There are many different guitar tunings used in Rock and Metal music in addition to standard tuning. Guitarists in these genres like to use these tunings because they give their music a heavier, darker sound.
Some of the most popular tunings used are Dropped D, Dropped C, Dropped B, E Flat, D, C, and open G. Here are descriptions of how strings should be tuned and some of the bands that use them.
Drop D tuning:
E ———-1st string
B ———-2nd string
G ———-3rd string
D ———-Fourth string
A ———-5th string
D ———-6 string (thickest)
This tuning allows you to play power chords with a single finger on the three lowest strings and produces a dark sound with it. If your music doesn’t fit this dark sound, you can put a capo on the second fret and you can still easily play the powerful chords.
Some bands that use Dropped D tuning are:
Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Godsmack, Led Zepplin, Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine, Silverchair, Soundgarden and Velvet Revolver.
Dropped C tuning:
D ———-1st string
A ———-2nd string
F ———-3rd string
C ———-Fourth string
G———-5 string
C ———-6 string (thickest)
Dropped C tuning is Dropped D with each string lowered one full step. Dropped C tuning produces a very low and heavy sound and is used by many of the newer Heavy Metal bands.
Some bands that use Dropped C tuning are:
30 Seconds to Mars, Atreyu, Buckethead, Bullet for My Valentine, Children of Bodom, Godsmack, Bad Religion, Metallica, Mudvayne, POD, Papa Roach, Rammstein, Shadows Fall, System of a Down, Three Days Grace and Ozzy Osbourne.
Dropped B tuning:
C# ———-1st string
G# ———-2nd string
e ———-3rd string
B ———-Fourth string
F# ——— 5th string
B ———-6 string (thickest)
This tuning will need higher gauge strings to be effective. You may also need to widen the string grooves and adjust the tension on your guitar neck.
Some bands that use Dropped B tuning are:
Audioslave, Limp Bizkit, Machine Head, Mudvayne, Slipknot and Stone Sour.
Eb tuning:
Eb ——— 1st string
Bb ———2nd string
GB ——— 3rd string
Db ——— Fourth string
Ab ——— 5th string
Eb ———6 string (thickest)
This tuning is a standard tuning lowered a half step. There are a few reasons why bands use this tuning instead of the standard tuning. One reason is to sound heavier using heavy gauge strings. Tuning down a half step makes it easier to bend these heavy gauge strings. Another reason some bands use this tuning is to complement the lead singer’s voice.
The bands that use Eb tuning are:
Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Dream Theater, Guns N’ Roses, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, Megadeth, Metallica, Motorhead, Nirvana, Poison, Slayer, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Stone Sour, Van Halen, Weezer and Yngwie Malmsteen.
D tuning:
D ———-1st string
A ———-2nd string
F ———-3rd string
C ———-Fourth string
G———-5 string
D ———-6 string (thickest)
D tuning is also known as full step down tuning, and as you’ve probably guessed by now, it’s a standard tuning tuned one full step down. D tuning has been used primarily in Heavy Metal music.
Bands that have used the D tuning are:
Alice in Chains, The Beatles, Bullet For My Valentine, Bob Dylan, Children of Bodom, Dream Theater, Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Racer X and Soundgarden.
C tuning:
C ———-1st string
G ———-2nd string
Eb ———3rd string
Bb ———Fourth string
F———-5 string
C ———-6 string (thickest)
The C tuning also produces a low sound that is mainly used by Hard Rock and Metal bands. The tuning is 2 full steps below standard tuning, giving it a heavy sound but keeping the same intervals as standard tuning.
Bands that have used the C tuning are:
Atreyu, Black Sabbath, Bullet For My Valentine, Deftones, Dream Theater, Jimi Hendrix, POD, Queens of the Stone Age, Slipknot, Steve Vai and The Who.
G tuning:
D ———-1st string
B ———-2nd string
G ———-3rd string
D ———-Fourth string
G———-5 string
D ———-6 string (thickest)
Apart from Drop D tuning, G Tuning is one of the most popular alternative guitar tunings.
Some bands that have used the G tuning are:
The Rolling Stones, Black Crowes, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam.
These are just a few of the alternate guitar tunings that are available to experiment with. Play around with them and see which tunings fit your style of music.