Guitar Tuning Guide: Standard, Drop D, Open G & 10 Alternate Tunings

Guitar tuning is the foundation everything else is built on. A guitar that’s out of tune sounds bad regardless of how well you play it. A guitar in a well-chosen alternate tuning can unlock sounds and chord voicings that aren’t possible in standard — which is why exploring beyond EADGBE is one of the most productive creative moves any guitarist can make.

This guide covers standard tuning in full detail, then walks through 10 of the most musically important alternate tunings — explaining what each one does, which strings change, what genres use it, and which famous songs made it iconic.

How to Tune Your Guitar

Before anything else: tune up accurately. The fastest, most reliable way is the free guitar tuner — open it in your browser, allow microphone access, pluck one string at a time, and follow the needle. No download, no app, works on any device.

The golden rules of tuning:

Always tune up to the note, not down to it — approaching from flat keeps strings more stable
Tune the strings in order: low E → A → D → G → B → high e
After one full pass, do a second pass — changing tension on lower strings affects higher strings
Let each note ring for 2–3 seconds so the tuner gets a stable reading
For alternate tunings, always start from standard and work string by string to the new target pitches

If you prefer tuning by ear or want reference tones, the exact Hz value for every string across all common tunings is listed throughout this guide. The frequency to note converter lets you verify any Hz value against its note name instantly.

Standard Tuning — EADGBE

Standard tuning is the universal reference. Every guitar lesson, chord chart, tab book, and song tutorial assumes EADGBE unless stated otherwise. Learn this tuning first and master it before exploring anything else.

String	Note	Octave	Frequency
6th (thickest)	E	2	82.41 Hz
5th	A	2	110.00 Hz
4th	D	3	146.83 Hz
3rd	G	3	196.00 Hz
2nd	B	3	246.94 Hz
1st (thinnest)	e	4	329.63 Hz

Why these specific intervals? The strings are tuned in mostly perfect fourths — each string is 5 semitones above the one below. The single exception is the G-to-B interval, which is a major third (4 semitones). This one irregularity is deliberate — it’s what makes standard chord shapes playable across the neck with reasonable finger stretches. A uniform-fourths tuning would be logically consistent but would make many common chord shapes physically impossible.

Standard tuning works best for: virtually all rock, pop, country, blues, and folk. The vast majority of guitar music written or transcribed anywhere is in standard tuning.

Why Guitars Go Out of Tune

Understanding why your guitar detunes is as useful as knowing how to fix it.

Temperature and humidity: Wood expands and contracts with environmental changes. A guitar left in a hot car, taken from a warm room to a cold stage, or moved from dry winter air to humid summer air will shift pitch noticeably. Tune after any significant environmental change — always.

New strings stretching: Fresh strings are elastic and stretch for the first few hours of playing. Expect to retune frequently the first two or three sessions on a new set. You can accelerate the settling by gently pulling each string away from the fretboard near the 12th fret and retuning immediately after.

Worn or loose tuning pegs: Machine heads that have developed play (wobble) in their gears will slip under string tension. Check whether your pegs turn smoothly and hold without creeping. If they slip, either tighten the mounting screws or replace the machine heads.

Playing hard: Aggressive strumming, string bending, and heavy vibrato all introduce tension variations that can pull strings out of tune. Locking tuners or properly wound string posts reduce this significantly.

Nut slots that are too tight: If a string binds in the nut slot during tuning, it stores tension unevenly — the string reads in tune when plucked open but goes sharp when you bend or tune up. Lubricating the nut slots with graphite (pencil lead) helps dramatically.

For any guitar that consistently goes out of tune despite fresh strings and a stable environment, the issue is usually nut slot friction or tuning peg wear — both fixable by a guitar technician for minimal cost.

The 10 Most Important Alternate Tunings

1. Drop D — D A D G B e

What changes: Only the 6th string drops one whole step from E2 to D2 (82.41 Hz → 73.42 Hz).

What it enables: Power chords on the lowest three strings become playable with a single finger barred across all three — far faster than the two-finger standard tuning power chord shape. This is the tuning that makes metal and hard rock rhythm guitar accessible at high speeds.

The sound: Fuller, heavier low end. A D root note one full step below standard that rumbles in a way E never quite does.

Famous songs: Everlong (Foo Fighters), Heart-Shaped Box (Nirvana), Moby Dick (Led Zeppelin), The Pretender (Foo Fighters)

Best for: Rock, metal, grunge, alternative. Any style where D-rooted riffs are central.

Tuning tip: Only the 6th string changes. Leave strings 1–5 exactly as in standard — all your familiar chord shapes remain identical.

2. Half Step Down — Eb Ab Db Gb Bb eb

What changes: Every string drops one semitone from standard.

What it enables: The guitar sounds in Eb rather than E. Slacker string tension makes bending easier and gives the guitar a slightly warmer, darker character. More importantly, it lets a vocalist perform in a key that sits between standard keys — a common choice when a singer finds E major too high but D# minor too low.

Famous songs: Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix), Pride and Joy (Stevie Ray Vaughan), Sweet Child O’ Mine (Guns N’ Roses), November Rain (GNR)

Best for: Classic rock, blues, any song where the original recording is in Eb. To play along with these recordings without retuning, use the guitar tuner to select half-step-down tuning and tune each string down one semitone.

Tuning tip: All chord shapes remain identical to standard. You’re just playing them in a different key — Eb instead of E, Ab instead of A, etc.

3. Full Step Down — D G C F A D

What changes: Every string drops one whole step from standard.

What it enables: A heavier, darker sound without the asymmetry of drop tunings. All standard chord shapes remain playable. Popular with heavier rock and metal bands who want additional low end throughout without going to a 7-string.

Famous songs: Most of Soundgarden’s output, many Alice in Chains songs, some Black Sabbath material.

Best for: Heavy rock, grunge, metal. Any context where you want a consistently deeper sound while keeping standard chord shapes.

Tuning tip: Consider heavier string gauges (.011+ or .012+) if you tune a full step down regularly — standard gauge strings feel noticeably slack at D2 as the lowest note.

4. Open G — D G D G B D

What changes: 6th string drops from E to D, 5th string drops from A to G, 1st string drops from e to D.

What it enables: Strumming all six open strings produces a G major chord. Barring across all strings at any fret produces a major chord rooted on that fret — making slide guitar effortless since every position is a complete chord. Single-finger barres replace standard barre chord shapes.

The sound: Full, resonant, droning — the quintessential slide and blues rock sound.

Famous songs: Start Me Up (Rolling Stones), Brown Sugar (Rolling Stones), Honky Tonk Women (Stones), Little Wing (Hendrix-adjacent), Rave On (Buddy Holly)

Best for: Blues, country, slide guitar, rock with a rootsy or soulful character. Keith Richards plays almost exclusively in Open G — notably removing the low 6th string entirely for a 5-string configuration.

Tuning tip: Three strings change. Strings 2, 3, and 4 (B, G, D) remain exactly as in standard tuning.

5. Open D — D A D F# A D

What changes: 6th string E → D, 3rd string G → F#, 2nd string B → A, 1st string e → D.

What it enables: Open strings produce a D major chord. Closely related to Open G but centred on D. Excellent for fingerstyle, Delta blues, and slide guitar in a D tonality.

Famous songs: She Talks to Angels (Black Crowes), Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell), Lay Lady Lay (Bob Dylan), much Delta blues work.

Best for: Blues, folk, fingerstyle, slide. The lowest open D (D2 at 73.42 Hz) adds powerful bass resonance that works beautifully on acoustic guitar.

Tuning tip: Four strings change from standard. If you know Open G, Open D has a similar logic — just shifted to a D tonal centre with a major third on the 3rd string.

6. DADGAD — D A D G A D

What changes: 6th string E → D, 2nd string B → A, 1st string e → D.

What it enables: Open strings produce a Dsus4 chord — neither major nor minor, harmonically ambiguous. The middle three strings (A, D, G) are identical to standard, giving you familiar single-note patterns while the altered outer strings provide new drone possibilities. The ambiguity of Dsus4 allows the tuning to work in both major and minor keys.

The sound: Atmospheric, Celtic, meditative. Open drone strings that ring sympathetically while you play melody. Modal rather than functional — music that floats rather than drives.

Famous songs: Kashmir (Led Zeppelin), Black Mountain Side (Led Zeppelin), most of Jimmy Page’s acoustic work, virtually all Celtic fingerstyle guitar.

Best for: Celtic, folk, acoustic fingerstyle, atmospheric rock. DADGAD is arguably the most versatile alternate tuning for acoustic guitarists.

Tuning tip: Only three strings change, and the middle three (strings 2, 3, 4 — A, D, G) stay exactly as in standard. If you only ever learn one alternate tuning beyond Drop D, make it DADGAD.

7. Drop C — C G C F A D

What changes: First tune to Drop D, then lower every string one additional whole step.

What it enables: The same single-finger power chord advantage as Drop D, but with a heavier C root note. The lowest note (C2 at 65.41 Hz) gives a deep, rumbling low end that’s become the signature of modern metal subgenres.

Famous songs: B.Y.O.B. and Chop Suey (System of a Down), many Slipknot and Disturbed tracks, large portions of metalcore and deathcore output.

Best for: Metal, metalcore, djent, heavy rock. Any context where Drop D feels like it needs more weight.

Tuning tip: String tension drops significantly at C2. Use at least .011s if you tune here occasionally; .012s or heavier if Drop C is your primary tuning. Otherwise strings will feel unplayably floppy and intonation will suffer.

8. Open E — E B E G# B E

What changes: 3rd string G → G#, 2nd string B stays, but additionally 5th string A → B, 4th string D → E. Net result: strings 2, 3, 5, and 4 all change from standard.

What it enables: Open strings produce an E major chord. Similar to Open D in concept but a whole step higher, making it excellent for playing along with standard-tuned instruments without a capo.

Famous songs: Dust My Broom (Robert Johnson), Shake For Me (Howlin’ Wolf), some of Derek Trucks’ slide work, several early blues recordings.

Best for: Blues, slide guitar. Works particularly well on electric guitar for classic electric blues slide.

Tuning note: Open E puts higher tension on the neck than most alternate tunings because several strings are tuned up from standard. Use lighter gauge strings or retune back to standard when the guitar isn’t in use to reduce neck stress.

9. Double Drop D — D A D G B D

What changes: Both the 6th string and the 1st string drop from E to D.

What it enables: Drop D’s power chord advantages plus an additional low-first-string D drone. Strumming all six open strings produces a Dsus2 chord. Works particularly well for fingerpicking in a D tonality where the open high D string can serve as a ringing melody or drone note.

Famous songs: Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young), Harvest (Neil Young), several acoustic fingerstyle compositions.

Best for: Folk rock, acoustic, singer-songwriter. Neil Young’s primary acoustic tuning.

Tuning tip: Only two strings change from standard. Quick to set up and quick to return from.

10. Open A — E A E A C# E

What changes: 3rd string G → A, 4th string D → E, keeping the tonal logic of an open major tuning but centred on A.

What it enables: Open strings produce an A major chord. Popular for slide guitar and blues in an A key centre. Less commonly used than Open G or Open D but delivers a bright, cutting slide tone particularly on electric guitar.

Famous songs: Various electric blues slide work. Some acoustic folk.

Best for: Slide guitar, blues, country. Electric and acoustic.

Choosing the Right Alternate Tuning for Your Music

Not all alternate tunings suit all music. Here’s a practical guide to which one to explore based on what you’re playing:

If you play…	Try first	Then explore
Rock / metal	Drop D → Drop C	Half step down, full step down
Blues / slide	Open G or Open D	Open E, Open A
Folk / Celtic / acoustic	DADGAD	Open D, Double Drop D
Classic rock / singer-songwriter	Half step down	Open G, DADGAD
Country	Open G	Drop D
Experimental / fingerstyle	DADGAD	Open tunings generally

Intonation — The Problem That Tuning Can’t Fix

This is the section most tuning guides skip — and it’s why some guitars play in tune on open strings but sound increasingly out of tune as you go up the neck.

Intonation is the accuracy of fretted notes compared to open strings. On a properly intonated guitar, the note at the 12th fret should be exactly one octave (12 semitones) above the open string. If the 12th fret is sharp, the string is too short (saddle needs to move back). If flat, the string is too long (saddle needs to move forward).

How to check intonation:

Tune the open 6th string to E2 using the guitar tuner
Fret the same string at the 12th fret (which should be E3, exactly one octave higher at 164.81 Hz)
Use the tuner or the pitch accuracy checker to check whether the fretted note is also exactly in tune
If it reads sharp: the string is too short — saddle moves away from the nut
If it reads flat: the string is too long — saddle moves toward the nut
Intonation adjustment requires physically moving the bridge saddles and is ideally done by a guitar technician

Intonation issues are especially noticeable when playing barre chords higher on the neck and when playing with other instruments. A guitar with poor intonation will always sound slightly off in ensemble contexts regardless of how well you tune the open strings.

When to Change Strings

String age affects tuning stability and tone quality. Old strings lose elasticity, develop rough winding corrosion, and produce false tones — notes that don’t ring at their correct pitch harmonically.

Change strings when:

They’re visibly discoloured, corroded, or feel rough to the touch
Your guitar goes out of tune faster than usual despite being freshly tuned
Notes at the 12th fret are consistently out of tune even after intonation adjustment
The tone sounds dull, lifeless, or loses its brightness and sustain
You haven’t changed them in more than 3 months of regular playing

String gauges and tuning: Heavier strings (.012+) produce more tension at standard tuning and are harder to bend but stay in tune more reliably. Lighter strings (.009–.010) are easier to bend and play but detune more easily with aggressive playing. For drop tunings below Drop D, heavier gauges are essentially required to maintain playable tension.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the standard guitar tuning? Standard tuning is EADGBE — from the thickest string to the thinnest: E2 (82.41 Hz), A2 (110 Hz), D3 (146.83 Hz), G3 (196 Hz), B3 (246.94 Hz), e4 (329.63 Hz). This is the universal reference used by virtually all guitar lessons, tabs, and chord charts. Use the guitar tuner to tune to it quickly with microphone detection.

What is the easiest alternate tuning to learn? Drop D (D A D G B e) is the easiest — only one string changes from standard (the 6th string drops from E to D), and all your standard chord shapes on strings 1–5 remain identical. It’s the natural first alternate tuning for any guitarist.

What alternate tuning did Jimi Hendrix use? Hendrix tuned his entire guitar down one semitone — Eb Ab Db Gb Bb eb — sometimes called half step down or Eb standard. He did this consistently across most of his recordings. To play along with his tracks without retuning, use the pitch shifter to shift the recording up one semitone.

What tuning does Keith Richards use? Open G (D G D G B D) — but with only five strings. Richards typically removes the low 6th string entirely, leaving him with G D G B D from lowest to highest. This creates his signature sparse, ringing chord voicings. With all six strings, Open G is equally valid.

What is DADGAD tuning used for? DADGAD is primarily used for Celtic folk, acoustic fingerstyle, and atmospheric rock. Its open strings produce a Dsus4 chord — harmonically ambiguous, neither major nor minor — which works brilliantly for modal music and drone-based playing. Jimmy Page used it for Kashmir and Black Mountain Side.

Does alternate tuning damage the guitar? Occasional alternate tuning is fine for any well-maintained guitar. Frequent, extreme tuning changes (e.g., going from standard to Drop A daily) can cause neck relief changes over time — if you regularly use a very different tuning, keeping a separate guitar dedicated to it is worth considering.

How do I know if my guitar needs a setup? Signs you need a professional setup: frets buzz on notes that shouldn’t buzz, the action (string height) feels uncomfortably high or low, intonation is consistently off even with new strings, the neck has visible bow or backbow. A professional setup costs relatively little and can transform a difficult guitar into a joy to play.