Alternate Guitar Tunings

An alternate tuning is any setup that isn't standard E A D G B E. Some change a single string; others retune everything for a particular open chord or a different feel under the fingers. The tuner on the homepage works for all of them — chromatic mode just listens for whichever note you ask of it.

Before you retune

Changing pitch changes string tension. Going down is usually fine. Going up — especially across several semitones — puts extra load on the neck and on the strings themselves. Move in small steps, check tuning on the other strings as you go, and stop if anything feels wrong.

A couple of practical notes:

• String gauge matters. Strings designed for standard tuning can feel loose and floppy if you drop them a whole tone or more. Heavier gauges are friendlier to lower tunings; lighter gauges suit higher ones.
• The setup may shift. Significant retuning can change neck relief enough that intonation and action need a small adjustment. For occasional use this is rarely a problem; for a permanent change it's worth a setup.
• Tune in passes. After you've put each string near its target, go around again. Strings affect one another through the neck.

Drop D — D A D G B E

Drop the 6th string from E2 to D2 (down a whole tone). Everything else stays standard.

• String 6 — D2 — 73.42 Hz
• String 5 — A2 — 110.00 Hz
• String 4 — D3 — 146.83 Hz
• String 3 — G3 — 196.00 Hz
• String 2 — B3 — 246.94 Hz
• String 1 — E4 — 329.63 Hz

What it's good for. A heavier, more resonant low end; one-finger power chords on the bottom three strings (barre across the same fret); riff-driven rock, metal, and a lot of fingerstyle folk arrangements that want a low D pedal.

Double Drop D — D A D G B D

Drop both E strings to D. The 6th goes from E2 to D2, the 1st from E4 to D4 (293.66 Hz).

What it's good for. Open-string drones at both ends of the guitar. Common in folk and singer-songwriter playing — Neil Young arrangements often use this. The familiar standard-tuning shapes still work on the middle four strings, which makes the transition gentler than fully open tunings.

DADGAD — D A D G A D

Both Es drop to D, and the 2nd string drops from B3 to A3 (220.00 Hz).

• String 6 — D2 — 73.42 Hz
• String 5 — A2 — 110.00 Hz
• String 4 — D3 — 146.83 Hz
• String 3 — G3 — 196.00 Hz
• String 2 — A3 — 220.00 Hz
• String 1 — D4 — 293.66 Hz

What it's good for. Modal, suspended sounds — neither major nor minor — and Celtic-influenced fingerstyle. The open strings spell out a Dsus4 chord, which leaves the major/minor third up to the fretting hand.

Open G — D G D G B D

An open tuning: strum all six strings and you get a G major chord.

• String 6 — D2 — 73.42 Hz
• String 5 — G2 — 98.00 Hz
• String 4 — D3 — 146.83 Hz
• String 3 — G3 — 196.00 Hz
• String 2 — B3 — 246.94 Hz
• String 1 — D4 — 293.66 Hz

What it's good for. Slide guitar, blues, and a long list of rock songs that want big open-string chords. Many players who use Open G regularly remove the low D string, leaving a five-string setup tuned G D G B D.

Open D — D A D F# A D

Another open tuning. Strumming the open strings gives a D major chord.

• String 6 — D2 — 73.42 Hz
• String 5 — A2 — 110.00 Hz
• String 4 — D3 — 146.83 Hz
• String 3 — F♯3 — 185.00 Hz
• String 2 — A3 — 220.00 Hz
• String 1 — D4 — 293.66 Hz

What it's good for. Slide guitar in D, fingerstyle blues, and arrangements where a sustained D drone underneath the melody is desirable.

Half-step down — E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭

Every string flat by one semitone. The interval pattern is identical to standard tuning; all your chord shapes still work — they just sound a semitone lower.

• String 6 — E♭2 — 77.78 Hz
• String 5 — A♭2 — 103.83 Hz
• String 4 — D♭3 — 138.59 Hz
• String 3 — G♭3 — 185.00 Hz
• String 2 — B♭3 — 233.08 Hz
• String 1 — E♭4 — 311.13 Hz

What it's good for. Vocal range that sits awkwardly between two standard-tuning keys; a slightly looser feel under the fingers; matching recordings by artists who routinely tune down a semitone.

Whole-step down (D standard) — D G C F A D

Every string down a full tone. Still the standard interval pattern, just two semitones lower throughout. Heavier strings are almost essential here.

Choosing between them

If you're trying alternate tunings for the first time, Drop D is the gentlest experiment — one peg, one string, easy to reverse. DADGAD rewards a little time spent learning new shapes, because the standard-tuning chord vocabulary doesn't transfer. Open tunings are most fun with a slide or with fingerpicking patterns that exploit the drone strings.

If a song you're learning specifies a tuning that isn't here, the homepage tuner will still get you there. Type the target note for each string into your own list, set them one at a time in chromatic mode, and tune.

Going back to standard

When you return to standard tuning, work string by string back to E A D G B E and do a second pass. Strings that have spent time at a different tension take a few minutes to settle, especially if you've moved them significantly.

For backup-by-ear methods, see how to tune a guitar by ear. To understand how the tuner picks the right note in chromatic mode, see how an online guitar tuner works.

Last reviewed on 2026-05-12.