Guide · guitar tunings
Guitar tunings, explained.
What standard tuning, Drop D, Open G and the rest are, why players use them, how to get there, and how they sound.
The short version
Why guitars have tunings at all
A tuning is the set of notes your six open strings are tuned to. Standard tuning, E A D G B E, is the one method books, tabs and teachers assume. Players change it for three reasons: to sound lower and heavier, to make a riff or a chord shape easier, or to let the open strings ring as a chord.
Every tuning below has a button to hear its open strings, the moves from standard, and famous songs that use it. To tune, open its tuner page: it shows each string's note and listens to you play.
E A D G B E
Standard tuning
What: from the thickest string, E A D G B E. Most neighbouring strings are a fourth apart (five frets), and one pair, G to B, is a third (four frets).
Why it is built like that: fourths keep a scale or a chord under one hand without stretching; the one smaller step lets the familiar open chords (E, A, C, G, D) fall under the fingers. Because nearly all lessons, books and tabs use it, it is the starting point for every other tuning.
Songs in it: Highway to Hell (AC/DC), Dream On (Aerosmith), The Pretender (Foo Fighters), Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin), Enter Sandman (Metallica), Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana).
Same shapes, lower
E♭ Standard and D Standard
What: every string lowered by the same amount. E♭ Standard (half step down) is E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭; D Standard (whole step down) is D G C F A D. Every chord shape stays the same, it just sounds lower.
Why: a darker, heavier sound; looser strings that bend more easily; and a key that suits the singer. Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Guns N' Roses and Slayer play a half step down; grunge and metal often go a whole step down.
How: lower every string by one fret (E♭) or two (D). No tuner for it? A capo on fret 1 or 2, tune to standard, take the capo off. From D Standard down, heavier strings keep the feel.
Songs in it: T.N.T. (AC/DC), Back in the Saddle (Aerosmith), Sweet Child o' Mine (Guns N' Roses), Sad but True (Metallica), Scum (Napalm Death), Come as You Are (Nirvana).
D A D G B E
Drop D
What: standard tuning with only String 6 dropped a whole step, from E to D: D A D G B E.
Why: the three low strings now make a power chord under one finger, so heavy riffs move fast with a single barre; and the low D rings under songs in D. It changes one string only, so everything else still plays like standard.
How: loosen String 6 until it sounds an octave below the open String 4. To check by ear, the 12th-fret harmonic of String 6 should match the open String 4 without a wobble.
Songs in it: Livin' on the Edge (Aerosmith), Do What I Say (Clawfinger), Everlong (Foo Fighters), Make Me Wanna Die (The Pretty Reckless).
Heavier still
Drop C♯, Drop C and Drop B
What: Drop D with the whole guitar lowered: Drop C♯ is C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯, Drop C is C G C F A D, Drop B is B F♯ B E G♯ C♯.
Why: the same one-finger power chords, much lower. Nu-metal, metalcore and a lot of modern metal live here.
How: tune to D Standard (or lower), then drop String 6 a further whole step. Strings this low need a heavier set: on a normal .046 low string they feel loose and buzz.
Songs in it: Biggest & the Best (Clawfinger), Two Sides (Clawfinger), Heart-Shaped Box (Nirvana), All Apologies (Nirvana), Something in the Way (Nirvana), Going to Hell (The Pretty Reckless).
Strum the open strings, hear a chord
Open G, Open D and Open E
What: tunings whose open strings make a major chord. Open G is D G D G B D, Open D is D A D F♯ A D, Open E is E B E G♯ B E.
Why: one finger, or a slide, across all strings plays a full chord at any fret, which is why slide and blues players love them; the open strings drone under the melody. Keith Richards built many Rolling Stones riffs on Open G.
How: Open G from standard: String 6 down to D, String 5 down to G, String 1 down to D. Open E raises three strings, so many players use Open D (the same chord shape, a whole step lower) to spare the neck.
D A D G A D
DADGAD
What: D A D G A D, named after its notes. The open strings make a Dsus4 chord: neither major nor minor, which leaves room for the melody.
Why: a ringing, modal sound at home in Celtic and folk music, and behind Led Zeppelin's Kashmir.
How: from standard, String 6 down to D, String 2 down to A, String 1 down to D.
Songs in it: Kashmir (Led Zeppelin).
Beyond six strings
7-string guitars, baritones and your own tunings
A 7-string keeps standard tuning and adds a low B below String 6, so heavy riffs go low without loosening anything. A baritone is a longer six-string built to sit lower, usually B to B, with normal tension. And some songs use a tuning of their own: Led Zeppelin's Friends is C A C G C E, Pantera's The Underground in America drops String 6 all the way to G.
TuneLit's tuner takes any of them: pick a tuning, shift it by half steps, or set every string yourself. Cents, half steps and A 440, simply explained has the words, and band tunings tells you which tuning your favourite song needs.
Questions
What is the most common guitar tuning?
Standard tuning, E A D G B E from the thickest string. After it, E♭ Standard (half step down), Drop D and D Standard are the ones tabs ask for most.
Is Drop D bad for my guitar?
No. Drop D loosens one string by a whole step, so the neck carries a little less tension, not more. Very low tunings only need heavier strings to stop them flapping.
How do I know which tuning a song is in?
Look the song up on TuneLit's band pages: each album and famous song lists its tuning and the record's real pitch, with a Tune button that sets the tuner for you.