, 1 half step lower
  5. Drop CDrop D, 2 half steps lower

Questions

What are the notes of Drop D?

From String 6 to String 1: D2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4. At A4 = 440 Hz the lowest string is 73.42 Hz and the highest is 329.63 Hz.

How is Drop D different from D Standard?

D Standard lowers all six strings a whole step (D G C F A D). Drop D takes only String 6 that low; the other strings stay at E Standard (A D G B E).

Can I use Drop D at A = 432 or 442?

Yes. Tap the A 440 chip and choose 432 or 442, or type any value. String 6 is 72.08 Hz at A = 432 and 73.75 Hz at A = 442.