(DROP A) AEADFbB or AADGBE[]
Bands using this tuning include: Suicide Silence,Whitechapel,Bring Me The Horizon,Nile and Bury Your Dead.
(DROP B) BF#BEG#C# or BGbBEAbDb[]
Bands using this tuning include: Slipknot,Bring Me The Horizon,Parkway Drive,Devils Wears Prada and Bleeding Through, and Unearth
Drop B is commonly used by Modern metal.
(Standard B) BEADF#B[]
Bands using this tuning include: Crowbar, Soilwork and Aborted
(DROP C) CGCfad[]
Bands using this tuning include: Bullet For My Valentine,Bring Me The Horizon, Mastodon, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Atreyu, System Of A Down, Alice In Chains, and Linkin Park
This is a very popular tuning for many new Metalcore bands.
(DROP D) DADGBe[]
Bands using this tuning include: Nirvana, Creed, Avenged Sevenfold, led Zepelin,Trivium,Alesana,System of down,Screaziks,Lamb Of God,Pantera,Yellowcard,Fall Out Boy,Maylene and the Sons of Disaster and Asking Alexandria
Standard tuning but the sixth string are dropped one full step.
DADGAD tuning[]
Used in some of the Acoustic works of Jimmy Page, also used by Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson. It is possibly best known for being the tuning in Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir"
(Standard C) CFBbEbGC[]
Bands using this tuning include: Dethklok, Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Metallica, Arch Enemy, Deftones, In Flames, and Static X.
(Standard D) DGCFAD[]
Bands using this tuning include: Down, Corrosion of Conformity, Mastodon, God Forbid, Motley Crew, Soundgarden, and Killing Joke
(Standard E) EADGBE[]
Megadeth (thrash metal),Metallica (thrash metal),Bring Me The Horizon (album : it never ends) Hey Monday and Blink-182.
Basically Standard E or also known as Standard tuning are used by indie songs, pop, rock and some country songs. It is also the tuning for most black metal bands.
Most beginner guitar players will learn their guitar in this tuning.
(Standard E Flat) EbAbDbGbBbeb[]
Bands using this tuning include: The Smashing Pumpkins, Jimi Hendrix, Thin Lizzy, Gwar, Motörhead, AFI, Simple Plan, Taking Back Sunday, Poison, Rhino Bucket, Guns N' Roses, Led Zeppelin, Coheed and Cambria, Relient K, Weezer, Nirvana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Metallica, Iced Earth, Green Day, Eskimo Joe, Stone Sour, KISS, Dashboard Confessional, Van Halen, Alice in Chains, CKY , The Wildhearts, and Yngwie Malmsteen. Paramore uses this tuning and drops the low Eb to Db
This coupled with the Standard tuning would be the most popular tuning (generally speaking).
Open Tuning[]
Open tuning is mainly used by blues artists and sometimes bluegrass artists. The reason for this is sliding is easier in this type of tuning. Therefore, genres that slide a lot are more likely to use this.
(Open A) EAC#EAE[]
white stripes
(Open C) CGCGCE[]
- Used by Jon Butler Trio. Check out Ocean.
(Open D) DADF#AD[]
(Open E) EBEG#BE[]
(Open F) FACFCF[]
(Open G) DGDGBD[]
Keith Richards of Rolling Stones fame is known to utilize this tuning quite frequently.
(all fourths) EADGCF[]
Stanley Jordan uses this.
(Seven Stringed) BEADGBE[]
Steve Vai is known for popularizing the use of seven stringed guitars. KoRn played a vital role in the introduction of seven strings to the Nu-Metal genre. Also, John Pettrucci, guitarist for the progressive metal outfit Dream Theater, uses seven stringed guitars on occasion.
New Standard Tuning (CGDAEG)[]
A special type of guitar tuning, introduced by King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. Popular among those who are players in Experimental and Progrerssive rock. The Tuning is similiar to the Cello instrument (From C, the first 4 strings are 5ths apart.). The A to E is another 5th apart, and the E to G is a minor third apart.[1]
Guitar Notes[]
from lowest pitch to highest pitch
A-A#-B-C-C#-D-D#-E-F-G-G#
A-Bb-B-C-Db-D-Eb-E-F-G-Ab
Note: These are the exact same notes. A sharp is the same thing as B flat. The reason that I list both is because sometimes guitar and tuner companies use one or the other which might be confusing sometimes.