D standard tuning

D2 · G2 · C3 · F3 · A3 · D4

D standard is the whole guitar tuned down one whole tone, keeping every interval between the strings exactly as it was. It is used across heavy music for weight, and by singers who want a song to sit a tone lower without relearning it — which is the tuning's real advantage over anything with a dropped string.

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Strings

6 strings move from standard

  • 6D2▼2
  • 5G2▼2
  • 4C3▼2
  • 3F3▼2
  • 2A3▼2
  • 1D4▼2

Last few seconds

Harmonics

How far each overtone sits above its ideal position. A stiff, wound string rises to the right.

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What to aim at

Matches what it hears to the nearest string of the tuning.

Getting there from standard

6 of 6 strings move.

  • String 6 E2 → D2 a whole tone down
  • String 5 A2 → G2 a whole tone down
  • String 4 D3 → C3 a whole tone down
  • String 3 G3 → F3 a whole tone down
  • String 2 B3 → A3 a whole tone down
  • String 1 E4 → D4 a whole tone down

What it does to your playing

Nothing about your playing changes. Every chord shape, scale pattern and riff transfers unaltered and simply sounds a tone lower, so a song learned in standard is playable here immediately. The trade-off is feel rather than fingering: the whole instrument is slacker, bends go further for less effort, and the attack is softer. Some players like that; others find it vague.

Strings and setup

A slightly heavier set than usual — .011–.049 is the common choice — brings the tension back to roughly where a standard set sits at concert pitch. Without it the guitar will play easily but buzz readily, particularly on the lower strings. This is the least disruptive of the down-tunings to set up for, since all six strings move by the same amount and the neck sees an even change.

Other tunings

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