Drop C tuning

Drop C, from the 6th string to the 1st: C G C F A D. Frequencies are for A4 = 440 Hz.

Drop C tuning is C G C F A D, from the 6th string to the 1st. Think of it as drop D moved a whole step lower: the gaps between the strings are identical, so every drop D riff and chord shape works, just a whole step deeper. You can also see it as D standard (D G C F A D) with the 6th string dropped one more whole step to C.

The lowest note is C2, about 65.4 Hz, a major third below the low E of standard tuning. That is the register of heavy riffs in metalcore, hard rock and nu metal, where the open 6th string is chugged under everything. You do not need a seven-string guitar to get there; a six-string with suitable strings handles it well.

Every string moves, and the 6th string moves farthest. That matters for the tuner: an open E is actually closer to the G the 5th string wants than to the C the 6th string needs, so in Auto mode the tuner would point you at the wrong string. Tap each string's button before you turn its peg; the tuner then measures against that string until you tap another one or return to Auto.

Lowering six strings takes a lot of pull off the neck, and the neck settles as it does. Strings you tuned first will have drifted by the time you finish the last one, so plan on two or three passes, each with smaller turns than the one before.

To check by ear, the top five strings follow the same fret pattern as standard: the 5th string at the 5th fret against the open 4th, the 4th at the 5th fret against the open 3rd, the 3rd at the 4th fret against the open 2nd, and the 2nd at the 5th fret against the open 1st. Only the 6th string is different: its 7th fret matches the open 5th string.

String tension rises and falls with the square of the pitch. A whole step down takes about 21% of the tension off a string, and the 6th string's drop from E to C takes about 37%. On the light sets many electric guitars ship with, the result is floppy strings that buzz and notes that go sharp for a moment when you pick hard.

Most players who stay in drop C move up in gauge, to an 11 or 12 set or to a set sold for drop tunings with a heavier 6th string. Heavier strings bring the tension back toward what the guitar was set up for and make the low C tighter and clearer.

A new gauge can change the setup. Thicker strings may bind in nut slots cut for thinner ones, which makes the tuning stick and jump; the neck relief may need a small truss rod adjustment; and the intonation at the bridge usually has to be reset. If you switch between standard and drop C often, keeping a second guitar in drop C saves a lot of retuning.

The one-finger power chord works exactly as in drop D: lay a finger across the 6th, 5th and 4th strings and the 6th-string note is the root. Open strings give C5, the 3rd fret E♭5, the 5th fret F5, the 7th fret G5, the 8th fret A♭5 and the 10th fret B♭5, the power chords that fit a riff in C minor.

The top five strings, G C F A D, are standard tuning a whole step down, so open chord shapes still work and sound a whole step lower than their names: a D shape sounds C, and an A minor shape sounds G minor. Tabs written for drop C give fret numbers, so they read as usual; when you play with a keyboard player, name the chords by how they sound.

Drop C is also where a song written in drop D goes when the singer needs it lower. Retune every string a whole step down and every fret number in the tab stays the same.