Beginner 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 tablature 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 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 convenient in that 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 in the Drop D tuning:

• 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 tune a six-string guitar as low as a seven-string guitar, plus it allows you to play chords more comfortably. 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!

Non-classical settings are used for the convenience of playing certain musical genres or pieces of music.

Classic setting method

1. tuning fork
2. The 1st string is used to tune the 2nd string, which, being pressed at the V fret, should sound the same as the 1st open (not pressed) string.
3. The 3rd string, pressed at the 4th fret, is tuned to the 2nd open string.
4. The 4th string, pressed at the V fret, is tuned to the 3rd open string.
5. The 5th string, pressed at the V fret, is tuned to the 4th open string.
6. The 6th string, pressed at the V fret, is tuned to the 5th open string.

Tuning with harmonics and temperament

Allows for much more precise tuning, since the accuracy of the frets is not always sufficient.

1. The 1st string is tuned using the reference sound - the sound of a tuning fork - or the sound of an already tuned musical instrument.
2. The 6th string is tuned so that its harmonic at the 5th fret sounds in unison with the 1st string.
3. The 5th string is tuned so that its harmonic at the 7th fret sounds in unison with the 1st string, and then it is slightly pulled up so that a beat occurs with a frequency of 0.372 Hz (one beat in 2.7 seconds).
4. The 4th string is tuned so that its harmonic at the 7th fret sounds in unison with the harmonic of the 5th string at the 5th fret, and then slightly tightened so that a beat occurs with a frequency of 0.497 Hz (one beat per 2.01 seconds).
5. The 3rd string is tuned so that its harmonic at the 7th fret sounds in unison with the harmonic of the 4th string at the 5th fret, and then slightly tightened so that a beat occurs with a frequency of 0.664 Hz (one beat per 1.51 seconds).
6. The 2nd string is tuned so that its harmonic on the 5th fret sounds almost in unison with the harmonic of the 1st string on the 7th fret, but is just a little short so that beats with a frequency of 1.12 Hz are heard (one beat per 0.9 seconds).

When tuning using the tuning fork A (“A”), the 5th string is tuned first (the harmonic on the V fret in unison with the tuning fork), then the 1st and 6th, and then the 4th, 3rd and 2nd.

If you have good hearing and have gained enough experience, you can do without using harmonics, catching the beat of overtones in the sound of open strings.

Since changing the string tension leads to deformation of the guitar body and detuning of the remaining strings, it is recommended to tune the guitar in 2-3 iterations, the first of which can be done without temperament (without carefully counting the beat frequency).

Lower tunings of a six-string guitar

Decreased (i.e. lower than the normal EBGDAE tuning) tunings are used for more comfortable playing a certain key, or to obtain a lower, “heavy” sound. In particular, many rock guitarists love the so-called. Drop tunings, which are named by adding to “Drop” a note on the 6th string that drops 1 tone below the first (for example: Drop C = DAFCGC). To rebuild from classical system in any lowered mode, all the strings of the guitar are lowered by a certain interval (for example, to change to tuning D, you need to lower all the strings of the guitar by a tone). To lower the guitar's tuning by more than a tone, you may need to change the strings to thicker ones due to the weakening of their tension. Also, for tunings below B (B), mostly baritone guitars are used.

String	Scale E♭ (E-flat)		Build D (re)		Scale D♭ (D-flat)		Build C (before)		System B (si)
	Note	Frequency (in hertz)	Note	Frequency	Note	Frequency	Note	Frequency	Note	Frequency
First	e♭¹ (E-flat first octave)	311.13	d¹ (D first octave)	293.66	d♭¹ (D-flat first octave)	277.18	c¹ (to the first octave)	261.63	b (B small octave)	246.94
Second	b♭ (B-flat small octave)	233.08	a (A small octave)	220.00	a♭ (A-flat small octave)	207.00	g (small octave sol)	196.00	g♭ (G-flat small octave)	185.00
Third	g♭ (G-flat small octave)	185.00	f (f small octave)	174.62	e (minor octave E)	164.81	e♭ (small octave E-flat)	155.56	d (small octave D)	147.83
Fourth	d♭ (D-flat small octave)	138.59	c (to small octave)	130.82	B (big octave B)	123.48	B♭ (B-flat major octave)	116.54	A (A major octave)	110.00
Fifth	A♭ (A-flat major octave)	103.80	G (major octave G)	98.00	G♭ (G flat major octave)	92.50	F (major octave F)	87.31	E (major octave E)	82.41
Sixth	E♭ (major octave E-flat)	77.78	D (major octave D)	73.91	D♭ (D-flat major octave)	69.30	C (to major octave)	65.41	B¹ (B counter octave)	61.74
Notes

Open C

One of characteristic features is the ease of extracting basic major chords. A simple barre on the 2nd fret will give "D", 4th fret will give "E", 5th fret will give "F" and so on. Open strings will give you "C".

In order to tune a guitar in “Open C”, you need (starting from the “standard tuning”): 1st string (thin) Leave as in the “standard tuning” - “E” (“E”)
2nd string. Raise half a step to “C” (“C”)
3rd string. Leave as in “standard tuning” - “Salt” (“G”)
4th string. Lower one step to “Before” (“C”)
5th string. Lower one step to “Salt” (“G”)
6th string (thick). Lower by two steps from “E” to “Do” (“C”)

Raised tunings of a six-string guitar

Tuning a guitar, especially a classical one, can damage the instrument., as well as to injuries due to a sudden break of a tightened string.

To increase the tuning, you can use a capo. If rebuilding your guitar is necessary, it is recommended to use a thinner set of strings.

String	Build F (fa)		Tuning F# (F-sharp)		Tuning G (sol)		G# scale (G sharp)		System A (la)
	Note	Frequency (in hertz)	Note	Frequency	Note	Frequency	Note	Frequency	Note	Frequency
First	f¹ (fa first octave)	349.23	f¹# (F-sharp first octave)	369.99	g¹ (sol of the first octave)	392.00	g¹# (G-sharp first octave)	415.30	a¹ (A first octave)	440.00
Second	с¹ (to the first octave)	261.63	с¹# (C-sharp of the first octave)	277.18	d¹ (D first octave)	293.66	D¹# (D-sharp first octave)	311.13	e¹ (E first octave)	311.13
Third	g# (G-sharp small octave)	207.00	a (A small octave)	220.00	a# (A-sharp small octave)	233.08	b (B small octave)	246.94	c¹ (to the first octave)	261.63
Fourth	d# (d-sharp small octave)	155.56	e (minor octave E)	164.81	f (f small octave)	174.62	f# (F-sharp small octave)	185.00	g (small octave sol)	196.00
Fifth	A# (A-sharp major octave)	116.54	B (big octave B)	123.48	c (to small octave)	130.82	c# (C-sharp small octave)	138.59	d (small octave D)	147.83
Sixth	F (major octave F)	87.31	F# (F-sharp major octave)	92.50	G (major octave G)	98.00	G# (G-sharp major octave)	103.80	A (A major octave)	110.00
Notes

"Drop D" formation

This tuning differs from the classical one in that it is lowered by tone sixth string. It is often used by hard rock electric guitarists because it makes it easier to play 5th chords. power-chord), also some classical guitar works were written for him (in the keys of D major and D minor).

"Drop C" formation

Used to produce an even lower and “heavier” sound on an electric guitar. Unlike the classical system, all strings except the sixth tune in to tone below and sixth string- on two tones.
Like the Drop D tuning, it is used to play fifth chords.

Double Drop-D formation

The tuning is similar to Drop D, differing in that the first string is lowered a tone. For tuning from classical tuning first And sixth the string is lowered to tone.
In this tuning, the top four open strings of the guitar form a G major chord, making it easier to play with slide. Double drop D was often used by performer Neil Young.

Build "DADGAD"

The tuning most often used in folk music. It was invented by British guitarist David Graham for more convenient playing from notes recorded for violin or bagpipes.
To reorganize the “DADGAD” system from the classic one, it is necessary to lower it to tone first, second And sixth strings.

Build "DADDAD"

The “Papa-Papa” tuning is most suitable both for use in folk music (Celtic) and for playing rhythm guitar parts in “heavy” (alternative) music, 4 notes at a time. To change the tuning “DADDAD” from the classical one, you need to lower it to tone first, second And sixth strings. A third tune in unison with fourth.

Build "Open D"

In this tuning, the open strings form a D major chord. It is used primarily on slide guitars.
To rebuild into this system from the classical first, second And sixth strings drop to tone, third goes down to semitone.

"Open G" build

In this tuning, the open strings form a G major chord.
To change to "Open G" tuning from the classic first, fifth And sixth strings drop to tone.

"New Standard"

Also known as "Crafty tuning". A tuning developed by musician Robert Fripp and used by him since 1983. In contrast to the classical “quart” tuning, the tuning proposed by Robert Fripp is closer to bowed string instruments, and first, second And third the strings are tuned similarly to a violin. Tuning to this tuning may require replacing the lower strings with thicker ones and the upper strings with thinner ones.

"Alternative tuning Cross A"

E-A-E-A-E-A. "Sitar A" is an alternative lowered guitar tuning. Reminds me of the sound of an Indian sitar. Great for creating Indian (oriental) music.

Seven-string tunings

Standard

The structure of the strings of a seven-string guitar is mixed - terts-quart, so the chord of the open strings is consonant (major quartet-sixth chord), in contrast to six string guitar. This system is considered classical (academic).

Many guitarists wonder which strings will best suit 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 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 settings guitars.

• 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 tuning, but 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?

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 tuning: 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
	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
	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, a 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.

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 convenience of letter designation, we will begin to list the notes not from C, but from 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.

Attention! Take a guitar training course! Course duration: 90 minutes!

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, which 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, counting from bottom to top) is also standard tuning, only reduced (or increased). 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 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").

+ Standard tuning is the ideal compromise between range and ease of playing chords and melodies. Friendly with many tonalities. 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 the 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 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 that's it bowed instruments, except double bass: for example, 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 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