Which strings are best suited to a particular tuning? Types of guitar tunings Guitar tuning by notes

Many guitarists wonder which strings are best suited to their tuning. When choosing, it is worth remembering that preferences for tension and string diameter are a very individual thing. It is for this reason that you should not take information from of this material as an absolute truth: we will present the most generalized and averaged data, according to which you can choose the optimal thickness of the set to suit your preferences.

For ease of reading the article, we will use whole string thickness designations (for example, 9-42 instead of 0.009-0.042).

Factors influencing the choice of string thickness

• Guitar scale: the longer it is, the tighter the strings will be, all other things being equal. In the table below we will be using the standard 25.5" scale. If you have a guitar with a smaller scale, then you will need to make a slight adjustment and go with a thicker set.
• String tension: The higher their tension, the thicker the strings - accordingly, they have a more powerful and voluminous sound. However, on the other hand, thicker strings have a smaller vibration amplitude, which is why their sound is not as rich in overtones, it is duller and flatter - this is especially audible on thin strings without winding.
• Third string: in most sets this is not wound (plain). In sets with a first string thickness of 12 or more, the third string is usually wrapped. IN in this case It’s worth considering that braiding increases tension - you’ll have to forget about bending by one and a half to two tones, although, on the other hand, in lowered tunings The third wound string sounds much fuller and richer.
• Today you can buy guitar strings in balanced sets (8-38, 9-42, 10-46, 11-50, 12-54, 13-56, etc.) and unbalanced(9-46, 10-52, 11-52, 12-56/60, etc.)

The former are usually used for standard tuning or a tuning lowered across all strings by an equal number of semitones. The second type is ideal for lovers of drop tunings (the 6th string is lowered by whole tone), as well as for those who use hybrid and open guitar tunings.

• The thickest sets of strings (12-60, 13-72, etc.) are best suited for long-scale guitars - baritones. They have a scale length of 26 inches or more, and are used in very low tunings (for example, Standard A and lower).

In principle, such kits can also be used for instruments with a standard scale for deeply lowered action, however, before purchasing, you should consider a couple of nuances:

• You may simply not have enough scale adjustment options on the bridge, since low pitch requires its reconfiguration. In this case, either replacing the bridge or switching to a thinner set will help.
• If you use a thicker set, you will either bore out the string grooves on the nut or simply won't be able to fit the strings into them. When switching back to thinner strings, they will hang around in the counterbore grooves, making it difficult to fine-tune the guitar.

In addition, thick strings may not fit into the peg - it will also have to be bored.

Which strings are suitable for a particular tuning?

Helpful Tip: If you want to tune your guitar to B Standard or lower, consider buying a baritone or 7- string guitar- you need to understand that not all types of 6-string electric guitars are intended for experiments with strong lowering of the tuning.

Let us repeat that these recommendations are conditional and partly subjective. Suffice it to remember the great SRV, which used the 13-56 kit for the Standard Eb build: therefore, the most important thing is your feelings. Try several different sets, experiment - and you will certainly find the optimal set for your music!

Based on materials from an article by Egor Kalgannikov, 12.2013.

In addition to the usual way to tune a guitar, there are alternative tunings.

Guitarists need them to diversify their performance and achieve an unusual or powerful sound, and also to simplify finger placement while playing. If you have problems with the setup process, there is a separate section about this on our website.

In this article, the tuning will be indicated from the sixth string to the first. Some settings are easier to remember this way.

Classical tuning and its variations

EADGBE - classic tuning

The generally accepted system, also called “Spanish”, is most often used to write songs. As an example, consider Ed Sheeran – Shape of you. Ed plays this song in classical system.

Variation one - DADGBE

Among guitarists it is called a drop-D, since the sixth string drops a tone to the note D. In it, power chords are pressed with one finger, which is why drop-D is often used in rock music.

Turns into this:

Stockholm Syndrome by Muse is played in this tuning.

Variation two - DADGBD

Also called Double drop-D, similar to the previous one, but the first string goes down a tone. It is convenient to play parts through the repeated note D, both on the sixth and on the first string. Skillet's Circus For A Psycho plays the main riff in this tuning.

Variation three - DADGAD

Among guitarists it is called “deadged”, often used in folk music because of its ease of imitation of bagpipes and sitar. IN open strings ah, a third is not formed, so this scale is neither major nor minor, but modal. The first, second and sixth strings are lowered a tone. White summer by the Yardbirds plays just like that.

Drops and capo

Next, we will consider tunings formed by uniform changes in all strings from the classical tuning and its variations. The downward movement adds “heaviness” to the sound. The vocalist may be more comfortable singing. As the tuning goes down, it is better to switch to thicker strings; their tension will decrease and it will be uncomfortable to play.

Step one - D#G#C#F#A#D#

It’s also half-step-down, “half a step down.” All strings are evenly lowered by a semitone.

Guns`n`roses play their classic Sweet Child O`mine a little lower than it might seem.

Step two - CGCFAD

Popular in metal and hard rock drop-C. This is the tuning that is almost always used, with all strings down a tone and the sixth string down another tone, i.e. one tone down from drop-D. First two albums System groups of a Down played in drop-C. For example, the song Toxicity from the album of the same name.

Step three - BF#BEG#C#

Another tone lower than the previous one, also known as drop-B. Even harder and more aggressive. Slipknot used this tuning on their first albums. Wait and bleed is no exception.

We will not consider the constructions below here, since in modern music For even greater reduction, guitars with additional strings, 7-, 8-, 9-strings, are used.

Capo

To improve the tuning, the guitar is very rarely retuned; for this, a capo is used, which evenly clamps all the strings.

This creates a movable threshold, and if you need to play a song in a different key, for example, for the convenience of the vocalist, you just need to move the capo to the desired fret.

For example, the Scarborough fair by Simon and Garfunkel is played with a capo at the seventh fret, which creates a BEADF#B tuning 3.5 steps higher than the classic one.

Open formations

Open tuning is the tuning of all strings not by intervals, but by the notes of a chord.

Such tunings are often used in folk music and when playing with a slide - usually a metal or glass cylinder that is placed on the finger of the left hand. It is moved along the strings as a “moving” fret.

Let's look at some commonly used open tunings.

Open D major Open D - DADF#AD

We have already discussed the DADGAD tuning as a variation of the classic tuning. Let's lower the third string another semitone - we get the notes of the D major chord.

For example, let's take the composition of guitarist Alain Johannes – Make God Jealous.

Open D minor Open D Minor - DADFAD

Let's lower the third string another semitone, and we'll end up in D minor, a more “sad” chord. Let's evaluate the changes in sound using the song Wine and Roses by John Fahey.

Open G major Open G - DGDGBD

Let's return the second and third strings to classical tuning, but let's drop the fifth one tone - we move into a G major chord. This tuning was used by Jimmy Page in Led Zeppelin's Bron-Y-Aur Stomp.

Modal scale G Modal G - DGCGCD

This system has the same features as discussed above. modal system in D (DADGAD), it is convenient to play both major and minor songs. Jimmy Page also used this system. He generally used many non-standard tunings and was their popularizer. For example, Rain song performed jointly with Robert Plant.

Open G minor Open G Minor - DGDGA#D

By lowering the second string a semitone, we form a G minor chord from the open strings. It is used on guitarist John Renbourn's Mist-Covered Mountains of Home and imitates a lute.

Open A major Open A - EEAAC#E or EAC#EAE

There are two setup options. In the first case, we raise the second, third and fourth strings by a tone, forming an A major chord.

In the second case, lower the second string by a tone, the third by a tone and a half, and the fourth string by a half tone. This variation is often found in delta blues compositions, one of the earliest blues movements.

Robert Johnson uses a slide to play in this tuning on Crossroads Blues.

Open C major Open C - CGCGCE or CGCGGE

The sixth, fifth and fourth strings repeat drop-C, the second string is raised by a semitone (or lowered by two tones), the third and first - as in the classics.

Chris Cornell's song Burden In My Hand, performed by Soundgarden, is written in this tuning.

There are many more rarer customization options. Nothing prevents a musician from tuning the instrument the way he wants or needs.

Come to us and we will teach you how to play the guitar and find innovative solutions to musical problems.

And he even posted it, albeit in English.
In general, today I decided to touch upon this topic again and consider the most common of them.

It wouldn't hurt to remind you of simple things. If you decide to tune lower, then it is better to take a thicker one, otherwise in some Dropped the usual nine will just dangle and ring on the frets. If you decide to make the tuning of your guitar higher, then in this case you can take thinner strings, because Large gauge strings, in this case, can be very tight. Well, no one has canceled the excess load on the bar either.

Also, if there is a radical change in the system, be prepared to do it again, although you may not have to do this.

So, let's go.

Standard tuning: E-A-D-g-b-e

In standard guitar tuning All the intervals between the strings are perfect fourths (five semitones), with the exception of the interval between the third string (g) and the second string (b), which is a major third (four semitones).

Down a semitone: Eb-Ab-Db-gb-bb-eb

This guitar tuning is also called "Eb" - based on the note to which the thickest string is tuned. Tuning the guitar is exactly the same as in standard system. The sound intervals between the strings remain exactly the same, but each string is tuned exactly one semitone lower than the standard tuning. Eb tuning can be used for many reasons, such as making the strings softer and bending easier, or to better suit a singer's vocal range. There can be many reasons. This tuning was used by Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Down a whole tone: D-G-C-f-a-d

This tuning is also called “Tuning D” - based on the note to which the thickest string is tuned. Everything is the same as in the previous case, except that each string is tuned a tone lower than the standard tuning. This tuning is used for the same reasons as "E?", it causes the strings to sag even more and makes bending even easier. At this point I would think about using thicker gauge strings.
If this is not enough for you, then you can continue further. Those. lower or lower each string at an equal interval relative to the standard tuning. The algorithm is simple, the main thing is to choose the appropriate size strings.

Drop-D: D-A-d-g-b-e

Drop-D is probably one of the most popular tunings in hard rock, alternative and other motherfuckers. By the way, folk guitarists do not disdain them either. Although they are, in general, big fans of alternative and non-standard guitar tunings.
By lowering the low E string one step to D, we can make power chords easier to play. Now they can be played with one finger, simply by plucking three thick strings, the 4th, 5th and 6th, respectively. Drop-D tuning gives a meatier sound and extends the overall range of the guitar towards the bottom compared to standard tuning.
By the way, this system does not require a large and lengthy restructuring, which allows you to change the system right on the fly, with the proper skill, of course.
To facilitate this procedure, a special device was even invented and made - the D Tuner, which will allow you to literally rebuild the sixth string in a second.

Double Drop-D: D-A-d-g-b-d

Double drop D is Neil Young's favorite tuning. It is identical to the regular Drop-D, except that the high e is also lowered one tone from the standard tuning - to d. With this arrangement, it turns out that the 4th high strings form a G major chord, and this can be convenient when playing with a slide. This tuning is also quite quick and easy to get from the standard one.

Drop-C: C-G-c-f-a-d

This tuning will help make your guitar sound lower and meatier when overdriven. This tuning is achieved by first tuning the guitar a tone lower than standard, and then lowering the 6th string another tone.
Quite low, don't you think? With this tuning, thicker strings are clearly needed. Thin ones will obviously hang around like snot.
In general, the technique is simple. We already understand what Drop is. But whether to lower it by one tone, 2 or more - that’s up to you. Everything will depend on the gauge of the strings and your desire.

Tuning D5: D-A-d-d-d-d

This system is classified as open formations, because If all the strings are open, the chord D5 sounds. This tuning is quite often used when playing slide. To get this tuning you need to lower the 3rd string by 5 semitones, raise the 2nd string by 3 semitones and lower the 1st string by a tone.
There are variations of this tuning in which the 3rd string is raised to A instead of lowered to D. This gives two fifths of a step in different octaves, which gives the sound some depth.

Ostrich formation: D-D-d-d-d-d

In this tuning, all strings are tuned to the same note. Lou Reed is said to have invented this tuning while he was with the Velvet Underground. Important note: With this tuning, you will definitely need to build your own set of strings.

I guess I'll stop for today. This, of course, is all alternative and non-standard guitar tunings are not exhausted.
I think I’ll throw in a dozen more soon.

A natural question arises: "how to tune a 6 string guitar for a beginner?". If you have big plans and want to become a guitarist from God, at a minimum you need to be able to tuning your guitar correctly. But even if there are no such plans, you will still have to tune the guitar).

“I can’t tune my guitar” is a phrase you can often hear from a beginning guitarist, but first, let’s figure out how the strings should be tuned. The strings on a guitar are numbered from bottom to top, from the most thin string to the thickest.

10 Tips: How to Play Guitar with Good Technique

With classic guitar tuning The 6th string is tuned to , the Latin designation "E" is often used. Usually the sixth string is tuned first, and the rest from there, but more on that later. Here's how the strings should be tuned in classical tuning:

• e (the first, thinnest string is the note "E")
• B (second string, note "B")
• G (third string, G note)
• D (fourth string, note "D")
• A (fifth string, note "A")
• E (the sixth, thickest string is the note "E")

Now that we know how the strings should be tuned, let's try to tune them. By the way, you know ? To do this, we will use pegs or, as some beginners call them, “twisters”). can be turned in one or the other direction.

By turning the peg clockwise we tighten the string, giving it a higher sound, and accordingly turning it counterclockwise we loosen the string and it sounds lower.

When tuning a 6 string guitar, turn you need to be careful so as not to break the string, especially for beginner guitarists. With experience, you will feel the tension of the string much more accurately, but for now, be more careful and turn the “twists” carefully.

Tuning the 6th string

First of all, we tune the sixth string on the guitar. To do this, we need a so-called reference sound, specifically the note “E”. Where can I get it? You can listen to it on our website, take it on another tuned musical instrument, you can use a tuning fork, or go to YouTube and search for “E notes for guitar tuning” or something like that.

Some people have perfect pitch and can determine the pitch of a note without using the above methods. This quality of hearing can be developed, but as a rule it is innate. However, not all professionals have such skills, so the method proposed below is used by both experienced guitarists and beginners.

And so, we have found a “sample” note, let’s start tuning. Tuning a 6-string guitar, as well as playing any other musical instrument, requires at least some degree of hearing. The presence of hearing in a beginner is very easy to determine, if you are able to distinguish which of two notes sounds higher and which lower, then you definitely have hearing. This is what we need now.

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Play standard note "mi" and at the same time start plucking the sixth string of your guitar. Do you feel the difference? Does your guitar string sound lower than the reference note? So you need to tighten it up a little, twist smoothly and continue tuning the 6th string until our string and the reference note sound . Try tightening and loosening the string a little until you achieve the desired sound.

Tuning the rest of the strings

can be tuned in a similar way, using reference notes, but as a rule, “in everyday life” they are tuned relative to the 6th string. The procedure is as follows:

We will use the 6th string clamped on the 5th fret and the 5th string open (that is, not clamped on any fret). We alternately pluck the fifth and sixth strings and adjust the sound of the fifth string until we achieve unison.

The remaining strings are tuned according to a similar pattern, but with a slight correction (pay attention to the setting of the second string). I will describe the entire string tuning scheme:

• Sixth string - tune either by reference note or by ear.

Each string on a guitar has its own name and letter designation. In this short note, let's figure out how all the strings of a guitar are designated.

As you know, there are six strings on a regular guitar. There are, of course, other types of guitars: the bass, for example, has only four strings; The Russian guitar has seven strings, there are twelve-string guitars, etc. We will look at the most common type of guitar - the six-string guitar.

Guitar strings are counted from the thinnest string to the thickest bass string. The thinnest is the first string. Accordingly, the thickest is the sixth string. When you hold the guitar in the position in which you play it, the first string of the guitar is lower, i.e. closer to the floor, and the very last, sixth string is higher. Bass strings differ from non-bass strings in that bass strings have a metal winding, so they are thicker in volume and produce a lower sound.

So, now about the names of the strings.

the first string is E,

second string – B,

third string – G,

fourth string – D,

fifth string – A,

the sixth string is E.

In some works, composers slightly modify the tuning of the guitar, for example, they rearrange the sixth string instead of the note E to the note D, or less often, instead of the fifth string A, they rearrange its sound into the note G. But these are exceptional cases that are quite rare.

In addition to the usual names, each string also has its own letter designation. These are the letters of the Latin alphabet that indicate the strings of a guitar.

As you noticed, the first and sixth strings have the same names. But this does not mean that these strings sound the same. The only thing they have in common is the name. In fact, the first E string belongs to the second octave, and the sixth E string belongs to the scarlet octave. Those. the distance between these strings is as much as two octaves!

Since not all letter designations of notes are indicated above, but only designations of guitar strings, I decided to simultaneously note the letter designations of all existing notes in music. As we know, there are only seven of them - do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si. For the convenience of letter designation, we will begin to list the notes not from C, but from the note A. It will be more convenient this way:

If you look closely, it becomes obvious that we are looking at the initial letters of the Latin alphabet. In my opinion, this method of recording makes memorization much easier. letter designations all existing notes.

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