What is D Standard tuning?
D standard — also called whole step down — lowers all six strings by two semitones. Nothing about the relationships between the strings changes, so every chord shape, scale pattern and riff you know is played exactly as before and simply sounds a whole step lower: a G shape gives an F chord, an E shape gives a D.
Players use it for three reasons. It suits lower voices without changing a song’s fingering. The slacker strings bend more easily and feel softer under the fingers. And it is darker and heavier, which is why it turns up in blues and across heavy rock and metal. It is also the tuning a 12-string guitar is often kept in, to take tension off the neck.
The highlighted strings are the ones that move. Tap a string to hear its target.
String notes and frequencies
The exact pitch of each open string at concert pitch, A = 440 Hz — the numbers a strobe or a frequency counter would show. The tuner above works from the same targets.
| String | Note | Frequency | From standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | D2 | 73.42 Hz | E2 → D2, 2 semitones down |
| 5th | G2 | 98.00 Hz | A2 → G2, 2 semitones down |
| 4th | C3 | 130.81 Hz | D3 → C3, 2 semitones down |
| 3rd | F3 | 174.61 Hz | G3 → F3, 2 semitones down |
| 2nd | A3 | 220.00 Hz | B3 → A3, 2 semitones down |
| 1st | D4 | 293.66 Hz | E4 → D4, 2 semitones down |
Tuning down a whole step
- Work from the 6th string to the 1st. Lower each string until the dial reads the note two letters down — E to D, A to G, D to C, G to F, B to A, E to D — passing through the note in between on the way.
- Go below the note, then come back up to it. A string tuned down to pitch tends to keep sinking as the slack settles round the post. Take it slightly flat and bring it up to the note, and it stays.
- Make a second pass. Taking that much tension off six strings lets the neck relax, which pulls the first strings you tuned flat again. Two passes are normal; three if the strings are new.
Where the notes are
The first five frets of every string in this tuning. Each fret is one semitone, so this is also how to check a string against its neighbour: find the fret where the lower string plays the higher string’s open note.
| String | Open | Fret 1 | Fret 2 | Fret 3 | Fret 4 | Fret 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | D | D♯ | E | F | F♯ | G |
| 2nd | A | A♯ | B | C | C♯ | D |
| 3rd | F | F♯ | G | G♯ | A | A♯ |
| 4th | C | C♯ | D | D♯ | E | F |
| 5th | G | G♯ | A | A♯ | B | C |
| 6th | D | D♯ | E | F | F♯ | G |
Frequently asked questions
Is D standard the same as Drop D?
No. Drop D lowers only the 6th string to D and leaves the other five in standard. D standard lowers all six strings by a whole step, so the low string is also D but everything above it has moved as well. Chord shapes are unchanged in D standard and are different on the low string in Drop D.
What do my chords become in D standard?
Every shape sounds a whole step lower than its name. The G shape is F, the C shape is B♭, the D shape is C, the E shape is D, and the A shape is G. If you want to play with other people in the song’s original key, put a capo on the 2nd fret and you are back in standard.
Do I need heavier strings to tune a whole step down?
Not to try it — a standard set will tune down a whole step and play, a little loosely. If you intend to stay there, a set one step heavier brings the feel and the intonation back to what you are used to.
For everything else about tuning the instrument itself — strings that slip, pegs, and what the dial is telling you — see the guitar tuner and the standard guitar tuning this one is measured from.
Common chord shapes in D Standard tuning
Where the everyday chords fall on a guitar tuned this way. Each shape is found by searching this tuning’s own strings for the frets that sound the chord — nothing here is copied from a standard-tuning chart — and each plays when you press it.
- Gx02220
- Cxx0232
- D022100
- Ax24442
- E244322
- Em244222
- Amx24432
- Dm022000