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Guitar tuning where the E string is tuned to D. This allows a guitarist to play power chords with ease and speed. Many people tend to think that drop D tuinng is used simply by beginners, but if that's what you think then you are probably not a very good guitarist yourself. People who play extremely technical guitar often use this tuning simply for being able to have a huge range of what they can play without sacrificing great speed.

On the other end of the spectrum, drop d is used acoustically for a lot of blues music.
songs that I hate in drop D:
"Ode" by Creed
"Never Again" by Nickelback

Fantastic Songs in Drop D:
Most Pain of Salvation songs
Opeth - Demon of the Fall, Blackwater Park
Rush - Between the Wheels and Stick it Out
Live - Lakini's Juice
by Cleve January 07, 2008
The difference of drop D from standard tuning allows for the three bass strings to form a D5 power chord, which can be shifted up or down the fretboard with a single finger (usually the index) to produce any power chord quickly and easily. Drop-D also enables the guitarist to play a step lower than in standard tuning, and many artists value this deeper, fuller sound.

Dropped D tuning is perhaps most widely used in heavy metal or rock music as they take full advantage of the easier power chord transitions needed for extremely fast playing. However, the tuning has also been used in many other types of music, including blues, country, and folk. Most modern metal guitarists use or have used Drop D tuning.

This tuning may be the most prominent tuning in modern rock and metal, but it is not uncommon for these guitarists to play in E-flat tuning/down tuning or dropped C tuning.

Drop D also allows fingerpickers to play chord shapes higher up the neck while maintaining an alternating bass.
Drop D is for people who are actually capable of playing the guitar FAST.
by autorian January 07, 2008
A guitar tuning in which you tune the low e string to d. Often used as a crutch, but many bands use it well (see Led Zeppelin's "10 Years Gone"). But seriously, you could step on a guitar tuned to drop D and it would sound good.
Drop D is really useful if your just beginning to write, but as you advance, you should tune to something else to avoid your riffs getting old.
by ThroatSlit February 09, 2006
Achieved by tuning the low E guitar string to a D, in order to make power chords playable with a single bar on the bottom 3 strings (or bottom 2). Drop D is mainly used for playing power chords extremely quickly. If not, then it is used by talentless artists. Bands such as the Beatles and Led Zeppelin have used Drop D tuning in their music. A common misinterpretation is that metal artists use drop D. Usually, drop D is for heavy rock. Metal bands tend to use drop C or B.

Bands who commonly play in:
Drop D: Nickelback, Billy Talent, various hard rock/alternative
Drop Db: Linkin Park, Disturbed, various hard rock/alternative/metal
Drop C: System of a Down, Three Days Grace, various heavy metal
Drop B: Slipknot, various death metal
People who think that drop D and talent can't be used in the same sentence are fools. They are thinking of drop C.
by Johnny McSmilies July 27, 2006
Troglodytes with no skill can play guitar using drop D tuning. Just put your fat finger across the stings and, wow, a power chord. Slide it up and down and you've got a song! (see sk8rboi for an exapmle)

List of guitars by dificulty of playing:

1 Reular Guitar
2 Guitar Hero game
3 Elmo's play-along guitar
4 Guitar tuned to drop D
Wow, my retarded two year old kid just wrote a killer punk rock song in drop D tuning. Actually, he was just trying to jack off my guitar.
by buffalobob July 16, 2006
Guitar. The tuning of the low E string down to a D. This allows one to simply bar one finger across the 3 low strings (D, A, D) and create a simple and powerful chord, 1-5-1.

Drop D is generally used by talentless nu-metal bands who cannot actually play anything noteworthy.
System of a Down uses a lot of Drop D. Maybe that's why they suck so bad?

Alternate tuning isn't always bad. Real bands like Led Zeppelin use open G and open F for slide guitar and harmonics with advanced picking.
by Nuclear June 07, 2004