1. The most commonly used tunings are the first three in the list, Standard Tuning, Dropped 'D' Tuning (or Low D Tuning) and Dropped 'G' Tuning (occasionally called Double Dropped D Tuning). Following this the major 'favourites' seem to be Open 'G' Tuning, Open 'D' Tuning, Open 'C' Tuning and DADGAD Tuning. Some players use only one of the others and do not experiment any further. Some players, notably Classical guitar players, stick solely with Standard Tuning. However, by far the majority of players use a small few for most of their playing and occasionally experiment with something a little more outlandish. The main point is to try a couple; see if you can get along with them and if they can enhance your music; most of all have FUN with them.

2. Hi-Note or Hi-String Tuning: - uses the notes EADGBE which looks as though it is the same as Standard Tuning. Do not be fooled, it is not the same! The reason is that the bass strings are removed from the guitar and are replaced with another set of treble strings which are then tuned to the relative notes. Consequently a much higher sound is produced which has a greater tendency to cut through when other instruments are being played as part of a band. Be careful however, as not all finger-picked tunes which sound well on a normally strung guitar will sound well with this string arrangement; some do and some don't - you'll have to try them and make the decision yourself. The tuning is most often used in 'Country & Western' music but it does have other possibilities, which need investigating, for both solo/instrumental work and also for providing a contrasting backing accompaniment for a low pitched singing voice. This restringing of a guitar and replacing one or more bass strings with higher, thinner treble strings is called re-entrant stringing and nearly all of the tunings in the above table can be applied when they will be called re-entrant tunings as the bass strings may now be higher than some of the mid strings.

3. The most accurate method of tuning available today (2001) is via one of the portable battery operated tuning machines distributed by companies such as Boss, Sony, Yamaha, etc. All of the better models have a jack-socket input so that they can be placed between the guitar and the amplifier for electric and electro-acoustic guitars. This has made tuning on stage very simple and direct and is not troubled by sounds from other instruments in the band or from people in the audience. A new idea has recently appeared for those with purely acoustic (i.e. un-amplified guitars) and this is a small clip-on microphone which clips to the edge of the sound-hole of the guitar, or even to the headstock, and then plugs into the jack-socket of the tuner. Again, this is said to allow an acoustic guitar to be tuned accurately even while other people are playing and/or singing - this is a definite advantage as trying to tune a guitar by ear in a room full of people playing is something I find impossible - I normally have to go and tune in the loo. Some people find they can tune by ear in a noisy environment by placing the ear against the side of the guitar, not for me I'm afraid. Give me a decent tuner any day of the week!

A newer form of an electronic tuner (as at 2008) is the 'vibration' tuner. This clips to the headstock of your instrument and instead of having a microphone it picks up the vibration of the string through the neck and headstock of your guitar. They seem to work well, are relatively cheap (£20.00) and have the advantage of working in noisy environments. They also light the note display area making them excellent for on stage tuning. A good example is the Intelli IMT-900 Clip-on Chromatic Tuner.

A tuner will most definitely simplify changing to some of these altered tunings, particularly when you are under pressure in a performance either on stage or even in front of your friends and relatives. At all these times you will often find that your 'ear' goes and you cannot even decide whether the note you need is higher or lower than the note you are starting with. The machine does not get nervous and will give you the correct answer every time no matter what the pressures. There is no great 'macho-ness' involved in being able to tune by ear. In fact even the best of the people who do so are usually still slightly out when they have finished and are rarely in 'concert pitch' - (the standard for tuning for all orchestral instruments). Surely the most important thing, as far as your audience is concerned, is that your instrument is in tune - no matter how good a picker you become you will still sound dreadful if your instrument is not in tune. This becomes even more important if you want to play along with other people; then you must all be in tune together. Invest in a machine; it is well worth it!

4.    If you know of any other tunings please do e-mail me and let me know about them. I can then add them to the list above. E-mail me at: .

5. See also, the Wikipedia article on guitar tunings over at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_guitar_tunings

6. Open Tunings - are those tunings where the strings on the guitar are specifically tuned to notes which when played unfretted will produce a recognisable chord (e.g. Open 'G' produces a chord of 'G' (now there is a surprise) when it is strummed without any strings being fretted; likewise Open 'D' produces a chord of 'D' and Open 'A' produces a chord of 'A'). 

7. Altered Tunings (occasionally called Amended Tunings or Extended Tunings, or even Enhanced Tunings) - are those tunings where the strings are tuned to notes other than those in Standard Tuning (EADGBE - 6th to 1st string (thickest to thinnest)) but which do NOT play a chord when they are strummed unfretted (e.g DADGAD).

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