Standard Guitar Tuning: E–A–D–G–B–E

The six notes, low to high

Standard tuning is E–A–D–G–B–E, written from the thickest string to the thinnest. Every frequency below is the equal-tempered value at A440 concert pitch — the pitch the dial above is measuring against.

Why the strings are numbered backwards

This is the single thing that trips up beginners, and it is worth thirty seconds. The 1st string is the thinnest and highest; the 6th is the thickest and lowest. Numbering runs thin to thick, from the string nearest the floor when you hold the guitar up to the one nearest your chin.

But tunings are written the other way — low to high. So “E–A–D–G–B–E” starts with the 6th string and ends with the 1st. The same six strings, listed in opposite directions, which is exactly why a tab that says “tune the 1st string to E” and a chart that says “E–A–D–G–B–E” can look like they disagree when they do not.

Mnemonics — and which way they run

A mnemonic is only useful if you know its direction, so here they are labelled. Low to high (6th string first, the way tunings are written):

• Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie
• Elephants And Donkeys Grow Big Ears

High to low (1st string first, the way the strings are numbered) — E–B–G–D–A–E:

• Easter Bunnies Get Drunk At Easter

Why fourths — and why one third

Five of the six strings are a perfect fourth apart — five semitones, or five frets. The exception sits between the 3rd and 2nd strings, where the gap narrows to a major third: four semitones. That one irregular step is the whole design.

Add the intervals up. Four fourths and a third is 5 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 5 = 24 semitones, which is exactly two octaves — so the 1st string lands on the same letter as the 6th, two octaves higher. Tune the guitar in straight fourths instead and the span becomes 25 semitones: the top string would be an F, the outer strings would no longer match, and every chord shape that uses both E strings for its root would stop working.

That is the trade. All-fourths tuning is more regular — a scale shape would keep its fingering on every string — but the major third buys two things guitarists use constantly: matching outer strings, and open chord shapes that a hand can actually reach. The cost is the one thing every player eventually notices: octave and scale shapes shift by one fret once they cross the G–B boundary. That is not your hand making a mistake. It is the third.

Getting there

1. Start the tuner above and play your open 6th string. The chips under the dial are your six targets, in order.
2. Work from the 6th to the 1st. Tuning the low strings first settles most of the neck tension before you fine-tune the treble, so the thin strings drift less.
3. Come up to each note, not down to it. A string tuned upward into pitch holds better than one lowered onto it — if you overshoot, drop below and climb back.
4. Go round twice. Every string you tune changes the tension on the rest. The second pass is short, and it is what makes the tuning last.

For the full walkthrough on one instrument, the guitar tuner page covers string gauges, intonation and the usual reasons a note will not settle. If your guitar reaches pitch and then wanders, start with why your guitar won’t stay in tune.

Where players go from here

Standard is the reference every other tuning is described against — each one below is a list of which strings move and how far.

• Drop D (D–A–D–G–B–E) — one string moves, the 6th down a whole step. The smallest step away from here.
• Half step down (E♭–A♭–D♭–G♭–B♭–E♭) — all six strings a semitone flat, intervals unchanged.
• Open G (D–G–D–G–B–D) and Open D (D–A–D–F♯–A–D) — the open strings become a chord.
• DADGAD (D–A–D–G–A–D) — modal and droning, three strings moved.
• Drop C (C–G–C–F–A–D) — Drop D shifted a whole step lower.

Frequently asked questions