Dropped D tuning: DADGBe, also known as simply as Drop D, is a guitar tuning style in which the lowest (sixth) string is tuned down a whole tone ("dropped") to D rather than E as in standard tuning (EADGBe).
Uses of Dropped D Tuning
The difference of drop D from standard tuning allows for the bottom three strings form a D5 power chord, which can be shifted up or down the fretboard with a single finger (usually the index) to produce any power chord quickly and easily. Drop-D also enables the guitarist to play a whole tone lower than in standard tuning, and many artists value this deeper, fuller sound.
Dropped D tuning is perhaps most widely used in heavy metal or rock music as they take full advantage of the easier power chord transitions. However, the tuning has also been used in many other types of music, including blues, country, and folk.
This tuning may be the most prominent tuning in modern rock and metal, but it is not uncommon for these guitarists to play in E-flat tuning/down tuning or dropped C tuning.
Drop D also allows fingerpickers to play chord shapes higher up the neck while maintaining an alternating bass.
Examples of Chords in Dropped D Tuning
Chords in drop-D tuning are formed as they are in standard tuning, with the exception of the sixth string, which is either omitted or fretted two semitones higher:
Chord Tab
A x02220
Am x02210
B x24442
Bm x24432
C x32010
D 000232
Dm 000231
E x22100
Em 222000
F x03211
F# xx4322
F#m xx4222
G 5x0003
Note that these chords are not the power chords commonly played in drop D tuning. Power chords generally mute the higher notes rather than the lower notes:
Chord Tab
A5 777xxx or x022xx
B5 999xxx or x244xx
C5 x355xx
D5 000xxx
E5 222xxx
F5 333xxx
F#5 444xxx
G5 555xxx
(Courtesy of Wikipedia)
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