Top 7 Alternate Guitar Tunings – You Must Try Out 

Conventional EADGBE guitar tuning is the basis for many chords and scales novice guitarists learn. But as your guitar studies advance, playing with various tunings may open up a new universe of sounds for you. You can simplify chords and riffs and get more inspiringly creative.

Your standard tuning-taught chord forms will sound different, and you’ll probably pick up new ones that work with the more often-used other tunings.

Alright, let’s go right to the point!

Check Out The 7 Best Alternate guitar tunings-

• Drop D – Adds depth to the sound  
• Drop C – For heavier and deeper sound 
• Open E – Full voicing 
• Open D – Rich and full sound 
• Open G – Blusier, different tone 
• Open C – Unique, almost Banjo-like sound 
• DADGAD – indie/shoegaze guitar sound

Understand Alternate Guitar Tunings 

Alternative guitar tunings refer to any tuning of the open strings on a guitar that differs from the standard EADGBE tuning. There are many alternate tunings. 

String	6th	5th	4th	3rd	2nd	1st
Standard	E	A	D	G	B	E
Drop D	D	A	D	G	B	E
Drop C	C	G	C	F	A	D
Drop B	B	E	A	D	F#	B
Open E	E	B	E	G#	B	E
Open D	D	A	D	F#	A	D
Open G	D	G	D	G	B	D
Open C	C	G	C	G	C	E
DADGAD	D	A	D	G	A	D

The easiest might be Drop D (D, A, D, G, B, e) or Double Drop D (D, A, D, G, B, d) There’s also Dadgad (D, A, D, G, A, d). Albert King used (C, F, C, F, A, D). Then there’s Open G, Open A, Open D, Open E, etc. 

When you use different guitar tunings, it’s easy to write songs, learn new skills, and find new music. You’ll probably learn new chord shapes that work with the more common tunings and the chord forms you learned with standard tuning.

Even if all of the notes played on the open strings of your guitar are in the key of “C,” playing them all at once doesn’t produce a chord. Instead, your guitar is tuned to construct additional chords and play in a wide variety of keys. 

The standard tuning for guitars has been in use since at least the fifteenth century. 

On a guitar, the standard tuning is E-A-D-G-B-E. The process begins with the lowest pitch and the thickest string and progresses to the highest pitch and thinnest string. 

You may enter a new tune by manipulating any of these strings to a distinct note. For example, to achieve Drop D tuning on a guitar, we adjust the tuning of the lowest string from E to D. 

Top 7 Alternative Guitar Tunings Explained 

Try these alternative guitar tunings to play amazing new chord voicings.

Drop And Down Tuning

The word “drop tuning” could denote two different things in guitar. Like a capo in reverse, one lowers the whole conventional guitar tuning’s pitch by a specified interval. Another way to modify your guitar’s sound is to lower the sixth string. This makes most of the fretboard sound the same, but you can add a few more notes near the bottom.

You may experiment with drop and down tunings—particularly if you’re into metal—if you’re new to different tunings on the guitar and don’t want to re-learn chord shapes and scale patterns.

1. DROP D TUNING: DADGBE

A standard method of tuning a guitar is using a drop D. You may hear it in many metal and rock songs that are popular nowadays. Drop D tuning is helpful for new and experienced musicians as it lets you lower the song tone and play power chords in an accessible and inventive way.

Strings	Notes
6	D
5	A
4	D
3	G
2	B
1	E

The following is the tuning for your strings when using Drop D tuning: — D, the lowest string -A – D — G—— B—— E (highest string)

To tune a guitar to Drop D, follow these steps:

• The first step is to play the low E string.  Use the fourth string- D, to verify the tuning.
• Turn the tuning peg to face you, and then tune it down one step.
• Continue to pluck the string as long as you hear the sound you want.

In standard tuning, you use the middle, ring, and index fingers over the 3 high-toned strings. You also strum the fourth string from the down of the D string. 

To play a D chord in Drop D tuning, you would make the same shape with your fingers the way you would in normal tuning. But now that you’ve tuned your guitar to Drop D, you may make a richer sound by strumming all six strings in a D chord.

Nirvana, the band that gave the world Dave Grohl’s fierce drums, Krist Novoselic’s dark bass playing, and the late, great singer, guitarist, and composer Kurt Cobain, employed Drop D tuning on almost all of their songs. 

2. Drop C TUNING: CGCFAD

One cool way to lower your guitar’s range and unusually play notes is to tune it down to drop C. Many guitarists go for drop C tuning while performing metal or hard rock for a wider variety of low notes. 

Also, when playing with vocalists with lower voices, some guitarists feel that dropping the C is useful. No matter how much or how little experience you have with the guitar, drop C is a tuning that everyone can learn to play. It’s perfect for playing a lower pitch or a one-finger power chord.

While playing in Drop C tuning, the lowest string is tuned two full steps lower to C. The remaining strings are all tuned down a complete step thereafter: G—C—F-A-D.

Strings	Notes
6	C
5	G
4	C
3	F
2	A#
1	D#

To drop C on a guitar, follow these steps:

• Beginning with the low E string, pluck it.
• Adjust the tuning peg so it points toward you to get it down two full steps to C.
• Continue picking the string as long as you get the right sound.
• The rule of thumb is to play a little lower note than you want, then adjust to that. It maintains string tension, allowing your guitar to remain in tune for an extended time.

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Open Alternate Guitar Tunings

“Open tunings” refer to playing a guitar with unfretted strings tuned to produce a particular chord. Rock, blues, country, and folk are just a few musical genres that include various open tunings. Open tunings on guitars are most often played with the E, D, G, and A strings. Let’s look at open E to start our exploration of open tunings.

3. Open E Tuning (E B E G# B E)

With a simple half-step up from G to G# and a full step up from A to B and D to E, we can simply get from standard tuning to open E tuning. The first, second, and sixth strings all stay in regular tuning. Now that the guitar is in “open E tuning,” the notes E, B, E, G#, and E sound consistently from low to high. 

If we’re talking about rock and pop music, open E tuning could be guitars’ most common open tuning. Many blues musicians, including Robert Johnson, Elmore James, Tampa Red, and others, use an E tuning on guitar.

Strings	Notes
6	E
5	B
4	E
3	G#
2	B
1	E

4. Open D TUNING: DADF#AD

Tuning structure-wise, conventional D open tuning is identical to open E. To change the tuning from open E to open D, you must tune every string down a single step to get to an open D tuning.

All six strings are tuned differently when playing a guitar in open D tuning, except two. Open D tuning differs from conventional tuning in the following ways:

With open D tuning, you’ll bring the low E string down to D, keep A and D at their original positions, lower G by half a step to F#, lower B by an entire step to A, and bring the high E down by a full step to D.

• D’s lowest string is tuned down one step from the E string.
• A remains unchanged.
• D (remains unchanged)
• Played at a half step below G, marked as F#
• A (with a full step of tuning down from B)
• (D, the highest string, one complete step below E)

Start by picking the low E string. Turn the tuning key clockwise towards yourself to down one entire step. Keep plucking the string until the right sound is heard. Repeat for the other strings that need tuning.

Strings	Notes
6	D
5	A
4	D
3	F#
2	A
1	D

5. Open G TUNING: DGDGBD

Songs played on slide guitar, folk guitar, and blues guitar often use this alternate tuning.

Guitarists may play a G major chord in an alternative tuning called open G without using a capo or touching any frets.

You don’t need to use your playing hand to play a G chord in an open G tune. Make an open-string G chord by striking your strings!

Even though it only affects three strings, the sound of open G tuning is significantly different.

To play in open G tuning, you must tune your lowest E string down one whole step to a low D. As you go down to the next highest string, A, you will take a whole step down to G. The low E string is tuned down a whole step to D, while the upper D, G, and B strings remain unchanged.

Strings	Notes
6	D
5	G
4	D
3	G
2	B
1	D

6. Open C TUNING: CGCEGC

If you play the guitar with the setting open C, strumming on open strings will make a C-chord sound. In general, the tuning produces a large, expansive tone.

While many hard rock bands use open C tuning, acoustic guitarists love it for its whole, rich tone.

Strings	Notes
6	C
5	G
4	C
3	E
2	G
1	C

Only two of the guitar’s six strings stay the same when you tune it to open C. To play in open C tuning, you’ll lower the low E string two full steps to C, lower the A string a single step to G, lower the D string one full step to C, keep G at its original pitch, tune the B string half a fret to C and leave the high E string unaltered.

The strings might rattle if you play the guitar in open C tuning because you’ll set them down a few steps. Your strings may contact the fretboard more than in a normal tuning. 

You can swap out your current strings with ones with a thicker gauge, play the guitar with a higher action, or make the necessary adjustments to the truss rod of your guitar.

7. DADGAD TUNING

DADGAD tuning transforms the guitar into a whole new instrument. In this tuning, the 5th, 4th, and 3rd strings remain unchanged from standard tuning (E A D G B E).

Strings	Notes
6	D
5	A
4	D
3	G
2	A
1	D

However, the 6th, 2nd, and 1st strings need to be tuned lower two frets than standard tuning. If you don’t have a tuner, try tuning the 1st and 6th strings to play the same note (in distinct octaves) as the 4th chord, ‘D.’ And tune the 2nd string similar to the 5th string, ‘A,’ separated by an octave.

Celtic music often uses this tuning. Many other genres, including folk, metal, and rock, also use it.

Remember, playing DADGAD in anything other than DM/Bm will result in a subpar performance. Unfretted strings can make sympathetic sounds and rich echoes on the guitar because of this tune’s “suspended” nature. It’s easy to hear DADGAD in traditional Irish and Scottish music, as the bottom strings play open drones over tunes.

List Of Alternate Guitar Tunings Songs 

Drop D Tuning

• Nirvana, “All Apologies,” “On a Plain”.
• Foo Fighters, “Everlong”
• Joni Mitchell’s “Furry Sings the Blues”
• Rage Against the Machine, “Killing In The Name”
• John Dowland, “Lady Hudson’s Alman”

Drop C Tuning

• Nirvana, “Something in the way” 
• Killswitch Engage, “Holy Diver”
• Pretty Reckless, “Going to Hell”
• System of a Down, “Aerials”
• Arch Enemy, “War Eternal”

Drop B Tuning

• Black Midi, “953”
• Type O Negative, “Black No.1”
• Electric Wizard, “Funeralopolis”

Drop E Tuning

• Bo Diddley,  self-titled tune- “Bo Diddley.”
• The Rolling Stone, “Jumpin Jack Flash”
• Bob Dylan, “Blood on the Tracks”

Open D Tuning

• Joni Mitchell, “Big Yellow Taxi”
• Bruce Cockburn, “Sunwheel Dance”
• Pearl Jam, “Even Flow”
• My Bloody Valentine, “Sometimes”

Open G Tuning 

• Rolling Stones, “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”
• The White Stripes, “Death Letter”
• Chet Atkins, “Spanish Fandango”

Open C Tuning

• Elliot Smith, “Independence Day”
• Big Thief/Adrianne Lenker, “Wolf”

DADGAD Tuning 

• Led Zeppelin, “Kashmir”
• Russian Circles, “Xavii”
• John Fahey, “Voice of the Turtle”

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Frequently Asked Questions

Sum Up: Which One Is Your Favorite Alternate Tuning? 

You are limiting yourself musically if you have never experimented with various guitar tunings. The notes of the strings have a significant effect on the final sound, and if you are trying to play specific genres, you must make changes. Experimenting with alternate guitar tunings can provide a refreshing and distinctive experience, often akin to exploring a completely different musical instrument. Let’s dive into the world of alternate guitar tunings!