Standard guitar tuning (E A D G B E)

Everyone, on every kind of guitar. It is the reference point for every other tuning on this site.

Standard tuning is E A D G B E, from the thickest string to the thinnest. Almost every chord shape, scale diagram and lesson assumes it, so it is the tuning to learn first and the one to return to.

The strings are a fourth apart except for the G to B step, which is a major third. That one irregular interval is what makes open chords fall under the fingers so naturally.

Notes and frequencies

From the thickest string to the thinnest, at concert pitch (A4 = 440 Hz). This is the reference every other 6-string guitar tuning is measured against.

Tuning to Standard in TuneGlass

1. The app opens in 6-string guitar mode; if you changed the instrument, switch back in Settings.
2. Standard tuning is already selected. Play any string: the dial shows the nearest string and how far off it is.
3. Play one string at a time. The needle turns green and the scale fills when the string is in tune. Hold a string circle to hear its reference note.

Tips

• Tune up to the note, not down to it. If a string is sharp, drop below the target and come back up so the string sits firmly against the nut and the tuner.
• New strings stretch for a day or two. Tune, play, retune, and they settle.
• The low E is the string tuners most often misread an octave high. If the needle jumps around on it, let the note ring and pluck it once rather than repeatedly.

Questions

Related tunings

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