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Dropped D is the next most common tuning to standard tuning, and the most common form of dropped D (there are two) is to just tune the low E string down in pitch one whole tone ... down to D, in other words. The other, rarer, form is to to drop both E strings, the treble and the bass, down to D. This lesson just drops the bass string ... so:
Grab your guitar and start dropping that bass string down. It's not a long way, one tone, so take it slowly. Keep twanging your D string (the 4th string) while you're lowering the pitch, and soon enough you'll hear the new D (one octave lower) start to blend with the D string. Keep adjusting it until there is no pulsing between the two strings. You may need to adjust the other strings, as the release of tension affects the whole guitar. An electronic tuner, of course, is the best option for doing that. Everything sounds so much better on a well tuned guitar. If it sounds at all sour, take the few seconds to get it perfectly in tune ... it's time well spent.
The pattern I chose for this lesson is a fairly common, rolling kind of feel. It involves all but the pinky of the right hand, and you'll see in the tablature, that the fingers are indicated as T (thumb), I (index), M (middle) and A (ring) ... R would make more sense, but it's A.
The movie will show, blurred as it is, the movement of the right hand, how the fingers interact to get that pattern happening. I suggest you just sit on the first bar of D and keep playing to it until you get the flow. Only then start to change chords.
The progression is a simple I - vi - IV - V progression, in D, in other words: D - Bm - G - A. However, you'll see that the whole thing revolves around a repeating figure: it's a simple two note figure (circled in orange) an E to D, which appears in each bar. Those two notes become extensions of each chord, altering their flavor. Here are the details of those extensions:
For the D chord, the open E string is a 2, so the chord becomes Dsus2. The 'sus' is there because the 2 has in effect replaced the 3 of the D chord.
For the Bm chord, the open E string is a 4, but because the 7th (the A on the G string) is there, the 4 becomes an 11 (7+4=11).
For the G chord, the open E string is a 6, hence G6.
For the A chord, it's the D note of the figure which colors the chord, turning it into a sus4 (it has also replaced the 3), and the open G string is the 7th.
If you were playing with someone else, he/she could simply strum D - Bm - G - A, and everything would sound fine.
The thumb keeps thumping out bass notes, 4 per bar, all of them roots, so it's a good idea to first focus in on the steadiness of those bass notes. The pattern above, that the other fingers perform, is not quite symmetrical timing-wise, so it takes a bit of concentration to get the whole thing working as a unit, but once you do, you've got it forever. After you've got the bass notes locked in, focus on the circled notes, those E to Ds. They are the ear-grabbing part of this pattern, and you'll find that if you keep your ear on them, the rest of the pattern will settle in around those featured notes. Only once per bar does the thumb grab a note at the same time as a finger ... at all other times, notes come one at a time.
The only time you need to worry about that dropped bass string is over the G chord. You'll see how the bass note has moved up to the fifth fret. You've probably also wondered about that Bm7 ... if you just leave that top string out, it's quite a nice alternative to the usual barred Bm7. It retains the nice open ringing of the other chords. Remember that chords are just a selection of notes. You can often find new configurations for those notes if you do a bit of poking around. This Bm is a good example of that.
This pattern can apply to all kinds of other chord progressions, of course. You may have to adapt some of the detail for some chords, but the essence of it can be retained. The dropped D has a nice drone quality to it, though. Once you get the feel of it down, it's quite addictive ... you just want to keep it going forever.
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