Guitar Drop D Tuner — Tune to Drop D in Your Browser
Mic-based chromatic tuner pre-set to Drop D. No download, no sign-up, works in your browser.
Tuning summary
- Notes (low to high)
- D2 · A2 · D3 · G3 · B3 · E4
- Instrument
- Guitar
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- About this tuning
- Drop the low E to D for an open D5 power chord on the bottom strings. A staple of rock, metal, and folk guitar.
Start tuning
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About Drop D on guitar
Drop D is the simplest alternate tuning a guitarist will encounter: lower the 6th string from E to D, leave everything else at standard. The result is DADGBE. Strumming the bottom three strings now sounds an open D5 power chord, and any moveable power-chord shape on the lowest two strings becomes a single-finger barre.
The low D opens up melodic and harmonic options that standard cannot match. Songs written in D, A, and G major suddenly have a thunderous low root, and metal players gain access to faster riffing because power chords and palm-muted chugs no longer need two fingers. Folk and acoustic players get a cleaner pedal tone for fingerstyle pieces in D.
Drop D shows up everywhere. Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, Tool, Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, and System of a Down all built recognisable riffs around the dropped low string. On the acoustic side, Neil Young and James Taylor used Drop D for songs in D where they wanted the extra low end. The tuning is so common many guitarists keep one instrument permanently in Drop D.
If you are new to Drop D, start by relearning the open chord shapes you already know — the low D changes the bass note of any chord that uses the 6th string. Try playing a regular E minor barre at the 12th fret across only the lowest two strings and you have an instant single-finger power chord. Once that clicks, every Drop D song feels easier than its standard-tuning counterpart.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to change strings to play Drop D?
- No. The low E string is plenty thick to hold a D pitch — the tension drop is small and the string still feels playable.
- Will Drop D work for songs written in standard tuning?
- Most chord shapes still work; just remember that any chord that uses the open 6th string is now a D, not an E. Avoid playing the low string on chords like E, Em, A, or Am unless you are sure you want a D bass.
- Is Drop D the same as D Standard?
- No. Drop D only lowers the 6th string. D Standard lowers every string by a whole step.
- Can I use Drop D on a 7-string guitar?
- Yes — many 7-string players drop the low B to A, giving them an extra-low version of the same idea.
- Why does Drop D sound 'heavier' than standard?
- The low D adds a strong sub-octave fundamental to any D-rooted chord, which the body of a standard guitar resonates with more than an E.