Alternate tunings
This room lives in standard EADGBE unless a page says otherwise. Alternate tunings are a v2 door: retune, hear a model, then return to standard before Play along or the dictionary. The neck diagrams still show physical frets; Play buttons sound the retuned pitch.
How to tune in standard: Foundations · mic check: Tuner · optional pitch check: practice-bar Sa.
Play becomes Stop on the same button. One model at a time. Song pages stay in standard unless they are marked.
Standard reminder — E A D G B E
Low to high as you hear them: 6th E, 5th A, 4th D, 3rd G, 2nd B, 1st e. Intervals from the 6th string: fourth, fourth, fourth, major third, fourth.
Drop D
Tune only the 6th string down a whole step: E down to D. The other five strings stay. You now have D A D G B E. Check: 6th open should match 4th open (both D), an octave apart.
Why bother: a power chord on strings 6 and 5 is one finger across one fret — both strings at the same fret are root + fifth. In standard, E5 needs two fingers (0 and 2). That is the Hal Leonard / rock-lab reason for drop D, not a new song list.
D5 shapes (one finger)
| Fret on 6+5 | Sounds as | TAB (drop D) |
|---|---|---|
| open (0–0) | D5 | 6th + 5th open |
| 2–2 | E5 | one finger, fret 2 |
| 5–5 | G5 | one finger, fret 5 |
| 7–7 | A5 | one finger, fret 7 |
e|--------------------------------- B|--------------------------------- G|--------------------------------- D|--------------------------------- A|-0---5---7----------------------- 5th string (A) E|-0---5---7----------------------- 6th string tuned to D
Compare two-finger powers in standard on Rock drills and Rock · power chords.
Open G — D G D G B D
From standard, drop strings 6, 5, and 1 a whole step (E→D, A→G, e→D). The middle three already make G–B–D. Open strings ring a G major chord. Intervals from the new 6th: fourth, fifth, fourth, major third, minor third.
A one-finger barre across all six at a fret is another major chord: open = G, fret 2 = A, fret 5 = C, fret 7 = D. Folk and blues use this for I–IV–V without a six-finger grip. Slide players like the ringing G. Famous-title door (chords only, no riff): Stones-era rock often sat in open G — e.g. Honky Tonk Women as a title, not a transcription.
Open D — D A D F♯ A D
From standard: 6th E→D, 3rd G→F♯, 2nd B→A, 1st e→D. Open strings ring D major. Same idea as open G: one barre = the next major. Open = D, fret 2 = E, fret 5 = G, fret 7 = A. Folk, blues, and slide use it for a fat I chord and easy IV/V barres. Titles only if you map a song — no printed melody here.
DADGAD lite
D A D G A D — from standard, drop 6, 2, and 1 a whole step. The open strings are a Dsus4 drone (no third). It is friendly for modal folk: the G and D keep ringing while one or two fingers add colour. Celtic and DADGAD-style fingerstyle live here; this page is two shapes, not a repertoire.
Shape 1 — open drone. All open. Let it ring; that is the point.
Shape 2 — F♯ in the middle. 4th string fret 4 (F♯) with the drones around it. A D-major colour without killing the sus4 air. One finger.
e|-0-----0------------------------- high D (dropped) B|-0-----0------------------------- A (dropped) G|-0-----0------------------------- G D|-0-----4------------------------- D / F# A|-0-----0------------------------- A E|-0-----0------------------------- low D (dropped)
Retune safely
- Down slowly. Drop D, open G/D, and DADGAD all slacken strings. Turn the machine a little, check, turn again. Do not yank a string up to pitch from a slack start in one twist.
- One string at a time. Finish the 6th before you touch the 5th. If a string creaks, stop and ease it.
- Pitch check. A clip tuner is ideal. Optional: set the practice-bar Sa to the note you want (D, G, …) and match the open string to the drone. You do not have to use Sa — it is there if you already sing with it.
- Return to standard before songs, dictionary, and open chords unless that page is marked for a tuning. Those models assume EADGBE.
- New strings stretch. Retune twice in the first session after a drop. That is normal.