Tune Up to Standard Tuning
Intro and Tune Up to Dropped-D Tuning

Of all the alternatives to standard tuning, my personal favorite is dropped D. Used by a host of professional acoustic guitarists, itís also a good place to start for players unfamiliar with altered tunings. Itís easy and quick to get into dropped D, itís extremely versatile, and thereís a minimum of new fingerings to be learned.

To achieve dropped-D tuning, simply lower the bass E string down one whole tone to D, an octave below your open fourth string. It may take a little practice before you can retune your bass string quickly and accurately, but after a while the motion will become smooth. Check your tuned-down string against your open D on the fourth string to be sure itís in tune.

Now, with the lowered bass, you have a wonderfully rich D chord. Try playing these D-chord voicings, which include the basic position and two inversions up the neck.

Example 1

All those open strings give you a lush, ringing sound that you canít get in standard tuning.

Now that youíve got the full D chord, youíre going to have to adjust your other chord shapes to compensate for the lowered string; basically, youíll play the notes on the sixth string two frets higher than usual. Here are some of the chords youíll have to play in the key of D:

Example 2

Dropped D gives fingerpickers a great deal of freedom in getting around the neck, since you donít have to worry too much about your bass notes. They just fall into place, particularly when youíre on your tonic (D) chord.