Drop D definitely has a way of building confidence in you as a guitar player. I forget who originated it, but Kim Thayil of Soundgarden definitely popularized it. I never really went for all of these weird tunings from the very beginning, I used to just stick with standard tuning, but once Soundgarden came onto the scene, this band woke me up. I saw how much energy Kim Thayil put into his playing, and without drop d tuning Soundgarden just wouldn't be the same. Just from tuning this one string down, it gives your overall style a more dark and moody feel to it, and it really does help you hammer onto your favorite power choreds with much more ease. But just like any good thing, too many musicians have played this style out to the point of no return. And yes for a lot of people, it makes polaying guitar much easier, but for most people this style helps define their creativity and their artistic expression. tuning is a great technique to utilize, it opens the doors of creativity. where you can experiment with so many different positions on the neck.

-Joseph