The Ultimate Alternate Tunings Library

Name	Notes	Instrument	# of Strings
Open G	DGDGBD	Guitar	6
Open D	DADFAD	Guitar	6
D Modal	DADGAD	Guitar	6
Drop D	DADGBE	Guitar	6
Drop C	CGCFAD	Guitar	6
Open C	CGCFAD	Guitar	6
Drop B	BFBEGC	Guitar	6
Drop A	AEADFB	Guitar	6
Half Step Down	E♭A♭D♭G♭B♭E	Guitar	6
Full Step Down	DGCFAD	Guitar	6
Drop D flat	DADGBE	Guitar	6
Open E	EBEGBE	Guitar	6
Open A	EACEAE	Guitar	6
Drop G	GDGCFAD	Guitar	7
Drop E	EBEADGBE	Guitar	8
Open G	DDGGDDGGBBDD	Guitar	12
Open G	GBDG	Ukulele	4
DGBE	DGBE	Ukulele	4
Low G	GCEA	Ukulele	4

What Are Alternate Tunings?

Alternate tunings refer to pitch sets other than standard tuning, also referred to as non-standard or alternative. While musicians start off learning guitar in standard tuning, experimenting with alternate tunings is a progressive means of developing creatively as a musician. Many famous musicians even created their own alternate tunings (Nick Drake Tuning,"Iommi Tuning") and these are now a signature of their unique sounds.

The concept of alternate tunings is deep and wide with limitless possibilities. Whether you’re stuck in a rut with your guitar playing and songwriting or want to broaden your horizons as a guitarist, alternate tunings are an ingenious way to harness creativity.

Alternate Tuning Types

	Step Down Tunings
	They’re the easiest kind of tunings to get your head around. Quite simply, step down and step up tunings mean tuning all the strings on the guitar a given number of steps higher or lower than standard.

	Dropped Tunings
	They typically start with standard tuning and then lower (drop) the pitch of a single string – almost always the low E string. By far the most famous dropped tuning, and the one you’re most likely to come across, is Drop D.

	Open Tunings
	Open tunings make playing chords easy: by simply barring all the strings across a single fret, all similar chords in the chromatic scale can be played. They allow better intonation of chords, dialling out dissonance and creating a big chord sound.

	Regular Tunings
	'Standard' guitar tunings feature five perfect fourths and a major third because it’s convenient and comfortable for the guitarist and creates consonance between the outer strings.

	Custom Tunings
	One of the really great things about alternate tunings is that they’re not prescriptive. If you can’t find the sound you’re looking for with any of the tunings in our library, you can go out and make your own!

	Special Tunings
	These are the most famous custom tunings, popularized by various contemporary artists. This guide did a great job at compiling a list of the best ones out there!

Custom Tunings

When it comes to inventing your own tuning, the Roadie 3 really hacks it. You can save your own custom tuning and then tune your instrument to it quickly and easily whenever you need it. And hey, if you come up with something really good, maybe you’ll have a tuning named after your own song one day!

Most Popular Tunings

New to alternate tunings?

Check out these great articles to get you started:

Iconic Alternate Tunings You Need To Try

At least once in their life, guitarists hit a brick wall, they get sick of working on the same things, and find it harder and harder to get inspired…

Alternate-tunings-everthing-you-need-to-know

Alternate Tuning: Everything You Need To Know

We’ve covered alternate tunings extensively on this blog, and recommended several great songs you can learn to play with new tunings. We’ve even written an entire ebook on it…

The Complete Guide to Guitar Tuning

Hello fellow Roadie fans, and welcome to the ultimate guide to guitar tuning! It doesn’t matter if you’re a pro or have never seen a guitar before — this guide covers it all…

Open Alternate Tunings You Should Try

Musicians and creatives in general, are known to be open-minded. So open-minded, some would say, that their brains fall out...

Did You Know

With the Roadie Tuner, your set-list is sure to flow naturally. It comes with an extensive index of 150+ built-in tunings so you don't need to worry about switching between different alternate tunings and keeping track of your custom ones. All you need to do is select your tuning of choice, place Roadie on the peg and watch it automatically tune your instrument for you in just seconds.