It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Open tuning. (Discuss)

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. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... In guitar playing, an open tuning is one where the strings are tuned so that a chord is achieved without fretting, or pressing any of the strings. ... Pitch is the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

See how to tune a guitar if you've just started to play a guitar. A guitar can have a lot of different tunings. ...

Standard tuning

As its name implies, standard tuning is by far the most popular tuning on a 6-string guitar. It comprises the following note arrangement. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Sine waves of various frequencies; the bottom waves have higher frequencies than those above. ... Image File history File links Guitarchords. ...

[Note: The guitar is a transposing instrument. Its pitch sounds one octave lower than it is notated, the pitches referred to above are referenced standard pitch (a' = 440hz)]. A transposing instrument is a musical instrument whose music is written at a pitch different from concert pitch. ...

[Note: In parts of Europe, including Germany, the natural symbol has been transformed into the letter H: in German music notation, H is B♮ (B natural) and B is B♭ (B flat)].

This pattern can also be denoted as E-A-d-g-b-e'. (See 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. Fingering for an open-position C Major chord (with the 5th, a G note, in the bass) played on a six-string acoustic guitar. ... In music, a scale is a set of musical notes that provides material for part or all of a musical work. ...

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 perfect fourth or diatessaron, abbreviated P4, is one of two musical intervals that span four diatonic scale degrees; the other being the augmented fourth, which is one semitone larger. ... The chromatic scale is the scale that contains all twelve pitches of the Western tempered scale. ... The neck of a guitar showing the first four frets. ...

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 scales, and it provides more diversity in fingering possibilities. A semitone (also known in the USA as a half step) is a musical interval. ... A major third is the larger of two commonly occuring musical intervals that span three diatonic scale degrees. ... Typical fingering for a second inversion C major chord on a guitar. ... In music, a scale is a set of musical notes that provides material for part or all of a musical work. ...

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. Rock is a form of popular music with a prominent vocal melody accompanied by guitar and drums. ... Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that emerged as a defined musical style in the 1970s, having its roots in hard rock bands which, between 1969 and 1974,[1] mixed blues and rock music to create a hybrid with a thick, heavy, guitar-and-drums-centered sound, characterised... In music, a power chord is an interval which serves the diatonic function of a major or minor chord. ...

• 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 (also known as fifth chords) to be 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 bassline. Some guitarists choose to use a capo on the 2nd fret with this tuning so that they can retain the ease of playing power chords without the darker sound created by the D tuning. Examples of this include the bands Angels and Airwaves, Billy Talent, and Three Days Grace. In Classical guitar, the tuning is used by famous musicians, such as Fransisco Tarrega. Drop D tuning, also known as dropped D or drop-D, is a guitar tuning style in which the lowest (sixth) string is tuned (dropped) to D rather than E as in standard tuning. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and for the common people. ... In music, a power chord is, in the broadest sense, a chord that remains euphonious when distorted by amplification. ... A classical guitar, also called a Spanish guitar, is a musical instrument from the family of musical instruments called chordophones. ... The root (basse fondamentale) of a chord is the note upon which that chord is perceived or labelled as built or centered, the root of a chord in root position or normal form. ... Fifth may refer to: One fifth, a quintile, or 20% of a certain amount The fifth in a series, or four after the first In the United States, the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution especially as in the expression Taking the Fifth. Fifth (Stargate), a robotic character in... In music theory, the major scale (or major mode) is one of the diatonic scales. ... In popular music a bassline, also bass line, is an instrumental part, or line, which is in the bass or lowest range and thus lower than the other parts and part of the rhythm section. ... A basic guitar capo A capo (short for capodastra) is a device used for shortening the strings, and hence raising the pitch, of a stringed instrument such as a guitar, mandolin or banjo. ... In music, a power chord is an interval which serves the diatonic function of a major or minor chord. ... Angels & Airwaves is an Alternative rock band created by former blink-182 and Box Car Racer guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge along with Over My Dead Body, Hazen Street and Box Car Racer guitarist David Kennedy, ex-Distillers bassist Ryan Sinn and current Offspring drummer Atom Willard. ... Billy Talent are a Canadian rock group from Toronto. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

• Dropped C#: C#-G#-C#-F#-A#-D#'

This tuning is the same as dropped D, but tuned one semitone lower. Used often by the bands Alice in Chains and Linkin Park. Alice in Chains is a popular and influential rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1987, and was one of the most commercially successful bands from the Seattle grunge music scene. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

• Dropped C: C-G-C-F-A-D'

This tuning is the same as dropped D, but each string is lowered an additional whole step, or 2 semitones. Technically a "drop C" tuning would be C-A-D-G-B-e. However, the tuning technically known as "Dropped D tuned down 1 whole step" is commonly referred to as "Dropped C" tuning, as very few people drop only the sixth string (although Zakk Wylde has been known to occasionally drop only the sixth string in tuning, along with Matt Bellamy of Muse in their song 'Map Of The Problematique'). 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 rock bands, such as Godsmack, Thrice, Mudvayne, Bullet for My Valentine and System of a Down, as well as various metalcore bands, such as Atreyu, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, and It Dies Today, to achieve a lower sound. Tuning a standard, non-baritone guitar any lower than this is difficult. This tuning is also used by Ryan Overton. Zakk Wylde (born Jeffery Phillip Wiedlandt on January 14, 1967 in Bayonne, New Jersey) is the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of Black Label Society and guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne. ... Matthew Bellamy (born June 8, 1978) is the lead singer and guitarist of British rock group Muse. ... Rock is a form of popular music with a prominent vocal melody accompanied by guitar and drums. ... Godsmack is a heavy metal/post-grunge band formed in 1996 from Salem, Massachusetts. ... This article is about the band Thrice. For other meanings, see Wiktionary:thrice. ... Mudvayne is a Peoria, Illinois, USA-based alternative metal and hard rock quartet started in 1996 by vocalist Chad Gray, guitarist Greg Tribbett, drummer Matthew McDonough and bassist Shawn Barclay (replaced by Ryan Martinie in 1998). ... Bullet for My Valentine (sometimes shortened to Bullet or BFMV) is a four-piece metalcore band from Bridgend, South Wales. ... System of a Down (also referred to as SOAD or System) is a four-piece Grammy-award winning hard rock band, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles, California. ... Metalcore is a musical genre consisting of a mix between heavy metal and hardcore. ... The Neverending Story, see Atreyu. ... Killswitch Engage, also known simply as Killswitch (or KsE) is an American metalcore band, originating in Westfield, Massachusetts. ... As I Lay Dying is a novel published in 1930 and written by American author William Faulkner. ... It Dies Today (formed in September, 2001) is a hardcore band based in Buffalo, New York. ... Mustapick Deep Baritone Guitar Baritone guitar It was actually the Danelectro Company that first introduced the Baritone Guitar to the music world in the late 1950’s. ...

• C Tuning: C-F-Bb-Eb-G-C'

The C standard tunes the strings of the guitar to produce a low tone. This tuning is commonly used by metal and hard rock artists as it is 2 whole steps below standard tuning. This tuning can be written as either C-F-A#-D#-G-C or more often C-F-Bb-Eb-G-C. This allows for a low, heavy sound, while still maintaining the intervals present in standard tuning. C tuning is often associated with Stoner rock. Josh Homme, guitarist for Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, is famous for using this tuning. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Stoner rock and stoner metal are interchangeable terms describing sub-genres of rock and metal music. ... Joshua (Josh) Homme (born May 17, 1973) is a United States musician from Palm Desert, California. ... This article is about the band Kyuss. ... Queens of the Stone Age (QOTSA) is a rock band[1] from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. ...

• 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, metalcore act Bleeding Through, and other alternative metal/post-grunge bands. Very heavy gauge strings (at least .11) are required for this tuning, which can also involve widening the the string grooves in the nut and bridge of the guitar as well as re-adjusting the tension in the neck. Nu metal (also called new metal, aggro metal or nü metal using the traditional heavy metal umlaut) is a musical genre that has origins in the mid 1990s. ... Slipknot is a nine-piece nu-metal band from Des Moines, Iowa, formed in 1995 and currently signed to Roadrunner Records. ... Metalcore is a musical genre consisting of a mix between heavy metal and hardcore. ... Bleeding Through is an American hardcore/metalcore band from Orange County, CA that came together during the Summer of 1998. ...

• B Tuning:

Also known as "B Standard" tuning, this tuning is the standard tuning of seven string guitars, which are tuned B-E-A-D-G-B-E. On a six string guitar, the tuning is modified to B-E-A-D-F#-B. The six-string version of this tuning is used by Swedish melodic metal band Soilwork and Canadian death metal band Cryptopsy while the seven string version is a staple of Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci. Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band formed in late 1995, originally under the name of Inferior Breed. ... Cryptopsy is a brutal/technical death metal band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ... Dream Theater is a progressive metal band formed by three students at the Berklee College of Music in 1985. ... John Petrucci (born July 12, 1967) is an American guitarist best known as a founding member of the progressive metal group Dream Theater. ...

• Bb Tuning: Bb-F-Bb-Eb-G-C or Bb-Eb-Ab-Db-F-Bb

One step lower than B tuning, this tuning is notable for it's dark or almost evil sounding qualities. The first version is the "dropped" version, and is utilized by artists Chevelle and Evanescence on their newest studio albums, while the latter version is utilized by long standing melodic death metallists In Flames For information about the car of this name, see Chevrolet Chevelle. ... Evanescence is a rock/alternative/pop[1] band from Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. Early in their career, the rock band garnered local fame in Little Rock before releasing their first major label album Fallen, which went on to sell over 14 million copies worldwide. ... In Flames is a Swedish loser/pussy band from the city of Gothenburg. ...

• Dropped A: A-E-A-D-F#-B'

A very low drop tuning used very rarely in metal and death metal bands, notably the Egyptian-themed Nile as well as Slipknot on several tracks from their Iowa album. Hardcore band Bury Your Dead also utilizes this tuning exclusively on their latest album "Beauty and the Breakdown". As with the Dropped B tuning, heavy gauge strings are required (more so, in fact), and even minor modifications to some guitars. It should also be noted that nu metal pioneers Korn were the first band to use such a guttural tuning, by using seven string guitars and dropping each string one whole step. Nile is a brutal/technical death metal band from South Carolina, USA assembled in 1993. ... Slipknot is a nine-piece nu-metal band from Des Moines, Iowa, formed in 1995 and currently signed to Roadrunner Records. ... Iowa is the second major label album by Slipknot. ... BYD redirects here. ... Nu metal (also called aggro metal, or nü metal using the traditional heavy metal umlaut) is a musical genre that has origins in the mid 1990s. ... Korn (sometimes typeset as KoЯn to fit the official logo) is a Grammy Award-winning nu metal band from Bakersfield, California. ...

• "Hardcore" Tuning: C-G-c-f-a-a#'

A rather uncommon tuning, "hardcore" tuning is used by bands of hardcore, grindcore, and even some metalcore. It much resembles dropped C tuning, except for the two bottom strings, which, depending on what is most useful for the guitarist, are tuned one semitone (a minor second) apart. This allows the guitarist to easily create the very harsh dissonance of the minor second. It is often used by Drop Dead, Gorgeous, The Devil Wears Prada, The Locust, and Sinai Beach to name but a few. Drop Dead, Gorgeous (with a comma) is a six-member post-hardcore band from Denver, Colorado. ... The Devil Wears Prada is a 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger about a young woman who, fresh from college, gets a job working as a personal assistant to a powerful fashion magazine editor that turns increasingly hellish as she struggles to keep up with her bosss capricious and demeaning... The Locust is an abrasive rock band from San Diego, California. ... Sinai Beach is an American Christian metalcore band from Southern California. ...

• 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 or have used this include The Smashing Pumpkins, Jimi Hendrix, AFI, Simple Plan, Taking Back Sunday, Guns N' Roses, Led Zeppelin, Coheed and Cambria, Relient K, Weezer, Nirvana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Iced Earth, Green Day, Eskimo Joe, Stone Sour, KISS, Dashboard Confessional, Van Halen, and Alice In Chains and Yngwie Malmsteen. 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, or 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. The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago in 1988. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... AFI is a three-letter acronym that may refer to: AFI (band) Air Force Instruction Armed Forces of India Amniotic Fluid Index American Film Institute Australian Film Institute Australian Foresight Institute American Football Israel association Agencia Federal de Investigación, Mexico Africa-Indian Ocean (as in AFI Region) in aviation... Simple Plan is a pop-punk band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada—all five members are French-Canadians who were born in the province of Quebec. ... Taking Back Sunday is a rock band from Long Island, New York. ... Guns N Roses are an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in March 1985. ... For the bands 1969 self-titled debut album, see Led Zeppelin (album). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Relient K is a Christian rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio and named after guitarist Matt Hoopes Plymouth Reliant K car. ... Weezer is a rock band from Los Angeles, California. ... Nirvana was a popular American rock band originating from Aberdeen, Washington. ... Stephen (Stevie) Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990), born in Dallas, Texas, was an American blues guitarist. ... Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band that combines influences from thrash metal, power metal, progressive metal and NWOBHM. // The central figure of Iced Earth is rhythm guitarist and songwriter Jon Schaffer, who formed the band under the name Purgatory in Indiana in 1984. ... Green Day is an American rock band consisting of three core members: Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, lead vocals), Mike Dirnt (bass) and Tré Cool (drums). ... For the restaurant, see Eskimo Joes Eskimo Joe is an Australian rock band whose debut album Girl went gold in 2001. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Kiss (sometimes typeset KISS, to fit the official logo) is an American rock band formed in New York City in 1973. ... Dashboard Confessional is an American acoustic/electric guitar driven indie rock band, led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Chris Carrabba from Boca Raton, Florida. ... Van Halen is an American hard rock band. ... Alice in Chains is a popular and influential rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1987, and was one of the most commercially successful bands from the Seattle grunge music scene. ... Yngwie J. Malmsteen (born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, June 30, 1963) is a guitarist from Sweden who achieved widespread acclaim in the 1980s due to his technical proficiency and fusion of classical music elements with heavy rock guitar. ... A guitar (classical, acoustic or electric) with seven strings instead of six. ...

An important consideration, when using dropped tunings, is that the lower the notes, the muddier or less focused that guitar can sound. It is possible to overcome this issue by using post-processing effects in the studio, or guitar pedals that alter the EQ when performing live.

• One Step Lower: D-G-c-f-a-d'

This tuning is achieved by going the full step down. Sometimes referred to as "Sabbath tuning," this has long been a signature part of Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi's guitar style. After an industrial accident mashed off the tips of two of Iommi's fingers on his fretting hand, it became impossible for him to play with string tension in "standard" EADGBE tuning. Determined to resume his guitar playing career, Iommi created a set of prosthetic fingertips for himself from plastic bottle caps, then strapped the lightest possible gauge strings onto his guitar (.008-.038) and tuned those strings down a further step to this tuning. Iommi found that he could now normally play the guitar with the intervals the same as in standard tuning. However his guitar tone was now much lower and "heavier" sounding. This tuning, combined with Black Sabbath's ear-splitting volumes and distortion, created what became known as Heavy Metal guitar. One also sometimes find this tuning in Blues, where guitarists use it to accommodate string bending. A famous example of this is the late Albert King, who would sometimes even tune his guitar down a semitone below this to allow for more expressive, extreme bends. Some of the 90s "Grunge" bands, such as Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, would sometimes use this tuning on their "heavier" songs as well. One more contemporary band in particular known to have used this tuning is Killing Joke. For other uses, see Black Sabbath (disambiguation). ... Frank Anthony Tony Iommi (born February 19, 1948) is a guitarist from Birmingham, England, who is best known as a member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. ... Shahrukh is a bona vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that typically follows a twelve-bar structure. ... Albert King performing at the Wattstax Concert, 1972. ... Alice in Chains is a popular and influential rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1987, and was one of the most commercially successful bands from the Seattle grunge music scene. ... Soundgarden was a seminal Seattle rock band who helped to define the sound that came to be called grunge. ... Lead singer Jaz Coleman dominates the cover of Killing Jokes 1986 release Brighter Than a Thousand Suns. ...

Classical guitar tunings

The classical guitar developed over a period of 500 years and a number of guitar tunings are commonly used this genre, some based upon historical practice. Unlike other musical styles, in which alternate tunings are used by artists largely as a matter of individual preference, in classical guitar styles, the decision to employ alternate tunings such as this largely resides with composers or (more usually) arrangers of musical transcriptions. Thus, classical guitarists performing known transcriptions are assumed to be using defined tunings.

• 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. The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. ... A basic guitar capo A capo (short for capodastra) is a device used for shortening the strings, and hence raising the pitch, of a stringed instrument such as a guitar, mandolin or banjo. ... Orpheus playing a vihuela. ...

• "Pseudo Russian" or "g" tuning: D-G-d-g-b-e'

A versatile tuning examples of which can be heard in Choro de Saudade by Agustín Barrios and also in well known transcriptions of La Maja de Goya by Enrique Granados and Sevilla by Isaac Albéniz. Augstin Barrios Agustín Pío Barrios (also known as Agustín Barrios Mangoré) (born May 5, 1885 in San Juan Bautista de las Missiones, Paraguay; died August 7, 1944) was a Paraguayan guitarist and composer. ... Enrique Granados Enrique Costanzo Granados y Campiña (July 27, 1867 – March 24, 1916) was a Catalan pianist and composer of classical music; he is commonly considered to be a representative of musical Nationalism, and as such his music is in a uniquely Spanish style. ... Isaac Albéniz Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz (IPA: ) (May 29, 1860 – May 18, 1909) was a Catalan pianist and composer, best known for his piano works that are based on Spanish folk music. ...

Various other scordatura have been utilised by composers and players, dependent on the demands of the music, for example Fernando Sor wrote pieces for the sixth string tuned to F and the twentieth century player John Williams tuned his fifth string to B for his transcription of Granada by Isaac Albéniz, recorded in 1980. A scordatura (literally Italian for mistuning) is an alternate tuning used for the open strings of a string instrument. ... Fernando Sor Fernando Sor (baptized February 14, 1778 – July 10, 1839) was a Spanish guitarist and composer, born in Barcelona. ... John Christopher Williams (born 24 April 1941) is one of the worlds best-known classical guitarists. ...

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. In guitar playing, an open tuning is one where the strings are tuned so that a chord is achieved without fretting, or pressing any of the 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. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones has become famously associated with this tuning after penning a number of hit singles in it, though he likely learned it from Ry Cooder. Muddy Waters, and Robert Johnson had used it before, and it is also frequently encountered in Folk music. Sometimes guitarists, Richards in particular, will remove the low "D" string so that they have easier access to the "G" chord rooted on the 2nd string. The Open G is also employed as the standard tuning of the Russian seven string guitar, as D-G-B-d-g-b-d'. Blues is a vocal and instrumental musical form which evolved from African American spirituals, shouts, work songs and chants and has its earliest stylistic roots in West Africa. ... Keith Richards (a. ... -1... Ryland Ry Peter Cooder (born on March 15, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer and composer, known for his slide guitar work, his interest in the American roots music and, more recently, for his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries. ... McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 – April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered the father of Chicago blues. ... Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) is among the most famous Delta Blues musicians and arguably the most influential. ... Folk can refer to a number of different things: It can be short for folk music, or, for folksong, or, for folklore; it may be a word for a specific people, tribe, or nation, especially one of the Germanic peoples; it might even be a calque on the related German... The Russian guitar, a seven-string acoustic guitar tuned to the Open G tuning, arrived in the beginning of the 19th century in Russia, most probably as a development of the kobza and the baroque lute. ...

• 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'
• Open D minor: D-A-d-f-a-d'

Open D tuning is an open tuning for the acoustic or electric guitar. ...

Slack-key tunings

Main article: Slack-key guitar

There are a wide variety of guitar tunings in use with the slack-key guitar style; the primary one is D G D G B D, but there are many others. Slack key guitar is a style of guitar fingerpicking that originated in Hawaii. ... Slack key guitar is a style of guitar fingerpicking that originated in Hawaii. ...

Miscellaneous tunings

• Dobro: G-B-d-g-b-d'

This is commonly used for squareneck 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. A modern tricone resonator guitar, with electric pickup A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more metal resonators rather than by a wooden guitar belly. ...

• 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). Carved (electric) and round backed mandolins (front) A mandolin is a small, stringed musical instrument which is plucked, strummed or a combination of both. ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ...

• Robert Fripp's "New Standard Tuning": C-G-d-a-e'-g'

This is a devised by Robert Fripp of King Crimson, used by most Guitar Craft students around the world. The tuning is similar to all fifths except the first string is dropped from b' to g'. Some guitarists maintain that the term 'New Standard Tuning' is a misnomer and consider it to be a source of controversy, but the name appears to have stuck due the absence of viable alternative designations. Time will tell whether the tuning is in fact accepted outside of GC as a viable all-purpose tuning. Robert Fripp (born May 16, 1946 in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England) is a guitarist, record producer and a composer, perhaps best known for being the guitarist for, and only constant member of, King Crimson. ... The New Standard Tuning (or NST) is a special type of guitar tuning, discovered by Robert Fripp of King Crimson. ... Robert Fripp (born May 16, 1946 in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England) is a guitarist, record producer and a composer, perhaps best known for being the guitarist for, and only constant member of, King Crimson. ... King Crimson is an English musical group founded by guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles in 1969. ... Guitar Craft (GC) is a series of guitar and personal development classes, founded and often presented by Robert Fripp, who is best known for his work with King Crimson. ...

• DADGAD: D-A-d-g-a-d'

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 Neil Young, Jimmy Page, Pierre Bensusan, Soig Siberil and Paul McSherry. DADGAD, or D modal tuning gets its name from the tuning of the guitar strings. ... Hat, released in 1969 Davey Graham (originally Davy Graham, b. ... Front and rear views of an oud. ... Celtic music is a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic peoples of Western Europe. ... Neil Percival Young OM (born November 12, 1945, Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist and film director who grew up during his teen years in Winnipeg, Manitoba. ... James Patrick Jimmy Page, OBE (born January 9, 1944) is an English guitarist and producer. ... Pierre Bensusan is a French- Algerian guitarist. ... Hailing from west Belfast, Paul McSherry began playing guitar in 1982 at the age of 14. ...

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

This tuning devised in 1960s by jazz guitarist Ralph Patt. One large benefit of the major third tuning scheme is that all 12 notes in a chromatic scale are comfortably playable within the one position on a fretboard, making intricate single-line music easy to play and sight-read. Also, all chords are closely spread and the fingerings are the same for all 24 major and minor keys. This opens up endless harmonic possibilities for playing and transposing into any key and makes playing chords a comfortable task that is easy to learn. Though, this tuning scheme is not suitable for standard folk chords that are designed for standard guitar tuning and a lack of open A and D strings causes certain classical pieces to become difficult to play. The chromatic scale is the scale that contains all twelve pitches of the Western tempered scale. ...

• 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 (Epiphone Flying Vee-Wee, for example) be tuned one and a half steps or a minor-third higher than standard tuning. This is primarily 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 significant tuning stability problem. Unlike other alternative tunings, this tuning maintains the relative pitches or intervals of standard tuning between strings so that it only requires simple transposing for playing any score.

• Ostrich guitar tuning D-d-d-d-d'-d'

A tuning pioneered by Lou Reed in which all strings are tuned to D. Ostrich Guitar is an alternative guitar tuning in which all the guitar strings are tuned to the same note (often D). ... Lewis Allen Lou Reed (born March 2, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. ...

• 12-string guitar tuning used in traditinal Swedish folk music A (one octav below regular)-D (one octave below regular)-A-D-a-d

This tuning was pioneered by Roger Tallroth, a guitarist and folk musician from sweden. By using thick nylon strings (for tenor guitar) on the low A and low D (tuned unison), it creates a very fat bass guitar sound to the 12-string guitar and suited to play a lot of bass walkings. The tuning is widely used in Sweden for playing traditional Swedish folk music.

Complete range of string pitch combinations

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. Hand-written musical notation by J.S. Bach: beginning of the Prelude from the Suite for Lute in G minor BWV 995 (transcription of Cello Suite No. ...

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. The tenor guitar is a slightly smaller, four-string version of the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar. ... Mustapick Deep Baritone Guitar Baritone guitar It was actually the Danelectro Company that first introduced the Baritone Guitar to the music world in the late 1950’s. ... A contrabass guitar is a low-register six-string instrument in the guitar family, tuned B-E-A-D-G-C (B=B0 - the lowest B on the piano), usually with a solid wooden body. ...

Artists noted for their use of alternate tunings

• Adam Jones of Tool
• Alex DeGrassi
• Alice in Chains
• Ani DiFranco
• Brad Delson of Linkin Park
• Chris Whitley
• Collective Soul
• Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
• Daron Malakian of System of a Down
• Dashboard Confessional
• Davey Graham
• David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
• Don Ross
• Edward Van Halen of Van Halen
• Elliott Smith
• Fredrik Thordendal and Mårten Hagström of Meshuggah
• Gilles Le Bigot
• Guns N' Roses
• Jack White of The White Stripes
• Jeff Martin of The Tea Party
• Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
• John Butler
• John Martyn
• John Renbourn
• John Rzeznik of Goo Goo Dolls
• Jon Buckland of Coldplay
• Jon Gomm
• Jonatha Brooke
• Joni Mitchell
• Josh Homme
• Justin King
• Kaki King
• Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones
• King Crimson
• Korn
• Leo Kottke
• Lou Reed
• Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon
• Mark Tremonti of Creed and Alter Bridge
• Megan Slankard
• Metallica
• Michael Berk
• Michael Hedges
• Neil Young
• Nick Drake
• Nirvana
• Norma Jean
• Pat Metheny
• Paul McSherry
• Peter Mulvey
• Phil Keaggy
• Pierce Pettis
• Placebo
• Poison the well
• Robert Johnson
• Si Hayden
• Soig Siberil
• Sonic Youth
• Soundgarden
• Stephen Malkmus of Pavement
• System of a Down
• Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth
• Tim Rogers of You Am I
• Tommy Emmanuel
• Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath
• Turtle Writing
• William Ackerman
• Wintersleep

Adam Thomas Jones (born January 15, 1965 in Park Ridge, Illinois) is best known as the guitarist for the band Tool. ... Tool is an American progressive rock band, formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California, when drummer Danny Carey joined the rehearsal of his neighbor, singer Maynard James Keenan, guitarist Adam Jones and bassist Paul dAmour, when nobody else would show up. ... Alice in Chains is a popular and influential rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1987, and was one of the most commercially successful bands from the Seattle grunge music scene. ... Ani DiFranco (IPA: ) (born Angela Marie Difranco on September 23, 1970) is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter. ... Brad Delson. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Chris Whitley Christopher Becker Whitley (August 31, 1960 – November 20, 2005) was a singer songwriter who recorded albums on various labels. ... Collective Soul are an alternative rock/post-grunge band from Stockbridge, Georgia, USA. Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s they have enjoyed major commercial popularity on alternative rock and mainstream rock radio. ... Crosby, Stills, & Nash (sometimes known as Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young) is a pioneering folk rock/rock supergroup that formed out of the remnants of three 1960s bands the Buffalo Springfield, the Byrds, and the Hollies. ... Daron Malakian, CCA 2005 Daron Vartan Malakian (born July 18, 1975 in Hollywood, California, USA) is the guitarist in the Armenian-American band System of a Down, comprising vocalist Serj Tankian, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan. ... System of a Down (also referred to as SOAD or System) is a four-piece Grammy-award winning hard rock band, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles, California. ... Dashboard Confessional is an American acoustic/electric guitar driven indie rock band, led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Chris Carrabba from Boca Raton, Florida. ... Hat, released in 1969 Davey Graham (originally Davy Graham, b. ... David Jon Gilmour CBE (born March 6, 1946 in Cambridge) is an English guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known as a member of the band Pink Floyd. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that earned recognition for its psychedelic rock music, and, as they evolved, for their avant-garde progressive rock music. ... Don Ross (born Montreal November 19, 1960 of Scottish-Micmac parents) is a Canadian fingerstyle guitarist noted for the emotion and intensity of his playing. ... Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, generally known as Eddie Van Halen, (born January 26, 1955 in Nijmegen, Netherlands,) is a virtuoso guitarist, classically-trained pianist, and founding member of the hard rock band Van Halen. ... Van Halen is an American hard rock band. ... Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), better known as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and musician. ... Fredrik Thordendal (born February 11, 1970) is the lead guitarist and a founding member of the Swedish metal band Meshuggah. ... Marten Hagstrom is the rhythm guitarist for the Swedish death metal band Meshuggah. ... Meshuggah, whose name is derived from the Yiddish word for crazy, is a five-piece tech metal band from Umeå, Sweden who use extended polymetric passages, complex drum patterns, odd time signatures, angular, dissonant guitar riffs, and harsh, monotonal vocals. ... Guns N Roses are an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in March 1985. ... Jack White (occasionally Jack III White or Jack White III, born John Anthony Gillis on July 9, 1975 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American, Grammy-winning rock musician, singer, and music producer. ... The White Stripes are an American rock music duo from Detroit, composed of Jack White on guitar, piano, lead vocals and songwriting, and Meg White on drums, percussion and vocals. ... Jeff Martin is a singer and drummer who has sang for the bands Surgical Steel and Racer X, and has played drums for the bands Badlands and Blindside Blues Band. ... The Tea Party was a Canadian rock band with blues, progressive rock and Middle Eastern influences. ... James Patrick Jimmy Page, OBE (born January 9, 1944) is an English guitarist and producer. ... For the bands 1969 self-titled debut album, see Led Zeppelin (album). ... John Butler (born 1 April 1975 in Torrance, California) is an Australian musician having moved to Australia on 26 January 1986 with his Australian father and American mother. ... John Martyn, Dublin, 2006 John Martyn (born Iain David McGeachy on September 11, 1948 in New Malden, Surrey, England) is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... John Renbourn is a British guitarist and songwriter. ... Johnny Rzeznik (center) on the cover of the Goo Goo Dolls single Big Machine John Joseph Theodore Rzeznik (pronounced REZ-nick), commonly known as Johnny Rzeznik, is the frontman of rock band the Goo Goo Dolls. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jon Buckland, from Live 2003 DVD Jonathan Mark Buckland (born 11 September 1977), known as Jon or Jonny Buckland, is the lead guitarist of the band Coldplay. ... Coldplay are an English rock band from London. ... Jonatha Brooke is an American folk-rock singer-songwriter. ... Joni Mitchell, CC (born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943) is a noted Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter. ... Joshua (Josh) Homme (born May 17, 1973) is a United States musician from Palm Desert, California. ... Justin King (right) with Chairman Philip Hampton. ... Kaki King Kaki King is an American guitarist from Atlanta, Georgia. ... Keith Richards (a. ... -1... King Crimson is an English musical group founded by guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles in 1969. ... Korn (sometimes typeset as KoЯn to fit the official logo) is a Grammy Award-winning nu metal band from Bakersfield, California. ... Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is a legendary acoustic guitar virtuoso who has developed a cult following of fellow guitarists and fans over the span of a 30-year career of recording and performing. ... Lewis Allen Lou Reed (born March 2, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... Mark Kozelek (born January 29, 1967 in Massillon, Ohio) is an American singer/songwriter and frontman of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters. ... Red House Painters is an alternative rock group formed in 1989 in San Francisco by singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek. ... Sun Kil Moon is the current project of singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek, best known for his previous band, Red House Painters. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Alter Bridge is an American post-grunge band. ... Megan Slankard is a 23-year-old female vocalist, musician, and recording artist from California. ... Metallica is an American heavy metal band, formed on October 28, 1981. ... Berk created Baywatch Michael Berk is an American TV script writer and television creator who along with Douglas Schwartz, is most famous for creating and writing the earlier scripts of Baywatch a show which exceeded a global audience of 1 billion people. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Neil Percival Young OM (born November 12, 1945, Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist and film director who grew up during his teen years in Winnipeg, Manitoba. ... Nicholas Rodney Drake (June 19, 1948 – November 25, 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician best known for his acoustic, autumnal songs. ... (Devanagari , Pali: Nibbāna निब्बान -- Chinese: 涅槃; Pinyin: nièpán, Japanese: 涅槃, nehan, Korean: 열반, yeol-bhan, Thai: Nibpan นิพพาน ), is a Sanskrit word that literally means extinction (as in a candle flame) and/or extinguishing (i. ... Norma Jean is also a Country music singer. ... Patrick Bruce Metheny (born August 12, 1954 in Lees Summit, Missouri) is an American jazz guitarist. ... Hailing from west Belfast, Paul McSherry began playing guitar in 1982 at the age of 14. ... Peter Mulvey is a acoustic musician based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ... Phil Keaggy, born March 23, 1951, is a guitarist and vocalist. ... Pierce Pettis is an American singer/songwriter from Alabama. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Poison The Well is a heavy melodic band from Miami, Florida. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Sonic Youth is a seminal American alternative rock group formed in New York City in 1981. ... Soundgarden was a seminal Seattle rock band who helped to define the sound that came to be called grunge. ... Stephen Malkmus (born May 30th, 1966 , Santa Monica, California) is an indie-rock musician, a former member of the band Pavement. ... Pavement may refer to: Pavement (material): An American English term referring to the durable surfacing of roads and walkways. ... System of a Down (also referred to as SOAD or System) is a four-piece Grammy-award winning hard rock band, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles, California. ... Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958 in Coral Gables, Florida) is an American musician best known as a singer and guitarist for Sonic Youth. ... Lee Ranaldo at Ilosaarirock 2003 Lee Ranaldo (b. ... Sonic Youth is a seminal American alternative rock group formed in New York City in 1981. ... Tim Rogers at a Temperance Union gig in Canberra during November 2005. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Tommy Emmanuel, CGP (born May 31, 1955) is an Australian guitarist, best known for his fingerpicking style. ... Frank Anthony Tony Iommi (born February 19, 1948) is a guitarist from Birmingham, England, who is best known as a member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. ... For other uses, see Black Sabbath (disambiguation). ... William Ackerman is a musician specializing in acoustic-based instrumental music. ... Wintersleep are a Canadian indie rock band from Halifax, Nova Scotia also band member Ross Andrews hometown amherst. ...

See also

Bass guitar tuning

External links

• Guitar Tuning - How To Tune A Guitar
• Guitar Tuning
• Guitar Tuner
• Visual Guitar Tuning Diagram
• How to Tune a Guitar