drop D question

[DankStar]

Kind of dumb but...I see a lot of people doing drop D, ok I get it, it's heavier sounding. But then I hear some people using it on entire albums.

When I've done drop D, my riffs/songs end up being in the key of [dramatic pause] D. Am I missing something, or are other people able to make up riffs in drop D that are not in the actual key of D to any great degree with their musical pedigree?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: drop D question

Somebody should post that video in which a guy changes to ever lower tunings and bigger strings to demonstrate whether they really do sound "heavier".

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: drop D question

IMO, it's not so much to sound heavier, but to increase the ease and speed of fingering 5th chords (i.e. "power chords"). I don't feel stuck in one key when using drop D. I do feel a little boxed in to using 5th chords down low, though.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: drop D question

I use drop tunings to give bigger and fatter sounding chords than I could if I were in standard tuning.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: drop D question

Kind of dumb but...I see a lot of people doing drop D, ok I get it, it's heavier sounding. But then I hear some people using it on entire albums.

When I've done drop D, my riffs/songs end up being in the key of [dramatic pause] D. Am I missing something, or are other people able to make up riffs in drop D that are not in the actual key of D to any great degree with their musical pedigree?

In plain musical theory terms, retuning to DGCFAD is transposition. (Pianists transpose all the time - mainly to match compositions to the vocal range of singers.)

The effect that this has will depend upon several factors. 9-42 or 10-46 gauge strings, tuned down a step, are going to feel floppy and are likely to resonate differently to heavier gauge strings, tuned to produce tension similar to the standard tuning set.

Shifting the fundamental pitch and harmonic overtones down (or up) amounts to a formant shift. (Most current DAW recording software offers this capability.) Record something. Then, apply formant shift to the audio. Listen for yourself. Draw your own conclusions.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: drop D question

I don't know, drop-D seems to free me more from using fixed keys better than standard tuning

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: drop D question

drop-D seems to free me more from using fixed keys better than standard tuning

How exactly?

EITHER you are making your usual moves and the altered tuning yields lower pitches
OR you have to finger a different set of chord positions to yield the original written pitches of a given composition.

*

Let me run an idea by yez.

If down-tuning makes guitar music more "heavy", logically, using a capo to enable fingerpicking and/or the playing of "cowboy" chord shapes higher up the fingerboard ought to make guitar music more "lightweight".

I would be very happy to hear any examples where this is demonstrably the case.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: drop D question

How exactly?

Mate I wish I could explain but I really don't know and never thought much about it. I never think too much or any music theory when I create riffs. I always follow the pitch, the melody and its intervals in my head that map to the fingerboard themselves. I guess my drop-D-ness when playing rock has something to do with my perception of intervals, the ease of killing 3rds from chords (having only 5ths and root notes) playing comfort and note damping. All came by instinct.