Have you ever come across a guitarist or a piece of guitar music that insisted on a guitar alternate tuning like "drop d" or "drop c"? Don't the people understand that retuning your guitar is kind of a hassle?

Actually, alternate guitar tunings are very popular based on what you want to play and how easy it becomes to play it. With different guitar tunings come new options to performing a guitar piece.

What is drop 'D' and 'C' tuning?

Drop tuning is when the guitar's lowest string, low 'E', is loosened so the pitch becomes a 'D'. It's really as simple as that.

Drop 'C' however, is tuning every string from their original positions of 'E', 'A', 'D', 'g', 'b', and 'e', each down a full step except for the low 'E' which will drop down to 'C'. Then your string pitches should be 'C', 'G', 'C', 'f', 'a', and 'd' from the lowest to highest string.

Where is it used?

Actually this alternate guitar tuning has been used with almost every metal band formed since the early 90s. If you listen to a metal band with intense break downs and faster riffs jamming on a 'D' or 'C', it's most likely they're using the drop tunings.

What are the positive aspects of this tuning?

What are positive about this alternate guitar tuning are the different chord structures that can be created thanks to the alternative formation of old chords. In standard tuning, a G5 chord is played with the index finger on the third fret and first string, the ring finger on the fifth fret and second string, and the pinky finger on the fifth fret and third string. In this fashion, your fingers are spread out and less comfortable.

Now, to play the same chord, G5, with the alternate guitar tuning of drop 'D', you simply lay your index finger across the first, second, and third strings on the fifth fret. You've eliminated the use of two fingers by the adjustment of your tuning.

What are the detriments of this tuning?

There are always detriments to an alternate guitar tuning and it's most likely the loss of former chord formations. Consider, if you like to play acoustic guitar chords around the first three frets of the guitar neck, most of them are unusable if the low 'E' string is now a 'D' or 'C'. It's best to stay in standard tuning for something in the acoustic genre.

The alternate guitar tunings of drop 'D' and 'C' are a great start to learning heavy metal and hardcore riffs. However, if you like to play acoustic or standard rock, it's best to stay in standard tuning for better flexibility. Either way, figure out a tuning that's right for you and your genre and just have fun playing.