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LESS TUNING. MORE PLAYING.

Drop D Guitar Tuner.

One string lower. A whole new weight behind your riffs.

Tune open strings first. Fit your capo, then switch on “Check with capo on”.

Drop DD A D G B E
REFERENCE TONEA4 = 440 Hz
D2
D · 6th string73.42 Hz

Choose a string below to hear its note.

PLAY A STRINGThickest Thinnest
6 strings · 3 seconds each
Sound & advanced settings

A gentle ping follows a steady note within 5 cents. Its volume follows the sound slider. Microphone audio stays on your device.

Check your intonation.

Compare one open string with the same string pressed at fret 12. Remove your capo and mute the other strings.

  1. 1. Tune and measure the open string
  2. 2. Press at fret 12 and measure again

Press just behind fret 12 with normal pressure. Do not play a harmonic. Repeat the comparison to confirm the result.

Check your six strings.

Press start, then sweep gently across all six open strings, from thickest to thinnest. Let them ring together.

Experimental: overlapping notes can be unclear. Select any result to measure that string alone in this window.

Check a known reference.

Play a steady reference from another device or instrument whose frequency you know. Enter that frequency below.

This compares your input with the reference you supply. It is not a certified calibration. Only numbers are saved, never audio.
Acoustic, electric & classicalFree. No download. Just play.

By ear: click a note, match your string, then move to the next. Keyboard: 1–6 to play · Esc to stop

KNOW YOUR TUNING

Drop D: D A D G B E

Starting in standard tuning, lower only your thickest string from E to D. The other five strings stay exactly where they are.

The table shows the open-string setup at A4 = 440 Hz. For capo pitches, use the capo controls above.

Drop D notes and frequencies from thickest to thinnest
StringNoteHzFrom standard
6 · thickestD273.42E → D, down a whole step
5A2110.00A, unchanged
4D3146.83D, unchanged
3G3196.00G, unchanged
2B3246.94B, unchanged
1 · thinnestE4329.63E, unchanged

THE TUNEGUITAR GUIDE

Understand Drop D

TuneGuitar guide · Updated 6 October 2026 · How we prepare our guides

The useful comparison is D2 against D3

Drop D changes just one string from standard, but it changes how the bottom three strings work together. The open sixth string D2 is an octave below the open fourth string D3. Pluck them separately, then together: you are listening for the same note at two heights, not two strings in unison. Lock the sixth-string target if the microphone keeps hearing its upper harmonic.

A one-finger shape changes meaning

Across strings 6, 5 and 4, Drop D gives D, A and D. Fretting those three strings at the same fret preserves a root, fifth and octave. The equivalent straight barre on a standard-tuned guitar has a different interval structure. Test the relationship at fret 2 with light pressure, then check the open low D again. This exercise is about hearing the tuning, not a transcription of a song.

Avoid the D-standard trap

D standard shares the same lowest note but changes every other string. If a lesson calls for D G C F A D, this preset is wrong for it. For a quick return to standard from Drop D, raise only string 6 by two semitones, then recheck the complete guitar. On an instrument with a floating bridge, changing the bass string can disturb the others, so allow an extra pass.

Your string-by-string route from standard

This is a comparison of target pitches, not a recommendation to use every tuning on every guitar. Start from the tuning your instrument actually has. Use the directions and the octave labels together.

Standard → Drop D
StringStartTargetAdjustment
6E2D2Lower 2 semitones
5A2A2Keep this target
4D3D3Keep this target
3G3G3Keep this target
2B3B3Keep this target
1E4E4Keep this target

Nearby tunings, compared by their actual notes

These are the three closest six-string presets by total semitone movement from this setup. The ranking describes target changes, not playing difficulty or physical suitability. A familiar name can hide a different middle-string layout.

What changes from this tuning?
Next tuningAll target notesStrings that change
StandardE2 · A2 · D3 · G3 · B3 · E46
DADGADD2 · A2 · D3 · G3 · A3 · D42, 1
Open GD2 · G2 · D3 · G3 · B3 · D45, 1

Try the setup with a sourced arrangement

These links refer to named parts in linked arrangements. They do not establish a universal tuning for every recording or live version.

READY FOR THE FIRST CHORD

Tune for a song.

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GOOD TO KNOW

Questions about Drop D

Is Drop D the same as D standard?

No. Drop D changes only the lowest string. D standard lowers all six strings by a whole step, so chord shapes and string relationships differ.

Which pegs should I turn when switching from standard to Drop D?

Only the sixth-string peg needs a new target: lower E2 to D2. Keep A2, D3, G3, B3 and E4 unchanged, then recheck them after the tension change. TuneGuitar’s change table separates this single adjustment from a full D-standard retune.

Can I compare the two D strings by ear?

Yes. The sixth string at D2 should sound an octave below the fourth string at D3. Play them separately to check their registers, then together to hear the octave relationship. They should not be tuned to the same pitch.

Privacy & cookies

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Saved guitars, setlists and your ping preference are stored in this browser on this device. You can delete each guitar in “My guitars”. Clearing site data removes these settings and the offline cache. The offline cache contains the tuner’s pages and the code that generates reference tones, never microphone recordings.

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Last updated 13 September 2026.

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Your own tuning.

Enter 4 to 12 notes in physical string order, from the thickest side. Include the octave, for example E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4. Use notes suitable for your strings and instrument.

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Your setlists.

A setlist keeps songs in playing order, with the tuning and capo for each one. Open a song’s setup in the tuner when you are ready to play.

Create your first setlist

Give your practice session a name, then add songs.

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