The Drop D tuning foresees to tune the highest string, that is the sixth of the guitar, on the D instead of on the E, keeping the others in standard tuning. This type of tuning is used in heavy metal, hardcore and even blues music. Before tuning your guitar in Drop D, you will need to tune it normally (E, A, Re, G, Si, Mi). To achieve perfect tuning, you should always use a digital tuner. Once you have the Drop D tuning, you will be able to easily play power chords and cover songs written with this tuning.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Using a Digital Tuner
Step 1. Purchase a digital guitar tuner
You can find it on the internet or in many musical instrument shops for less than € 30. You can also download an app on your smartphone for free to tune your guitar. Some tuners can be connected directly to the instrument, while others simply need to be near your guitar while you play.
- Read the reviews of the apps or digital tuner you want, before you download or buy it.
- The best known brands of digital tuners are Boss, D'Addario and TC Electronic.
- Popular apps for guitar tuning include Guitar Tuna, Fender Tune, and Pro Guitar Tuner.
Step 2. Vibrate the highest string next to the tuner
Turn on the digital tuner and hold it next to the guitar. Play the string with a pick and watch the tuner digital screen to check which note is being played by the instrument. In standard tuning, this string must play an E when played empty. The digital tuner should have a screen showing the note you are playing and a needle indicating the accuracy of the tuning. When the needle is centered, it means the note is in tune. If the indicator is moved to the right or left, the guitar is out of tune.
- Playing an open string means making it vibrate without pressing any fret on the neck.
- If you want to tune the guitar in Drop D by ear, you have to make sure that the other strings are tuned correctly, otherwise you will have no reference point for the sixth string.
- If the needle is to the left of the center, the note is too low. If it is on the right, the note is too high.
Step 3. Tune the sixth string in D
Play the highest string in open space. The note Mi should appear on the tuner. At this point, turn the key closest to you counterclockwise and observe the screen of the digital device. The needle should move to the left, until the note changes to D. Keep turning the key until the indicator reaches the center of the D frequency. You have now tuned the sixth string of the guitar to D.
- As you turn the key, you will hear the note emitted by the string change.
- If your guitar is already in tune, the note E should appear on the digital tuner screen when you play the highest string.
Step 4. Tune the fifth string in A
Pinch the second short starting from the top, i.e. the fifth, while looking at the digital tuner screen. With standard tuning, this note should be an A. Turn the stick connected to the string you are playing until the tuner needle is in the center of the frequency.
Step 5. Tune the fourth string in D
Play the third string starting from the other, i.e. the fourth, without pressing any fret on the neck and observe which note appears on the tuner. Turn the key until you see the note D on the digital tuner when the needle stops in the center of the screen.
- If the guitar is already partially tuned, just turn the key slightly to get a D.
- It is important that the fourth string is well tuned if you intend to tune the guitar in Drop D by ear.
Step 6. Tune the three lowest strings in G, B and E sing
Repeat the same process you used for the three highest strings, so that the others are tuned as well. The third string must reproduce a G, the second a B and the lower one, that is, the first, an E. Turn each stick as you pluck the strings to make sure the guitar is fully in tune.
By starting with the standard tuning, it will be easier to tune the guitar in Drop D, whether you are using a tuner or trying to do it by ear
Method 2 of 3: Tune in Drop D by Ear
Step 1. Pluck the third string from the top
Before starting, use a digital tuner to make sure the strings are in standard tuning. The third string from the top of the neck, commonly known as the fourth string, is a D in standard tuning. Play it without pressing any frets on the neck and you will get a D. In this way, you are playing the string "open".
- You will need to get the same tone with the highest string, i.e. the sixth.
- By pressing the keys, i.e. the rectangles you see on the neck, you will change the note that is played.
Step 2. Pinch the top string while the fourth still vibrates
Hear the difference in pitch between the highest string (i.e. the sixth) and the fourth as they play simultaneously. You will notice a difference, because with the standard tuning the sixth string is tuned in E, while the fourth in D.
- If the guitar has a standard tuning, playing the two strings at the same time should result in different notes.
- Your goal is to lower the note emitted by the sixth string in order to reach the tone reproduced by the fourth.
Step 3. Turn the key of the sixth string until you get the same tone as the fourth string
Turn the key of the sixth string on the headstock counterclockwise, in order to lower the note to D. Listen to the vibrations of the two strings and stop turning the key when they become equal. You will know that you have tuned the guitar correctly when you do not feel any dystonia between the two notes, which will have the same tone.
To tune a guitar by ear, you need practice and experience
Method 3 of 3: Using Harmonics to Tune in Drop D
Step 1. Touch the twelfth fret of the highest string
Press gently on the metal part that divides the eleventh fret from the twelfth of the highest string, i.e. the sixth. When you want to play a harmonic, just touch the string and release it quickly.
- The frets are the rectangles you see on the guitar neck.
- Usually, you have to press the frets in the center when playing the guitar, but to get the harmonics, just touch the string above the metal part that divides the frets.
- Harmonics are sounds that are created by the vibrations between the strings and the metal of the frets. It may be easier to recognize a harmonic than a normal note.
Step 2. Pluck the sixth string and let the harmonic ring
Pinch the top string as you gently touch it over the metal part that divides the eleventh fret from the twelfth, then listen to the metallic sound emitted by the guitar; that is the harmonic. Now you have to imitate that sound with the D note of the fourth string.
Step 3. Pluck the fourth open string
Make the fourth string vibrate without pressing any fret, that is to say empty, while the harmonic is still playing. If the guitar is in standard tuning, you should hear a difference between the notes, because the highest string will be tuned in E, while the fourth in D.
Step 4. Turn the key of the sixth string until the frequencies are equal
Turn the stick connected to the sixth string until the two tones are equal. When the strings are not tuned correctly, the notes will clash and you will hear a vibrato sound coming from the guitar. When the tone of the two frequencies becomes the same, the guitar is tuned in Drop D.
