Anyone who knows me knows I love to play in dropped D. But I don't confine myself to playing in D. If I'm accompanying a guitarist playing in, say, C, I'm just as likely to put the capo at the third fret and play in A-giving me the effective key of C. This is one of the points I tried to make in my book Dropped D Guitar: Bach to Blues: Tuning to dropped D works in many keys-not just D major. In fact, one of my first arrangements in dropped D was transposing Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring from the key of C to the key of A. Most method books cover only the key of D major, if they address it at all. Aaron Shearer referred to it as "Low D" in volume II of his Classic Guitar Technique method books (still one of the best). The name is appropriate and, in my opinion, is more descriptive than "dropped D."

So what is dropped D? It is simply lowering the low string from E (standard tuning) down a full tone to D. This simple action transforms D into a more robust and practical key. Now you have an open low bass string not available in standard tuning.

What about using dropped D for keys other than D? Let's start with my favorite, the key of A.

A is a very strong chord on the guitar, and works very well in dropped D tuning. It has a strong open A bass-the 5th string. Having the open A bass allows playing melody on the upper frets. Having the dropped D bass note, however, does not benefit the A chord, since it displaces the open E bass found in standard tuning. The E bass is still available, though, on the second fret of the sixth string. What dropped D does extremely well for the key of A is provide a strong subdominant D bass, which is not achievable in standard tuning.

This is demonstrated in the following arrangement of a pretty folktune, The Water Is Wide. Note the transition from A to D in the fifth measure. The single first note in the down beat is the low D bass. The sound is full and richly supports the melody that follows.

Listen to TheWaterisWide.mp3

In standard tuning, there are two excellent minor keys with open strings, Em and Am. I usually try one or both of these keys when arranging a tune in a minor key. I often overlook the possibilities dropped D offers for the key of Dm. In both standard tuning and dropped D, the key of Dm is a relatively strong key since both its tonic bass (D) and its dominant bass (A) are open. The dropped D bass strengthens the tonic Dm chord by providing an additional open tonic bass a full octave below the middle D on the forth string, Thus, Dm shares the same dropped D benefits as its D major counterpart-including playing in high positions with plenty of open bass. Clearly, dropped D is meant for these two keys.

I have always liked Shady Grove, a folksong similar to Mattie Groves, which can be traced back to mid-1600 England. I have previously arranged it in Em and Am. Both have their pros and cons, but, in Dm, with dropped D, the tune really comes alive. See if you agree.

Listen to ShadyGrove.mp3

I don't come across many dropped D arrangements for the key of G, which is surprising given the natural advantages the tuning provides, namely an alternate D bass, which can be quite affective. There are some drawbacks, however. The dropped D bass note makes playing the G chord a little more difficult, since the B bass is not as easy to play. Having the G bass higher on the sixth string, however, is very advantageous for playing melody on the upper fret positions.

You can get an idea of how effective this key is in dropped D from one of my arrangements in Dropped D Guitar, The Merry Widow Waltz by Franz Lehár (1870-1948), a Hungarian composer of operettas.

Listen to MerryWidowWaltz.mp3

There are other keys I cover in my Dropped D book and encourage the reader to try. One is the key of C major. The key of C using dropped D tuning usually works best in melodies where there is strong harmonic movement away from the tonic. Some tunes, for example Here Comes the Sun by George Harrison, are very "tonic-centric." It opens on the tonic and remains throughout the song. Such tunes played on the guitar require a strong tonic chord, such as the key of D in dropped D tuning. On the other hand, another Harrison tune, Something, doesn't even start on the tonic. In the key of C, it begins with an F, Eb, G chord progression lead-in. This tune has no problem sharing the harmonic stage with other chords. In the middle, it modulates around an A tonic chord for eight measures before coming back "home" to C. Thus, it performs well with dropped D, in the key of C. In dropped D, you even have a very low Eb bass available for that F, Eb, G chord progression lead-in.

Another dropped D candidate is Em. In standard tuning, the key of Em is strong since its tonic bass (E) is open. The dropped D bass note does not benefit the tonic Em chord, since it displaces the open E bass found in standard tuning. Not having the open E bass often confines the playing area to the first position frets. Where dropped D is of benefit, of course, is in support of chords like D, which does appear regularly in the key of Em. It is this solid sound that makes Em in dropped D tuning worth the difficulty of fretting the E bass. An example is Scarborough Fair. Even though Em in the dropped D tuning has no open string, this folk tune works well in this key, since the chord progression goes from Em to D, giving a pleasing drop in bass from E to D.

Finally, A minor has all the attributes of A major, and performs well in dropped D under the harmonic conditions. An example is The House of the Rising Sun, which, in the beginning measures goes from Am, C, D, F, Am, C, to E. The D chord rings out in dropped D-try it.

I hope you will explore the pleasure of playing the guitar in dropped D. If you are new to this tuning, by all means begin with the key of D. If you venture no further than D, the experience will be worth the effort of tuning down the top string. If, on the other hand, you decide to venture into other keys, I almost guarantee you will be rewarded with new musical delights and dropped D will become a permanent option of your guitar playing. Looking back, after experimenting with dropped D, I hope you will join me in declaring, "Dropped D: it isn't just for playing in D."

Dave Marshall
marshallguitarstudio.com

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