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Six-string guitar tunings - Martin Ludenhoff - LiveJournal. Unusual guitar tuning. Non-standard (alternative) guitar tuning Letter designation of strings on a 6-string guitar

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 tuning.

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 is lowered a tone down. 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. Open strings do not form thirds, so this tuning 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 a uniform change 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 formations.

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.

In the previous article, the issue of low tuning guitar. In this article I would like to discuss it in more detail.
Let me remind you that standard tuning six-string electric guitar is as follows: Mi[E]-A[A]-Re[D]-Sol[G]-B[H]-Mi[E], starting from the sixth string. Let's look at the prerequisites for switching to a different guitar tuning. Down tuning is used in extreme music to create a tighter, heavier and more powerful sound. You can also give an example of when musicians playing in rock bands decide to use a lower tuning to make it easier for the vocalist to sing. That is, they adapt to a certain person and a certain style of music. By the way, you can also raise the tuning of the guitar, adapting to the singer’s vocal abilities. Also, the use of a low guitar tuning is due to a different chord fingering. That is, the tuning of the guitar is selected for the convenience of playing chords.

When using a lower tuning electric guitar, the string tension will naturally decrease and thin strings may simply hang. Therefore, you need to select thicker sets of strings.
I can say that there are quite a lot of options for tuning a guitar. We'll look at a few common ones. Using their examples, you can choose the optimal system for yourself or come up with your own.

  1. Lower by half a tone. In this case, the system becomes as follows: Re#-Sol#-Do#-Fa#-Aa#-Re#.
  2. Decrease one tone. Guitar tuning: D[D]-G[G]-Do[C]-F[F]-A[A]-D[D].
  3. A formation called "Drop D". In this case, only the sixth string is lowered by tone: Re[D]-A[A]-Re[D]-Sol[G]-Bi[H]-Mi[E]. In this case, there is a fifth between the sixth and fifth strings and you can play various riffs by pressing these two strings with one finger.

    4. Guitar tuning: Drop D

  4. Build called "Drop C". The sixth string is lowered by two tones. The remaining strings are one tone. Then the guitar tuning looks like this: Do[C]-G[G]-Do[C]-Fa[F]-A[A]-D[D]. The tuning is lower than described above, but similarly you can play chords on two low strings with one finger.

    5. Guitar Tuning: Drop C

  5. And in conclusion, let's look at one more system. I remember him from the song Kashmir by Led Zeppelin. It looks like this: Re[D]-A[A]-Re[D]-Sol[G]-A[A]-Re[D].

    6. Led Zeppelin

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 of guitar tunings in rock music and their representatives (musicians, bands).

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.
  • Notes in 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.

Bands and musicians who play in standard system:

  • 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 low pitch It is convenient because you can play “zeros” on it (the 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 with standard tuning.

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 system is also an alternative to 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!

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 tuning. 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.

On whole tone down: 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 the “E?” tuning, 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 generally 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 build gives a meatier sound and expands the overall range of the guitar towards the bottom relative to the 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.

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, 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 open note, which is obtained 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 major bands either originally played in lowered 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").

+ 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.
– 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.

+ 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
– 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

+ Suitable for playing with a slide
– They are friendly to one or two keys, can be very inconvenient in others, and are not always friendly with scale-like passages.

Modal Scales

This is the name given to open tunings based on a chord that is not a major or minor chord. 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).

DDDDDD- The Velvet Underground in "Venus In Furs"
BDDDDD- Goo Goo Dolls in "Iris"

+ Very different
– 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.

+ Fingerings can be moved anywhere on the fingerboard without having to adjust them. Complete symmetry.
– 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 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.

+ Complete symmetry, as in the fourth tuning. Huge range (almost an octave wider than standard tuning).
– You need a custom set of strings and a willingness to make compromises (or order an instrument with a multi-scale). You'll 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. Can be used standard strings 9 or 10 gauge. 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, not only the sixth, but also the first string is lowered 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