Double drop D tuning: DADGBD, also known simply as double drop D, is an alternative guitar tuning: both E strings are tuned down ("dropped") one whole step (2 frets) to D rather than E as in standard tuning (EADGBE).
The main use for double dropped D is so that guitarists can play intervals of a fifth with one finger on the bass strings, and play the treble side of a barre chord. Some recordings that make effective use of this tuning are "Black Water" by The Doobie Brothers, "The Loner," "Cortez the Killer," "Don't Let It Bring You Down," "Ohio" and "Cinnamon Girl" by Neil Young, "Choctaw Bingo" and "We Can't Make It Here" by James McMurtry, "Find the Cost of Freedom" by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, "Going to California" by Led Zeppelin, "The End" by The Doors, "Devils & Dust" by Bruce Springsteen, "Satellite" by Elliott Smith, "Overkill" by Men At Work,[1] "Bryter Layter" by Nick Drake, and "Nobody's Fault but My Own" by Beck.
America used a variation for "A Horse with No Name", in which the fifth string, normally an A, is also dropped. The string order for this variation, from low to high, is DEDGBD.[2]
Chords in double dropped D tuning are formed as they are in standard tuning, with the exception of the first and sixth strings, which are either omitted or fretted one whole step higher:
| Chord | Tab | |
|---|---|---|
| A | x02222 | |
| Am | x02212 | |
| B | x24444 | |
| Bm | x24434 | |
| C | x32012 | |
| D | 000234 | |
| Dm | 000233 | |
| E | 222102 | |
| Em | 222002 | |
| F | x03213 | |
| F♯ | xx4324 | |
| F♯m | xx4224 | |
| G | 020000 |
Note that these chords are not the power chords commonly played in double drop D tuning. Power chords generally mute the higher notes rather than the lower notes:
For purposes of making the table easier to read, spaces are provided between each number when the fret number becomes a double digit.
| Chord | Tabs | |
|---|---|---|
| A5 | 777xxx | x022xx |
| Bb5 | 888xxx | x133xx |
| B5 | 999xxx | x244xx |
| C5 | 10 10 10xxx | x355xx |
| C♯5 | 11 11 11xxx | x466xx |
| D5 | 000xxx | x577xx |
| Eb5 | 111xxx | x688xx |
| E5 | 222xxx | x799xx |
| F5 | 333xxx | x8 10 10xx |
| F♯5 | 444xxx | x9 11 11xx |
| G5 | 555xxx | x10 12 12xx |
| G♯5 | 666xxx | x11 13 13xx |
Some examples of the simplified barre chords are shown below. Chords involving the minor third may be more difficult to fret.
| Chord | Tab | |
|---|---|---|
| A | xx2222 | |
| B | x24444 | |
| C | xx5555 | |
| D | 000234 | |
| E | xx9999 | |
| F | xx10,10,10,10 | |
| F♯ | xx11,11,11,11 | |
| G | xx12,12,12,12 |