dropped D

Everyone who listens to heavy metal might already know what a dropped D refers to in guitars. If I have this right, The first string, or the thick string which plays the low notes, is tuned to the key of D instead of E. So, that makes your open strings in this formation D-A-D-G-B-E instead of the normal way guitars are usually tuned (E-A-D-G-B-E).

Since I got my guitar, I've been so anxious to teach myself how to play, I never got around to tuning that string to a D. Thanks to the mobile app PocketGuitar, I can now fiddle with learning scales on guitared tuned with a dropped D. Hurrah!

As a matter of fact, I think I might be able to get used to scrutinizing the fret board during my breaks at work. Something I would really like to understand about guitars and sheet music is chord symbols. I know the basic logic behind guitar chord symbols in sheet music. It is the chord which is played at the point where it's indicated. Duh. But I really want to understand this backwards, forwards, inside-out and outside-in. Perhaps being able to strum a chord while I'm at work will help me to better grasp the way sheet music is interpretted from a guitarists perspective.

This link http://groups.google.com/group/pocketguitar/browse_thread/thread/41b0da9c3cf3f504 is a google group for iphone/ipod Touch people who've downloaded PocketGuitar. It's focused on the progressive improvement of learning to play.