Whole Step Down Tuning for Guitar

Whole Step Down (D) runs D2, G2, C3, F3, A3, D4, in playing order. The lowest-pitched string is D2 (73.42 Hz) and the highest is D4 (293.66 Hz), measured against A4 = 440 Hz. Those are the exact target frequencies the tuner on this page listens for.

6 of the 6 strings move: E2 down 2 semitone(s) to D2; A2 down 2 semitone(s) to G2; D3 down 2 semitone(s) to C3; G3 down 2 semitone(s) to F3; B3 down 2 semitone(s) to A3; E4 down 2 semitone(s) to D4. Work through them in order, then go back and re-check the first string — retuning shifts the neck tension slightly, so the earlier strings drift as you go.

Also called D standard. Two semitones below standard with the intervals intact, so shapes still transfer. Noticeably thicker and slacker than half step down, and a common starting point for stoner and doom before any drop is applied.

D2 is 73.42 Hz at concert pitch (A4 = 440 Hz). That's the fundamental — the string also produces harmonics above it, which is why a tuner reading the wrong octave usually means it locked onto a harmonic rather than the fundamental. This is the lowest string in this guitar tuning.

Two semitones down with intervals intact, which again preserves every shape while moving the pitch. The extra step past Eb crosses a threshold where standard-gauge strings begin to feel genuinely loose rather than merely relaxed, so this tuning is usually paired with a heavier set. Tonally the guitar darkens more than the two semitones would suggest, because the reduced tension also reduces the strength of the upper harmonics — the same physical effect that makes a slack string sound duller as well as lower. That combination of darkness and slack is precisely what stoner and doom players are after.