Drop D and DADGAD Guitar Tunings

Playing guitar can be one of the most creative outlets a person can have. However, eventually the standard tuning (EADGBE) can become quite bland. This tuning will start to sound plain to the guitarist, and sometimes feel as if nothing new can come of it. Well, fortunately for guitarists, there is a way around this roadblock. Alternate tunings allow your guitar to create music that is practically impossible with a standard tuning. The first alternate tuning a guitarist should use is Drop D, and once you get bored with that, DADGAD.

Drop D should be the first alternate tuning for a guitarist because of the resemblance to the standard tuning. The standard tuning for a guitar should be EADGBE, and Drop D is where you drop the low E to a D. The tuning should now look like DADGBE. Obviously, only one string is changed, but this one change can open up a whole new list of creative possibilities. Any guitarist will find that just by changing the tuning of one string, the once bland sound of standard tuning is now full of possibilities. You may find through experimentation that standard power chords can be formed by using only one finger on the bottom three strings. Many bands use Drop D extensively, and some of the more famous songs are Slither by Velvet Revolver, Everlong by the Foo Fighters, and Show Me How To Live by Audioslave.

If for some reason you become bored with the Drop D tuning, DADGAD will easily fill that void. The bottom four strings have the same tuning as the Drop D tuning, but the top two are slightly different. You will change the B of the fifth string down to an A, and the E of the 6th string down to a D. You are now in DADGAD tuning! You will find that this tuning can be slightly overwhelming, but after a few hours (or days) of experimenting, you will understand it better, and possibly come up with some unique material. Some famous songs in the DADGAD tuning is Kashmir by Led Zeppelin, and White Summer/Black Mountain Side which is also by Led Zeppelin.

These tunings will open up an entire world of possibilities to those finding themselves bored with standard tuning. If for some reason you ever find yourself bored with these tunings, there are plenty of other alternate tunings such as Open E and Open G to explore and understand. You can also feel free to come up with your own unique alternate tuning!