Music Sound

Guitar tuning refers to the pitch adjustments carried out on the individual strings of a guitar in order to achieve a prescribed arrangement of notes from the open (unfretted) strings. Many such arrangements are used, of which the most popular are detailed below.

Contents 1 Standard tuning 2 Alternate tunings 2.1 Rock music tunings 2.2 Classical guitar tunings 2.3 Open tunings 2.4 Miscellaneous tunings 3 Artists noted for their use of alternate tunings

Standard tuning

This is by far the most popular tuning on a 6-string guitar, (hence the use of the term: standard) and comprises the following note arrangement.

String	Note	Frequency
1 (thinnest)	e'	329.6 Hz
2	b	246.9 Hz
3	g	196.0 Hz
4	d	146.8 Hz
5	A	110.0 Hz
6 (thickest)	E	82.4 Hz

This pattern can also be denoted as E-A-d-g-b-e'. (See under note for an explanation of the various symbols used in the above table and elsewhere in this article.)

Standard tuning has evolved to provide a good compromise between simple fingering for many chords and the ability to play common scales with minimal left hand movement.

The separation of the first (e') and second (b) string, as well as the separation between the third (g), fourth (d), fifth (A), and sixth (E) strings by a 5-semitone interval (a perfect fourth) allows notes of the chromatic scale to be played with each of the four fingers of the left hand controlling one of the first four frets (index finger on fret 1, little finger on fret 4, etc.). It also yields a symmetry and intelligibility to fingering patterns.

The separation of the second (b), and third (g) string is by a 4-semitone interval (a major third). Though this breaks the fingering pattern of the chromatic scale and thus the symmetry, it eases the playing of some often-used chords and scale, and it provides more diversity in fingering possibilities.

When the guitar is strummed with all strings open (as sometimes happens momentarily during difficult chord changes in frenetic passages of modern songs) it plays a tolerable E minor eleventh chord (Em11) comprising (in ascending order of pitch) the chord members: 1-4-b7-b3-5-1.

Alternate tunings

Alternate tuning refers to any open string note arrangement other than that of standard tuning detailed above. Despite the usefulness and almost universal acceptance of standard tuning, many guitarists employ such alternate tuning arrangements in order to exploit the unique chord voicing and sonorities that result from them. Most alternate tunings necessarily change the chord shapes associated with standard tuning, which results in certain chords becoming much easier to play while others may become impossible to play.

Rock music tunings

Guitar tunings in rock music and metal mainly aim at making power chords much simpler to play.

• Dropped D: D-A-d-g-b-e'

This tuning is not only used by metal and rock bands, but also folk musicians. It allows power chords (a.k.a. fifth chords) to played with a single finger on the lowest three strings. It is also used extensively in classical guitar music and transcriptions since it allows the lower open strings to sound the root and fifth of the D major scale as part of the bass line. Korn uses this tuning on their seven-string guitars, with an additional low A as the seventh string.

• Dropped C: C-G-c-f-a-d'

This tuning is is the same as dropped D, but each string is lowered an additional whole step, or 2 semitones. This gives the guitar a very low and heavy sound, and usually requires extra-thick strings to maintain tension. This tuning is frequently used by heavy metal bands, such as Godsmack, Mudvayne and System of a Down, to achieve the lowest sound possible. Tuning a standard, non-baritone guitar any lower than this is difficult.

• Dropped B: B-F#-B-e-g#-c#'

This tuning is the same as dropped D & C, but lowered from dropped C an additional semitone, or half step. This tuning is very popular with nu-metal act Slipknot, and several European death metal acts. Heavy gauge strings, such as Beefy Slinkys by Ernie Ball, are required for this tuning.

• Down Tuning/E-flat Tuning: Eb-Ab-db-gb-bb-eb'

This tuning is achieved when all the strings are flattened by a half step. Bands that use this include Guns N' Roses, Thin Lizzy, Relient K, and Metallica. This can be combined with other tuning techniques such as dropped D tuning and makes no difference to fingering. Often the key will be considered by the players as if played in standard tuning. This tuning can be used for a number of reasons: to make larger strings bend more easily, to make the tone heavier, to better suit the vocalist's range, to play with saxophone family more easily, to play in Eb pentatonic minor formed by the black keys of a keyboard. Heavier bands may tune down to D, C#, or even C. B is possible but sometimes seven string guitars are used instead.

Classical guitar tunings

The guitar has its roots in classical music, so a few guitar tunings stem off from this genre.

• Renaissance lute tuning: E-A-d-f#-b-e'

This tuning may also be used with a capo at the third fret to match the common lute pitch: G-c-f-a-d'-g'. This tuning also matches standard vihuela tuning and is often employed in classical guitar transcriptions of music written for those instruments. José González is known to use this tunning.

Open tunings

An open tuning is a type of guitar tuning in which the open strings are tuned to form a common chord (usually major) which can be 'transposed' to any higher pitch simply by placing a finger across all of the strings at any chosen fret. Blues slide guitarists often take advantage of this effect, whereas fingerstyle guitarists tend to use various combinations of the open strings to provide a sustained chordal accompaniment to melodies played on fretted higher strings.

• Open G: D-G-d-g-b-d'

This tuning is commonly used for blues, or slide guitar. In classical guitar this is sometimes referred to as the dropped G tuning. It retains the relationship of the fourth between the two lower strings. This is also known as 'bluegrass guitar' tuning.

• Open D: D-A-d-f#-a-d'
• Open E: E-B-e-g#-b-e'
• Open A: E-A-e-a-c#'-e'
• Open C: C-G-c-g-c'-e'

Miscellaneous tunings

• Dobro: G-B-d-g-b-d'

This is commonly used for Squareneck Dobro (Resonator) guitars. The lack of a low D means that a complete strum does not have the same harmonic strength that the Open G has.

• All fourths: E-A-d-g-c'-f'

This tuning is like that of the lowest four strings in standard tuning. It removes from standard tuning the irregularity of the interval of a third between the second and third strings. With regular tunings like this, chords can simply be moved down or across the fretboard, dramatically reducing the number of different finger positions that need to be memorized. The disadvantage is that not all major and minor chords can be played with all six strings at once.

• All fifths: C-G-d-a-e'-b'

This is a tuning in intervals of fifths like that of a mandolin or a violin. Has a remarkably wide range, though it is difficult to achieve (the high b" makes the first string very taut such that it will break easily), and may not play well on an acoustic guitar (the low C is too low to resonate properly in a standard guitar's body).

• New standard tuning: C-G-d-a-e'-g'

This is the new standard tuning devised by Robert Fripp of King Crimson, used by most Guitar Craft students around the world. The tuning is like all fifths except the first string is dropped from b' to g'. The term 'New Standard Tuning' is a misnomer: it is certainly 'new' but in no way 'standard' by any definition. This is because the tuning is only used by a very tiny percentage of the planet's guitar players - specifically those connected with Guitar Craft. It would only become 'New Standard Tuning' if it was used by the majority of the planet's guitar players in preference to the 'Old Standard Tuning'.

• DADGAD: D-A-d-g-a-d'

Introduced and popularised by Davey Graham after having been inspired by Arabic oud tuning while living in Morocco, DADGAD tuning is now frequently used in Celtic music, and by artists such as Pierre Bensusan, Soig Siberil and Paul McSherry.

• Major third guitar tuning: E-G#-c-e-g#-c'

This tuning devised in 1960's by jazz guitarist Ralph Patt.

• Orkney tuning: C-G-d-g-c'-d'

It is a wonderful tool for melodic (non-linear) playing, in which you avoid playing subsequent notes on the same string.

• Nashville tuning

This is achieved on a high-strung guitar - a guitar strung with only the high strings of a 12-string guitar set. This is known as "Nashville tuning" when the strings are in standard tuning.

• G tuning G-c-f-b♭-d'-g'

Some guitar manufacturers recommend all six strings of their mini-scaled (3/4 and 1/2) guitar models (namely Epiphone Flying Vee-Wee, for example) be tuned one and half steps or minor-third higher than ordinary guitars. This is primary intended to keep good tuning stability of those short-scaled guitars with the tension of strings close to that of the original strings design. For example, a 1/2 scale Johnson mini-Strat type guitar has a scale length of 20.75 inches, about 18% shorter than that of a regular Strat's 25.5 inches, requiring about the same magnitude of less tension on strings in order to produce the same pitches with the same string gauges, which often could result in a sinificant tuning stability problem. Unlike other alternative tunings, this tuning maintains relative pitches or intervals between strings the same as the orginary tuning so that it only (but still) requires simple constant transposing for playing any score.

Each of the six strings can be alternately tuned as low as a whole step lower and as much as a whole step higher without stressing the neck or the strings. With five possible tunings for each string (+2, +1, 0, -1, and -2), there can be as many as 15,625 possible tunings for a six-string guitar. Note that a standard guitar sounds one octave below pitch as written in standard notation. That is, the first string in standard tuning plays the E note that is a major third above middle C, and is written on the staff as a major tenth above middle C.

There are also tenor guitars, baritone guitars tuned BEADF#B (or ADGCEA, GDGCDG, GDGCEA, GCGCEG, etc.) a fourth lower than a standard (prime) guitar, treble guitars tuned a fourth higher than a prime guitar and contrabass guitars, which are tuned one octave lower than prime guitars. Seven string guitars have an extra low string which is a B in standard tuning.

Artists noted for their use of alternate tunings

Alex DeGrassi
Ani DiFranco
Brad Delson of Linkin Park
Collective Soul
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Daron Malakian
Davey Graham
Gilles Le Bigot
Guns N' Roses
Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
John Butler
John Martyn
John Renbourn
Jonatha Brooke
Joni Mitchell
Kaki King
Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones
King Crimson
Leo Kottke
Mark Tremonti of Creed and Alter Bridge
Michael Hedges
Nick Drake
Norma Jean
Pat Metheny
Paul McSherry
Peter Mulvey
Soig Siberil
Stephen Malkmus of Pavement
Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth
Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath
Turtle Writing
William Ackerman