What is Double Drop D tuning?

Double Drop D lowers both the 6th (low E) and 1st (high E) strings to D: D-A-D-G-B-D (low to high). The middle four strings stay in standard tuning.

What scales work in Double Drop D?

D major, D minor, and D Mixolydian are the most natural fits. The three D strings (6th, 4th, and 1st) create powerful drones for D-centric scales. The D Dorian mode gives a beautiful folk character.

Is Double Drop D hard to learn?

It's one of the easiest alternate tunings. Only two strings change, both by the same interval (one whole step down). Most chord shapes on the B, G, D, and A strings work exactly the same as standard tuning.

A Dorian #4 Guitar Scale

Guitar scale in Double Drop D tuning — fretboard diagram

Tuning

Frets

A Dorian #4 in Double Drop D — Notes and Intervals

The A Dorian #4 scale, known in Eastern Europe as the Ukrainian Dorian or Misheberak, has a deeply soulful, crying quality. On Guitar, the notes are A, B, C, D#, E, F#, G. It is a pillar of Jewish Klezmer music and traditional Balkan folk songs. Commonly used in Klezmer, Balkan Folk, Metal, Film Scores. Notable players include Itzhak Perlman, Bregovic, System of a Down. Use over m7 chords in Klezmer and Balkan contexts. The #4 adds the exotic 'weeping' quality that defines these traditions.

Notes: A, B, C, D#, E, F#, G

Intervals: 1P, 2M, 3m, 4A, 5P, 6M, 7m

Degrees: 1 2 b3 #4 5 6 b7

Formula: W-H-WH-H-W-H-W

Number of notes: 7

Tuning: Double Drop D (D-A-D-G-B-D)

Also known as: ukrainian dorian, romanian minor, altered dorian

About Double Drop D Tuning

Double Drop D tuning (D-A-D-G-B-D) lowers both the 6th and 1st strings from E to D, creating a symmetrical frame of D notes around the standard middle four strings. This gives a distinctly resonant, jangly character that has been beloved in folk-rock and acoustic music since the late 1960s.

Neil Young used Double Drop D extensively — 'Cinnamon Girl' features its distinctive droning riff, and 'The Needle and the Damage Done' showcases its intimate fingerpicking potential. Jimmy Page used it on Led Zeppelin's 'Going to California'. Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain' also employs this tuning. Because only two strings change (both by just one whole step), Double Drop D is one of the easiest alternate tunings to learn — most standard chord shapes on the inner four strings remain unchanged.

Folk-RockAcoustic RockClassic RockSinger-Songwriter

Notable artists: Neil Young, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Fleetwood Mac, Crosby Stills Nash & Young

Best for: Folk-rock songwriting, D-centric acoustic arrangements, droning fingerpicking patterns, and any song that benefits from rich D-string resonance on both outer strings

Musical Character

SoulfulCryingExoticPassionate

Also known as the Ukrainian Dorian or Misheberak mode. The #4 within a minor context creates the characteristic 'crying' quality of Jewish and Eastern European music.

Explore This Scale in Other Tunings

← All Guitar scales in Double Drop D tuning