The list contains 13 alternative tunings. Some of them should work with regular string sets, while others might require special gauges.
It's by no means a complete list of course and I'd love to hear of any other great tunings you've come across. Post a message at The message board and I'll pick it up there.
| Name | Pitches | Comments | String gauges | Links |
|---|
Standard tuning(s) |
| Standard | c g d' a'| Standard tenor tuning. | - 010-014-024w-032w (m)
- 010-016-024w-036w (m)
| | |
Common tuning(s) |
| Guitar | d g b e'| Like the three highest strings of a guitar. Banjo players often call this the Chicago tuning. | | | |
| Low | G d a e' | - 012-020w-030w-040w (ml)
- 013-019-029w-045w (m)
| | |
Fifths tuning(s) |
| Mandocello | C G d a| One octave lower than standard tuning. | | | |
Open chords tuning(s) |
| Open G | d g b d'| Strings tuned in an D major chord. This is the most common tuning for a five-string banjo (without the fifth string of course ;-). | | | |
Other instruments tuning(s) |
| Plectrum guitar | c g b d'| The standard tuning for plectrum guitars and plectrum banjos is also occasionally used for the tenor guitar. | | | |
| Bouzouki | c f a d'| One note lower than Chicago tuning. This is the most common tuning for the modern Greek bouzouki. | | | |
| Guitar bass | E A D g| Like the four lowest strings of a guitar. | | | |
| Alto guitar | G c e a| One fourth higher than the first four strings of a guitar. | | | |
| Fifths guitar | A d f# b| One fifth higher than the first four strings of a guitar. You need a fairly short scale instrument for this and be prepared for more string breaks than usual. | | | |
Special tuning(s) |
| Eddie Freeman Special (EFS) | c g d a| Like standard tuning, but with the two "top" strings tuned down an octave! Great for close chords, but not very useful for solo playing. | | | |
| Half Eddie | c g d' aSomewhat like the EFS tuning but with only the first string dropped down an octave.
The name is my own invention - cheesy, but I like it. ;-) | | | |
Other tuning(s) |
| Inside chord | A, D G BLike the middle four strings of a regular guitar.
This is my own idea, but I'd be very surprised if nobody else have thought of it before.
One of the reasons why many jazz guitarists used to prefer four-stringed tenor and plectrum guitars was that they usually played more than four note "inner chords" so they didn't really need the first and sixth strings. | | | |