Description
First let's get our guitar into the open D tuning. There are a few different ways to get into the drop D tuning. You could of course try to match the low E-string to the open D-string but that gets a little confusing because they're an octave apart.
So for that reason it helps to use the 12th fret harmonic. This is where you just touch the string without pressing down right above the fret to get that sustained and delicate sounding note. This is an E-note up an octave from the open string.
Now match that to the open D-string to the 12th fret harmonic. Tune down slowly. I like to go a little below the note and then tune up to it. Someone once told me that helps it stay in tune better, but I don't actually know if that's a fact.
You can also use a chromatic tuner to do this, but it still helps to have a manual reference point like we just explored, so both you and the tuner don't get confused.
So now we're in drop D, and the first thing I like to do in any new tuning is to see if anything remains unchanged from the standard tuning. And in this case, we've only altered the low E-string, so the top 5 strings are just as you know them. So everything you already know, still applies on those strings.
Lesson Info
