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Drop
Tuning the Guitar
Drop D, Drop B, Drop C Guitar Tuning
Drop tuning your guitar is simply where you tune
the bottom string
lower than usual. Most often, the dropped string is an octave lower
than the 4th fattest string on your guitar (that's the D string in
standard tuning).
Click
Here to tune to Drop C
>
Click
Here to tune to Drop B
>
Or see below for Drop
D
Drop D
Guitar Tuning
First, make sure your guitar
is in standard tuning (E A D G B e). Go to this page for a free online tuner
(opens in a new window for you).
Simply tune the bottom
E string down until it becomes a lower sounding D. You can
match this up with the 4th string
(a higher D) to check they are the same.
Click on the Drop D diagram
below to hear a low D
Once the lowest string has
been tuned down to D, the tuning on your guitar should now be: D A D G B e.
Now, just to check
everything's in tune, try the exercise below. Click the tab to
hear a typical drop D powerchord riff.
When playing the Drop D
powerchord like above, some people prefer just
to slide one finger (e.g. index or middle) up and down the fretboard,
others prefer to get all their fingers involved like they're playing
lead guitar - find which one's comfortable for you. You'll probably
find it easier to use more than one finger on faster riffs involving
drop tuning.
Try practicing a quicker drop
D riff of your own over this
drum track (right click and "save as" to download).
Tip:
For a small cost, you can download your very own versatile drummer right
here!
A lot of newer heavy metal
uses deeper drop tuning such as drop C and drop B. Below is a tuner for
drop C to help you out...
Click
on the individual strings to hear
When tuning down this low, double check once all
strings have been tuned down as a lot of tension on the neck will have
been released during this process, putting it out of tune slightly.
If you tune that bottom C back
up to a D you will be in standard D tuning which
allows you to play all the familiar positions of standard tuning, but
obviously with a deeper sound.
How to tune to
Drop C without a tuning aid
When tuning to drop C without
any note reference, the
easiest way is to first make sure you're in standard tuning, or near
enough (E A D G B e).
Now we need to find a C note on the fretboard to use as a reference for
tuning the low E string to C. This can be found at fret 3 on the A string.
Tune down the open low E
string until it matches the C note fretted on the A string. Now, the
fretted C note will be an octave higher than the destination C note on
the low E string, but you can still get a good indication when it's
there - click to hear >
Once you have that low E down to a C, tune the other strings down using
the following steps:
- Fret the newly tuned low C string at fret 7 and tune the A string down until
it matches.
- Fret the newly tuned A string
(now G)
at fret 5
and tune the D string
down until it matches.
- Fret the newly tuned D string
(now C)
at fret 5
and tune the G string
down until it matches.
- Fret the newly tuned G string
(now F)
at fret 4
and tune the B string
down until it matches.
- Fret the newly tuned B string
(now A)
at fret 5
and tune the E string
down until it matches.
- The high E
string should now be tuned down to the note D.
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Drop B
Guitar Tuning
First, make sure the strings on your guitar are at least a gauge
11.
This will ensure enough tension in the strings when playing for optimum
tone. Otherwise, it will be like playing elastic bands stretched over a
cereal box (ah memories from pre-school).
Click on each string below to
hear and tune your guitar up to drop B...
Make sure you double check after tuning all strings because a lot of
tension is lost
in the guitar when tuning down this low.
How to tune to
Drop B without a tuning aid
When tuning to drop B without
any note reference, the
easiest way is to first make sure you're in standard tuning, or near
enough (E A D G B e).
Now we need to find a B note on the fretboard to use as a reference for
tuning the low E string to B. This can be found at fret 2 on the A string.
Tune down the open low E
string until it matches the B note fretted on the A string. Remember,
the
fretted B note will be an octave higher than the destination B note on
the low E string, but you can still get a good indication when it's
there - click to hear >
Once you have that low E down to a B, tune the other strings down using
the following steps:
- Fret the newly tuned low B string at fret 7 and tune the A string down until
it matches.
- Fret the newly tuned A string
(now F#)
at fret 5
and tune the D string
down until it matches.
- Fret the newly tuned D string (now B)
at fret 5
and tune the G string
down until it matches.
- Fret the newly tuned G string (now E)
at fret 4
and tune the B string
down until it matches.
- Fret the newly tuned B string (now G#)
at fret 5
and tune the E string
down until it matches.
- The high E
string should now be tuned down to the note C#.
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