How can i convert a guitar tab from drop D to drop C tuning?

One Comment

1. Charlie says:

   July 19, 2010 at 1:51 am

   Drop C usually means that your "E" string is dropped to C and the rest are dropped a whole step (two half steps) down. Your guitar, then, would be tuned CGCFAD. This is essentially the same as drop D (DADGBE) but a whole step down.

   "What does this mean?" you might ask.

   You can play a drop C song on a drop D tuned guitar. The only difference is that you will be playing a whole step up from the original piece. So, if you play it with the original track, it won’t sound right, but if you play it solo it would sound exactly the same (except a little bit higher).

   If the drop C song never plays below the 2nd fret, you can simple move the fingerings down two frets (subtract 2 from all of the tab numbers) and play the same thing. But, drop C is usually used to take advantage of really low open tones, so it is unlikely that this is the case.

   If the drop C song doesn’t go below the 2nd fret on your "E" string, you could transpose it to work with a drop D tuning, but this may just be too much work.

   But, if you want to sound EXACTLY like the original, buy a good tuner and drop your guitar (you might actually find you like it better than standard tuning!) Thicker strings are best for drop tunings – light strings will buzz like crazy and have little sustain or good tone.