Alternate guitar tunings worth knowing

The tunings at a glance

All notes are listed from the low (6th) string to the high (1st) string.

Drop D: the easiest first step

Lower only the 6th string from E to D. Check it against the open 4th string (also D, one octave higher): play both and turn the 6th-string peg until the slow wobble disappears. Or use a tuner set to drop D.

What you get:

• One-finger power chords. Barre the bottom three strings at any fret: fret 0 = D5, fret 3 = F5, fret 5 = G5.
• A deep D bass note under D and Dm chords — great in folk and acoustic songs in D.
• Standard tuning on the other five strings, so all your chord shapes above the 6th string still work.

Half-step down: same shapes, darker sound

Tune every string down one semitone. Shapes and fingerings stay identical, but everything sounds a semitone lower. Strings are slightly looser, so bends are easier and the tone is a little fatter. If you play along with recordings that sound “off” by a semitone, the band was probably tuned down.

DADGAD: open, droning, modal

DADGAD isn’t a major or minor chord — it’s a suspended sound (D, A and G), which makes it work for both major and minor melodies. Strings 6, 2 and 1 come down a whole step from standard. Simple shapes with open strings ringing over them sound huge, which is why it’s a favourite in Celtic and fingerstyle music.

Open tunings: strum the open strings, get a chord

In open tunings the open strings form a chord:

• Open G = G major (D G D G B D). Barre any fret for a major chord: fret 5 = C, fret 7 = D.
• Open D = D major (D A D F♯ A D). Same idea, deeper and very resonant.
• Open E = E major, the same intervals as open D but a whole step higher. It raises string tension, so many players tune to open D and use a capo on fret 2 instead.

Open tunings are made for slide guitar: lay the slide flat over a fret and you’re playing a full major chord.

Lower tunings: drop C and beyond

Drop C is drop D taken down a whole step. It’s heavy and great for riffs, but standard strings get floppy. For anything lower than D standard, use a heavier gauge (for example 11s or 12s on electric) and expect to adjust intonation.

How to change tuning safely

1. Detune before tuning up. When a string has to go up (open E, for example), go slowly; standard strings break if you overshoot.
2. Use the tuner in chromatic mode and check the octave — a string tuned a whole octave wrong is a common accident.
3. Retune twice. Changing several strings shifts the neck’s tension; the first strings drift as you tune the last ones.
4. Consider a dedicated guitar. Switching tuning every day makes strings and the neck less stable. Many players keep one guitar in an open tuning.
5. Adjust if you stay there. If you live in a low tuning, change string gauge and have the setup and intonation checked — a strobe tuner helps with intonation.

A capo plus an open tuning covers every key. Learn songs in open D or DADGAD, then move them with a capo instead of retuning to a new key. See how to use a capo.

Which tuning should you try first?

Chord shapes in drop D and open G

Retuning changes some shapes and leaves others alone, so here are the essentials to get playing straight away.

Drop D. Only the 6th string changes, so every chord that doesn’t use it works as normal. For chords that do:

Open G. The open strings already form G major:

Start with a simple I–IV–V in each tuning (G – C – D in open G), then let one or two open strings ring through every chord. That drone is the whole point of alternate tunings.

After you retune

Your chord shapes will change in open tunings, so start with simple barres and one-finger shapes, and let open strings ring. Look up each tuning’s page for the full list of notes and chord shapes, and come back to standard tuning with the guitar tuning guide.