Alternate Guitar Tunings Explained

An alternate tuning is any tuning other than standard E A D G B E. The common ones fall into three groups: drop tunings, such as Drop D, which lower the 6th string; lowered tunings, such as half a step down, which move every string by the same amount; and open tunings, such as Open G, which make a chord when you strum the open strings.

What an alternate tuning is

Standard tuning is a compromise. Each string is a perfect fourth above the one below it, except the B string, which is a major third above the G. That arrangement makes scales and common chords fall comfortably under the hand, which is why it became the default. The fretboard guide explains how that pattern shapes the notes on the neck.

Change the tuning and you trade some of that convenience for something else: a lower range, an easier power chord, a ringing open chord, or open strings that drone against fretted notes. Nothing about the guitar changes except the pitch of one or more strings. This guide is part of the fretboard lessons, because the useful question with any tuning is which notes have moved.

Common tunings at a glance

Strings are listed from the 6th (thickest) to the 1st. The second table shows how far each string moves from standard, in semitones: one semitone is one fret.

Change from standard, in semitones:

The free online guitar tuner names whichever note you play, so it works for all of these. It shows sharp names, so for half a step down tune to D♯, G♯, C♯, F♯, A♯ and D♯, the same pitches as E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, B♭ and E♭.

Drop tunings

Drop D

Drop D lowers only the 6th string, by a whole step, from E to D. It's the easiest alternate tuning to reach and to leave again, and the one you're most likely to meet in rock and metal.

To tune it, lower the 6th string until the tuner reads D. To check by ear, play the 6th string at the 12th fret: it should match the open D string. The bottom three strings are now D, A and D, a root, fifth and octave, so they form a power chord when played open. Lay one finger across them at any fret and you have a power chord there too: E at the 2nd fret, G at the 5th, A at the 7th. The low D also gives songs in D major or minor a deeper root than standard tuning allows.

Drop C

Drop C is Drop D lowered by another whole step: C G C F A D. Every string moves down two semitones and the 6th string four. The shapes are identical to Drop D, including the one-finger power chord; everything simply sounds a whole step lower. Because the strings are much slacker, Drop C usually needs heavier strings, covered below.

Half step down and D standard

These tunings move every string by the same amount, so the relationships between strings don't change. Every chord shape, scale pattern and riff works exactly as in standard; it simply sounds lower. A G-shaped chord in half-step-down tuning sounds as G♭, and in D standard it sounds as F.

Players use them for a heavier sound, to suit a singer's range, or because the slacker strings are easier to bend. To tune half a step down, lower every string by one fret's worth; for D standard, by two. If you play along with recordings, it's worth knowing that many were made in one of these, which is why your standard-tuned guitar can sound slightly out against them.

Open tunings

An open tuning makes a major chord from the open strings. Strum without fretting anything and it rings out; lay one finger across all six strings at any fret and you get another major chord. That makes open tunings a common choice for slide guitar, where a bar replaces the finger.

The open strings, the 5th fret and the 7th fret give the I, IV and V chords of the key, which is enough for a blues or a simple rock song. The last column shows which string carries the chord's third. For a minor chord at any barred fret, fret that string one fret lower; the rest of the barre stays.

How to tune each one from standard

• Open G: lower the 6th, 5th and 1st strings by a whole step, to D, G and D.
• Open D: lower the 6th, 2nd and 1st strings by a whole step, to D, A and D, and the 3rd string by a semitone, to F♯.
• Open E: raise the 5th and 4th strings by a whole step, to B and E, and the 3rd string by a semitone, to G♯.
• Open C: lower the 6th string by two whole steps, to C, the 5th and 4th by a whole step, to G and C, and raise the 2nd by a semitone, to C.

Open E is the only one here that raises strings, which increases their tension. Many players tune to Open D instead and put a capo at the 2nd fret, which gives the same pitches as Open E without the extra strain. Open C goes the other way: its low C is four semitones below standard, so the 6th string will feel loose on lighter sets.

DADGAD

DADGAD lowers the 6th, 2nd and 1st strings by a whole step, giving D A D G A D. The open strings make Dsus4: D and A with a G instead of the major or minor third. Because the chord has no third, it sits between major and minor: add an F♯, at the 4th fret of the 1st string, and it becomes D major; add an F, at the 3rd fret, and it becomes D minor.

It's closely associated with Celtic and folk guitar, where its drones suit melodies in D, but its unresolved sound works in many styles. The 4th, 5th and 6th strings are the same as Drop D, so Drop D power chords still work on them.

What changes on the fretboard

Only the strings you retune change. In Drop D, the notes on the 5th to 1st strings are exactly where they were; only the 6th string moves, so every note on it is two frets higher than in standard. G, at the 3rd fret in standard, is now at the 5th. A is at the 7th.

That rule works for any tuning: for each retuned string, shift every note by the change in the table. A string lowered by two semitones puts each note two frets higher; a string raised by one puts it a fret lower. Your shapes change for the same reason. In Drop D, the octave shape from the 6th string to the 4th is now the same fret on both strings, rather than two frets apart, because the two strings are an octave apart when open.

Lowered tunings are the exception: every string moves together, so the note names all shift but the patterns don't. If you think in intervals and shapes, half a step down needs no relearning at all. If you think in note names, subtract a semitone.

Strings, tension and setup

Lowering a string reduces its tension, so it feels looser, bends more easily and can buzz against the frets if it goes too far. A whole step down on a standard set is usually fine. For Drop C and lower, many players move to a heavier gauge to bring the tension back up.

Raising a string increases tension, which is why Open E is the one to treat with some care. Changing tension also pulls the neck slightly, so a guitar kept in a different tuning for long periods may need its setup adjusted, and a guitar retuned often will need retuning again after a few minutes as it settles.

How to start

1. Drop D first. One string, easy to tune and easy to return from. Play one-finger power chords up the bottom three strings and name each one.
2. Find notes on the retuned string. Before playing a riff, work out where G, A and C sit on the dropped string.
3. Open G or Open D. Play the open chord, then barre the 5th and 7th frets for I, IV and V. Then make each one minor by moving the third.
4. DADGAD. Play a simple melody on the top strings while the open D and A strings ring underneath.