In this article I want to clarify a little guitar tunings. What are they, why were they formed this way, and how to generally tune your guitar. Firstly, a little educational information. The order is indicated by letters. Letters are notes that give open strings from the sixth (the thickest) to the first (the thinnest). Let's start with, so to speak, the standard - this standard guitar tuning.
Standard tuning E A D G B E (E)
In this tuning, the guitar is tuned in fourths, i.e. the interval between each string is a fourth. Read what it is. The exception is the second and third strings, the interval between which is a major third. They say in the jargon that the guitar is tuned in "E", i.e. these are the notes on the first and sixth strings. By tuning your guitar in this tuning, you can easily play regular full chords, major and minor. And in general, it seems to me that 90% of all songs can be played in it.
Low tuning Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb (E flat)
If all strings are tuned to standard tuning and lower each by a semitone, then we get low pitch E flat. The intervals between the strings are the same as in standard system Mi. What is this system used for? Mainly to make it easier for the vocalist to sing or for a lower and heavier sound (for example in heavy metal and other rock music).
Low tuning D G C F A D (D)
If in the standard tuning all the strings are lowered even lower - by 2 semitones, then we get the D tuning. Here also the intervals are preserved. Essentially all lower tunings of this type are just standard tunings with a lower tuning. Used again for a heavier and lower sound, for example in heavy metal. The standard can be lowered further and get, for example, C (to). The meaning will be the same.
Dropped D: D A D G B E
Now this is more interesting. Take the E standard and lower the 6th string to whole tone. Now we have 2 D notes on open strings. Fifths on the sixth string are pressed not with 2 fingers, as in the standard one, but with one. This is probably the most popular tuning in alternative metal. Gives a meatier sound and expands the guitar's range. Well, convenience appears when playing fifths (power chords).
Dropped C: C G C F A D
Everything is the same as in the case of Drop D, only we take the lowered tuning of D as a basis and also lower the sixth string an additional tone. The favorite tuning of all metalcore players.
So, by equivalently lowering the strings, you can tune the guitar even higher or lower. That is, in fact, all these tunings above are variations of 2 tunings: standard and drop. They are probably the most popular among guitarists. Using just them, you can play 99% of all the songs in the world with ease. In addition to them, there are also a lot of non-standard tunings, but they are quite rarely used. And in general, you yourself can even come up with your own guitar tuning and figure out how to play it =)
If you have already decided to start playing the guitar, then the first thing you need to do when you pick up the instrument is to tune the guitar. About how it is carried out setting 6 string guitar and this article tells the story. Let's look at how to tune a guitar with and without a tuner. Never play an out of tune guitar - it will completely damage your hearing!
Standard guitar tuning
Tuning a guitar requires that each string sound a specific note. The set of notes of all strings is called the tuning of a guitar. Tuning a 6 string guitar can be done in different tunings, but we will focus on the most common one - classical system, which is more often called standard guitar tuning.
In short, any tuning is written as a sequence of notes of the open strings from the first to the sixth. The standard tuning is written like this:
E B G D A E
What does it mean in Russian:
Mi Si Sol Re La Mi
As you can see, the first and sixth strings sound the note Mi , but in the case of the sixth string it is Mi second octave (thick string), and the first string produces Mi fourth octave (thin). There will be more about this a little later.
Guitar tuner
In the age of technology, it would be strange if there was no gadget for tuning a guitar. But it exists and there are just a lot of options. Not only is this a very convenient thing, it is also very cheap.
This is a small clothespin that attaches to the headstock, i.e. to the place where the pegs are on the guitar. The clothespin contains a sensor that detects sound vibrations going about t strings Thanks to this, the tuner does not pick up external noise.
We will look at what these strange letters on the screen are, but for now I want to please you. The cost of this miracle on AliExpress only 3$. In music stores, such tuners are sold many times more expensive. I recommend purchasing it if necessary. It will come in handy, I use this myself. It's better to buy in this store .
Tuner for tuning a guitar on your phone
Today there is more than one online service for tuning a guitar. There are also enough programs for PC, for example the same Guitar Pro allows you to do this. But it is much more convenient to install the application on your smartphone and not depend on the Internet and/or computer.
There are tons of guitar tuning apps for smartphones. But the most complete and advanced among them all was and remains to this day the gStrings guitar tuner. I've been using it for 5 years now.
You can download it from Google Play Market ‘ A.
After all the changes made by the developers, the application has become maximally adapted to living conditions. You just need to take your phone out of your pocket, open the app and start plucking strings, not necessarily guitar strings. The application is omnivorous and is great for tuning a guitar, as well as for tuning a bass guitar, violin and any other instrument. Even the drums were once pulled up on it.
At the top of the tuner screen are consecutive notes. In the center is a tuned note, and an arrow indicates what to do with this note. If the arrow is to the left of the center of the screen, it means the note is not played. If it’s to the right, it’s overtightened.
A note is considered tuned if the arrow points to the center, i.e. on the note itself, while its color changes, in this case from gray to white. Today, all tuners have a similar intuitive interface.
As already shown above, notes are indicated by the first letters of the English alphabet. The letters go as in the English alphabet, in order, but starting with the note A:
- Do - C
- D - D
- Mi - E
- Fa - F
- Salt G
- A - A
- C - B
When talking about standard tuning, octaves were mentioned. Which octave a note belongs to is indicated in the program by a number next to the note. Under the note, its frequency is indicated in Hertz (Hz). The center of the screen shows the sound frequency in at the moment. For standard tuning this is:
- 1 string — E 4 — 329.63 Hz
- 2nd string — B 3 — 246.94 Hz
- 3rd string — G 3 — 196.00 Hz
- 4th string — D 3 — 146.83 Hz
- 5 string — A 2 —110.00Hz
- 6th string — E 2 — 82.41 Hz
Don't get confused! otherwise in best case scenario You'll break the string, or at worst, you'll damage the guitar.
Tuning a 6 string guitar by notes
Today, given that everyone has a smartphone or two in their pocket, this option for tuning a guitar can be considered outdated, but you shouldn’t write it off. One way or another, everyone who plans to continue playing the guitar should know it. You never know, suddenly the battery on your smartphone runs out)
The method is based on the fact that each subsequent string is tuned to the previous one by ear, by resonance. As we already know, the open first string produces the note Mi. If we hold down the second string at the fifth fret, we will also get the same note Mi and a resonance will arise between them, i.e. they will begin to enhance each other's sound.
This means that in order to tune the second string, it needs to sound the same as the open first string at the fifth fret. Therefore, we clamp the second string at the fifth fret, pluck the first string, and then the second, and try to determine whether the second string sounds higher or lower.
At the same time, to make it easier to determine whether the second string is understretched or overtightened, you can move from the fifth fret to other frets and look for which fret the resonance will occur on. If it occurs on higher frets (6,7,8...) then the second string should be tightened even more. If resonance occurs if you hold the second string at lower frets (1-4), then the second string is overtightened.
Guitar beats and tuning
When you come very close to the desired note and the difference between the notes is very close, so-called beats occur. Beating is the result of a slight difference between two close frequencies that are trying to resonate, but because of the slight difference, the sound is either strengthened or weakened. Graphically it looks like this:
When setting acoustic guitar, the beats are not only perceptible by ear, but also clearly felt by the body when touching the soundboard (body) of the guitar. This is especially noticeable on the upper bass strings, due to their thickness and lower sound frequency.
The closer the sounds of two notes correspond to each other (the second string on the fifth fret and the open first), the faster the beats will occur. And when the notes coincide, the beats will stop altogether. You just have to feel it and then you can adjust it without thinking.
By analogy for the other strings. The third string should sound the same as the second open string when plucked at the fourth fret. To tune the 4th, 5th and 6th strings, you should clamp them at the fifth fret and compare their sound with the sound of the previous string.
It turns out that all strings except the third are tuned according to the resonance between them at the fifth fret and the previous string, and the third string is similar, but is clamped at the fourth fret.
Sheet music for guitar tuning
In this way, you can tune the guitar in reverse order or starting from any string, but there is one thing in this method weak point. Initially, one of the strings must be tuned from outside. The tuning fork was invented for these purposes. A standard tuning fork produces an A note with a frequency of 440 Hz. Those. This is the first string on the fifth fret.
Especially for you, a 20-second file with the note A (440Hz) produced by a standard tuning fork was created in the Audacity audio editor. Well, at the same time, 20 seconds of the sound of the first string.
Download or listen online sheet music for guitar tuning:
You can create the sound of any note yourself in Audacity. How to do this, read the article:
Another instrument, such as a piano or a second guitar, can serve as a reference. But it’s better to memorize some melody for yourself, preferably using all the strings separately, by playing which you could accurately determine whether the instrument is out of tune and which strings should be tuned.
For me personally, such a melody is the introduction of Viktor Tsoi’s song “Aluminum Cucumbers.” If you develop auditory memory and remember the sound of notes, then you can tune a guitar without a tuning fork, and even more so without tuners, without any problems. It just takes practice and regular play.
And finally, a video showing another guitar tuning option:
The article was written exclusively for the site
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 this case, it is worth considering that the braid increases the tension - you will 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 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 a 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 at the bridge, since lower tuning requires retuning. 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?
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Guitar tuning |
Matching String Sets |
|
Standard E |
8-38 is a specific set that is more suitable for experienced musicians. The very small diameter allows you to make microbends simply by pressing the strings harder against the frets (this is especially effective when using a scalloped neck). From famous musicians Yngwie Malmsteen is a fan of this set 9-42 - suitable for a beginning musician, installed on all production Fender guitars 10-46 is perhaps the most popular caliber for standard action: the perfect balance between comfort and tone. 9.5-44 - a compromise set for lovers of dynamic sound and frequent bends 11-50 - a favorite set of musicians performing blues and light rock: allows you to swing the guitar wood to full power 12-54 - suitable, for example, for guitars with voids inside the soundboard when playing jazz and blues. High tension |
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9-46 - similar to the classic 9-42 set for drop tuning 10-52 - analogue of the 10-46 set for drop tuning 10-50 is not a very popular set, which, according to many musicians, is more balanced for drops and more pleasant to play than 10-52 10-60 - an unbalanced kit for those who play heavy music, this kit is used by Zakk Wylde 11-54 - bright and powerful sound when playing harmonic parts on low strings 11-56 - the most spacious and deep sound, suitable for musicians with strong fingers |
|
|
Standard D |
10-46 - light bends, tension below average. For singing lead parts 11-50 - perfectly balanced tension 12-54 - above average tension: every bluesman's dream 13-56 - strong tension, deep and powerful tone |
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10-60 is a good choice for this tuning: 1-3 strings stretch well, low strings sound monolithic and deep 11-52 - minimum thickness for this tuning, tension below average 11-54 - classic set for drop C 11-56 - enhanced sound of low strings, the difference is not always noticeable 12-54 - thicker high strings, more suitable for playing harmonic parts 12-60 - strong tension, good choice for heavy music with minimum quantity lead party |
|
|
Standard A |
14-68 - medium tension, excellent balance |
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 designed for experimenting with strong detuning.
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.
Beginning guitarists often wonder: what tuning does this or that favorite rock band play in? How to tune a guitar so that you can comfortably play known and favorite songs? In this article I will briefly give examples guitar tunings in rock music and their representatives (musicians, groups).
I will immediately give a list of the notations used:
- C - note C
- D - note D
- E - note E
- F - note Fa
- G - note Sol
- A - note A
- B (or H) - note B
- # - sharp - raising a note by a semitone. Half a tone on a guitar - one fret.
- b - flat - lowering the note by a semitone.
- The notes in the tuning tablatures are arranged in order from the 1st (thin) string to the 6th (thick) string. For example, E B G D A E.
1. Standard, E (standard, Spanish or classical tuning).
The simplest and most famous guitar tuning. Tablature of the system: E B G D A E - Mi Si Sol Re La Mi. This system is used mainly by rock music luminaries, old-school musicians and adherents of light genres.
Groups and musicians who play in standard tuning:
- AC/DC
- Led Zeppelin
- Metallica
- Gun's & Roses
- Nightwish
- Deep Purple
- Nirvana (semitone lower)
- Blink 182
- Sum 41
- Joe Satriani
- Carlos Santana
- Aria, Kipelov (half a tone lower)
- Nickelback
- Placebo
- Rage Against The Machine
- Queen
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Rise Against
- Scorpions
- Steve Vai
- Chuck Berry
- Bon Jovi
- 30 Seconds To Mars
2. Drop D (lowered D)
This tuning differs from the standard one in that the 6th string on the guitar is lowered one tone. In consonance with the 4th and 5th strings it gives an octave. Tablature: E B G D A D. Like any lowered tuning, it is convenient in that you can play “zeros” (so-called open strings) and previously familiar chords can be pressed with just one finger, plus two more low chords are added that are not available when playing standard system.
Bands that play Drop tuning D:
- Asking Alexandria
- Avenged Sevenfold
- Evanescence
- Linkin Park (later albums)
- Papa Roach
- Rage Against The Machine
- three days Grace
- Thousand Foot Krutch
- Queens of the Stone Age
- Deftones
- fall out Boy
- Shinedown
- Amatory
3. Drop C# (lowered C sharp)
This is a tuning in which all the strings are lowered by another semitone, unlike the D tuning. Tablature: D# A# F# C# G# C#.
Bands that play in the Drop C# tuning:
- Linkin Park
- Attack! Attack!
- Breaking Benjamin
- Papa Roach (some songs from recent years)
- Limp Bizkit
- H-Blockx
- Staind
- Deftones
4. Drop C (lowered C)
This lowered tuning is quite common in alternative and metalcore music. Tablature: D A F C G C.
Bands that play in the Drop C tuning:
- Bullet For My Valentine
- As I Lay Dying
- Atreyu
- Periphery
- three days Grace
- System of a Down
- Godsmack
- Nine Lashes
- Breaking Benjamin
- 12 Stones
- Disturbed
- Lumen
- Nickelback
- Skillet
- Rammstein
- Evans Blue
- August Burns Red
5. Drop B (lowered C)
The low B tuning is an alternative to the standard seven-string guitar tuning. It allows you to customize six string guitar as low as a seven-string would sound, plus it makes it easier to play chords. Tablature: C# G# E B F# B. Seven-string guitar tablature: E B G D A E B.
Bands that play in the Drop B tuning:
- Parkway Drive
- Slipknot
- Thousand Foot Krutch
- Bleeding Through
- Linkin Park
- Amatory
- Limp Bizkit
- Skillet
- Veil of Maya
- Stigmata
6. Drop A# (lowered A sharp)
This tuning is also an alternative to the seven-string guitar lowered by a semitone. Tablature: C G D# A# F A#. Seven-string guitar tablature: D# A# F# C# G# D# A#.
Bands that play in the Drop A# tuning:
- Bring Me The Horizon
- Parkway Drive
- Breaking Benjamin
- Obey The Brave
- The Ghost Inside
- Korn (7-strings)
7. Drop A (lowered A)
Extremely low build. Tablature: B F# D A E A. Seven-string guitar tablature: D A F C G D A.
Bands that play in Drop A tuning:
- My Autumn
- Betraying The Martyrs
- Emmure
- Born Of Osiris
- Within The Ruins
This is not a complete list of all guitar tunings. In addition to standard and lowered schemes, others are used: for example, when not only the 6th string is lowered, but also the 1st string. This technique is used in blues; it allows you to produce beautiful sounds by playing a slide on the first three strings. Also, in addition to seven-string guitars and baritones (guitars with an increased scale), there are now eight-string and even nine-string electric guitars. Accordingly, the tunings of these guitars are much lower.
Do you know what strings are needed for a certain tuning?
The list of musicians and groups is also far from complete. If you have suggestions for adding to the article or questions about what tuning a certain group plays in, write in the comments!
There are a lot of bands in the world that play in a variety of tunings. It seems that one can get confused in such diversity. But if you look closely, it turns out that almost all tunings belong to one of several common types that I will now describe.
In the pictures below I have depicted the “formulas” of these types. It’s not very visual, but it’s beautiful and New Year’s-like. The numbers indicate the interval between adjacent strings. For example, in standard tuning, the second string is 5 semitones lower than the first, the third is 4 semitones lower than the second, and so on.
This sequence is familiar to anyone who has tuned a guitar “by itself”:
Any tuning with the same sequence of intervals (5-5-5-4-5, if you count from bottom to top) is also a standard tuning, only lowered (or higher). The same chord and scale fingerings will work in it. Any part written in E standard can be played in D standard tuning, it will simply sound a tone lower. The very essence of the tuning - the intervals between adjacent strings - remains the same.
From a "just play" point of view EADGBE- this is the same as DGCFAD. I want to play something from Death, and a guitar in standard tuning is not a problem, we look for taboos and play. It will just sound a tone higher. Because the TYPE of structure is the same. Other options:
- raise the original by a tone in the audio editor and play along with it.
- lower the guitar with a pitch shifter in real time and play to the unaltered original.
- record the minus in standard tuning and play to it.
And if the intervals are different, then we are talking about a different TYPE of structure. If you want to play something from Killswitch Engage, you need to understand what type of system it is. And it turns out that they CGCFAD- this is the same as DADGBE, but a tone lower. So all you have to do is switch to good old DropD.
The easiest way to determine the type of tuning is to read this post, and then enter the tuning in guitarpro and raise and lower the whole thing until something familiar or as close as possible to the standard appears:
I have provided examples for each type of structure. If I write only the name of the group, it means that this structure is the main one for it. It's the same with albums. If a song is listed, it means the band made one or more songs in that tuning, but used others more often.
Then I indicate the pros and cons of the tuning and which version is closest to the standard tuning (“for testing”). If “for trial” is not indicated, it means that the tuning requires a custom set of strings in any of its variants.
Standard tuning
Standard tuning is a tuning in which all intervals between the strings are 5 semitones, and only between the 2nd and 3rd strings there are 4 semitones. The most standard version (which is simply called the standard tuning) is the one that begins and ends with E - EADGBE. All other options are named by the open note that is produced on the first or sixth string: for example, D standard.
| E standard | EADGBE | The vast majority of all groups in the world. True, it is not so easy to find a large/famous group that would play ONLY in Mi standard. All the heroes of rock are the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and so on, at least sometimes they turned to other systems. Even AC/DC has several songs in Eb standard. Perhaps the only classic of rock that can be cited is Queen, and even then I’m not entirely sure ( update: Queen also disappears: they have Headlong in DropD). It’s even more difficult with metalheads. All the major groups either started out playing in lower tunings or switched to them over time. Well, again, Burzum and Darkthrone probably have everything in standard order. |
| Eb standard | EbAbDbGbBbEb | Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Guns"n"Roses |
| D standard | DGCFAD | Death, Children Of Bodom, Nightwish, Gojira, Ghost, Nirvana in "Lithium", Metallica in "Sad But True" |
| C# standard | C#BEG# | Black Sabbath on the album “Master Of Reality”, My Dying Bride, Limp Bizkit, Dying Fetus |
| C standard | CFBbEbGC | Dethklok, High on Fire, In Flames, Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss |
| B standard | BEADF | Amon Amarth, Crowbar, Soilwork, Carcass, Type O Negative, Sepultura in "Roots" |
| Bb standard | BbEbAbDbFBb | Cannibal Corpse in "Blowtorch Slaughter" |
| A standard | ADGCEA | KYPCK |
Some groups (Placebo, Vektor), on the contrary, raise the standard tuning by a semitone. Johnny Marr of the Smiths used a tuning a step higher than standard on some songs ("This Charming Man").
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Standard tuning is the ideal compromise between range and ease of playing chords and melodies. Friendly with many keys. This is done especially clearly after you try several alternative tunings: many of them are better than the standard one in one of the parameters, but they are necessarily worse in another or several. The standard has become a standard for a reason - it is the most practical and universal.
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Sometimes you want something different)
Drop tunings
Drop tuning is a standard tuning with the sixth string lowered a tone.
They are named after the open note produced on the sixth string. For example, DropD is DADGBE.
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Range extension down, power chords with one finger, and their extensions up (like 447454), the first five strings are tuned as in the standard - play solos as much as you want
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Slightly less versatility than standard tuning. The increased “gap” between the 5th and 6th strings somewhat limits play in the lower range.
To try: DropD (DADGBE)
Open formations
They are obtained when all the strings are tuned to the notes of a chord. Usually major or minor. They are called by the name of the chord. There is no clear connection between the name of the system and the system. For example, " open A major" is any tuning where there are open strings A, C# and E (and no others). It could be EEAAC And EAC#AC or even reduced AEAEAC#.The most common options:
5-7-5-4-3
| Open G | DGDGBD | Rolling Stones in "Brown Sugar" and "Start Me Up", Alter Bridge in "Watch Over You" |
| Open A: | EEAAC | Led Zeppelin in "In My Time of Dying", White Stripes in "Seven Nation Army" |
| Open F: | CFCFAC | Led Zeppelin in "When the Levee Breaks" |
7-5-4-3-5
| Open D | DADF#AD | Joni Mitchell in Big Yellow Taxi |
| Open E | EBEG#BE | Derek Trucks |
7-5-7-5-4
| Open C | CGCGCE | Devin Townsend |
| Open B | BF#BF #BD # | >
To try: Open G, Open D, Open C
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Suitable for playing with a slide
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They are friendly to one or two keys, but can be very uncomfortable in others, and are not always friendly with scale-like passages.
Modal Scales
That's what they call it open formations, based on a chord that is not major or minor. Typically this is a sus2 or sus4 chord.The most famous of them is the “Celtic tuning” (opened by Dsus4):
Standard option - DADGAD(Led Zeppelin in "Kashmir", Staind in "Epiphany"). Lowered versions of this tuning were used by Mark Tremonti in Creed and Alter Bridge, Russian Circles and Sevendust.
Drone formations
Tunings where all or almost all the strings are tuned to the same note (not necessarily the same octave).DDDDD- The Velvet Underground in "Venus In Furs"
BDDDDD- Goo Goo Dolls in "Iris"
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Very different
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Very specific
"Seven-string without a sixth"
This is a standard tuning in which the sixth string is lowered not by a tone, as in drop tunings, but by 5 semitones. It turns out like a seven-string with a missing sixth string. And the fingering, which usually gives a fifth on the 5th and 6th strings, now gives an octave.
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Fingerings can be moved anywhere on the fingerboard without having to adjust them. Complete symmetry.
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You'll have to forget about open chords and barre chords.
To try: EADGCF or D #BE (if you don’t want to tune the first and second strings higher)
Fifth scale (all Fifths)
Each next string is a fifth (7 semitones) higher than the previous one.
One of the main versions is CGDAEB. The lower C then turns out not too low for acoustics, but the upper B turns out to be very high - a fifth higher than the standard upper E. On a guitar with a standard scale and ordinary strings, this B is unattainable: the string will simply break before reaching it.
This guy from YouTube very carefully used thin string to get the top C.
A this one put it on classical guitar instead of the first string, fishing line with a cross section of 0.5 mm, in combination with five nylon strings from the regular kit.
The other extreme is to start with a standard high E and work fifths down from there. It will work out FCGDAE, the first string is as in standard tuning, and the sixth is almost an octave lower than the sixth in standard tuning. This is too low to produce clean notes on a standard scale guitar with this string. You will need a baritone or multi-scale guitar.
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Complete symmetry, as in the fourth tuning. Huge range (almost an octave wider than standard tuning).
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You need a custom set of strings and a willingness to make compromises (or order an instrument with a multi-scale). You will have to forget about small intervals and chords in which the notes are close to each other. Playing scales and melodies will require increased stretching.
By the way, a mandolin is tuned to fifth tuning ( GDAE), and all bowed instruments except the double bass: for example, the violin in GDAE, and the cello in СGDA. In addition, there are four-string tenor guitars which have 4 strings and are tuned in fifth tuning CGDA.
"New Standard Tuning"
A tuning invented by Robert Fripp to solve the problem of the fifth tuning. He replaced the top fifth with a minor third, and it turned out CGDAEG. Upper Sol is also high, but already achievable. You can use standard 9 or 10 gauge strings. But it’s better to assemble a custom kit.
"Nashville tuning"
-8 in the formula means that the 2nd string is tuned not higher than the third, but 8 semitones LOWER. “Nashville tuning” usually works out like this: we take a set of strings for a 12-string and put only the “thin” half of it on the 6-string, tuning it in the same way as on a 12-string. Now the first and second strings are tuned the same as in standard tuning, and all the others are tuned an octave higher. The result is a “ringing” tuning with a reduced range, in which some notes in the chords will be duplicated. This tuning is suitable for overdubs and any additional parts. For example, you can record the same chord part on a 6-string in standard tuning and the same chord in Nashville tuning. In essence, it turned out to be a 12-string, but the only difference is that this is not one performance, but two slightly different ones, which will give more volume, besides, these are two separate tracks and can be panned in different directions.
Double-drop tunings
They are obtained when in standard tuning they lower not only the sixth, but also the first string by a tone.
| Double Drop D | DADGBD | Neil Young on "Cortez The Killer", Led Zeppelin on "Going To California" |
| Double Drop B | BF#BEG | Isis |
To try: DADGBD. It's funny that this system is “one step away” from each of the three above - DropD (DADGBE), Open G (DGDGBD) and DADGAD.
Now about the seven-string guitar.
The standard seven-string tuning is a six-string E standard plus a 7th string in B.
| Seven string B standard | BEADGBE | Dream Theater in "Caught In A Web", Steve Vai in "Riddle", Joe Satriani in "Mind Storm", Fallujah |
| Seven string Bb standard | BbEbAbDbGbBbEb | Morbid Angel, early Meshuggah, Nevermore |
| Seven string A standard | ADGCFA | Fear Factory, Korn |
| Seven string Ab standard | AbDbGbBEAbDb | Deftones on "Hexagram" |
Seven-string Drop tuning is a seven-string standard in which the seventh string is lowered a tone.
| Seven-string DropA | AEADGBE | Suicide Silence, Whitechapel, later Scar Symmetry. Jazz guitarist George Van Eps, who played a seven-string electric guitar back in the 60s, also used this tuning. |
| Seven-string DropAb | AbEbAbDbGbBbEb | Periphery on seven-string songs |
| Seven-string DropG | GDGCFAD | Vildhjarta, Emmure |
| Seven-string DropF# | F#BEG# | Rivers Of Nihil, Deftones on Saturday Night Wrist album |
| Seven-string DropD | DADGCEA | Black Tongue |
Some people take the six-string drop tuning and add a seventh string from the bottom. It can be a third lower:
| Six-string DropD + low B | BDADGBE | Animals As Leaders in "Cafo" |
| Six-string Drop C# + low A# | A |