Home > Guitar Tuning > Tuning Down - Half Step / Whole Step
Guitar Down Tuning
Half Step / Whole Step
This page provides you with tuning aids to help tune
your guitar down half a step or a whole step. Basically, standard
tuning, but
lower!
Down tuning is popular in many genres of music, but
especially heavy metal to give your music a deeper crunch. Tuning lower
is also good for acoustic/clean playing though, because you can use
those vibrant open position chords and get a completely different
atmosphere from them.
Tip: If you're going to tune down, you might want to try some heavier gauge strings
on your guitar, because the lower you tune, the less tension in the
strings. Strings that lack enough tension tend to buzz on the fretboard
and can make tone sound sloppy.
I would say if you're going to tune down more than
half a step you should at least have a 10 gauge set of strings (10
being the gauge of the high E string). That's just my opinion though -
you might actually prefer the tone you get with lighter strings!
Tune down half a step here
Tune down a whole step
here
Tip: Don't forget there's also drop tuning, where you simply tune down the bottom string until it matches the standard D string. For help with this, visit the drop tuning page.
Some guitarists think playing in a flat/sharp key
sounds fresher, because we're so conditioned to pop music being played
in standard E A D G B e tuning. I think there's definitely something in
that!...
See, if you played a regular open G chord, it would in fact be G flat or F sharp because of the half step lower tuning.
Click on the strings below to hear the tuned note...
Tip: When you're trying to match your guitar's string to a
string above, you'll hear a sort of oscillating effect, and as you tune
up or down, closer to the correct pitch, this vibrating effect will
become slower and slower until you're in tune! You have to listen
closely and train your ear to pick this up.
This tuning allows you to get that low bottom end D
in, but as part of standard tuning intervals, so you can form all the
chord shapes you're used to, especially open chords, and get that
deeper atmosphere.
Tip: Just like with standard tuning, when you're trying to match
your guitar's string to a string above, you'll hear a sort of
oscillating effect, and as you tune closer to the correct pitch, this
vibration effect will become slower and slower until you're in tune!
You have to listen closely and train your ear to pick this up.
Tip: You can drop tune the low D string down to the same as the C string and you get... Drop C tuning... (who'da thunk it?)
Tip: Don't forget those slack strings - if they hang at your
ankles after tuning down a whole step, you might want to think about
buying some heavier gauge strings.
Thanks for stopping by!
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