Players Area - Posture ~ PleKctra ~ Tunings ~ NST Guitar Chord Generator ~ Guitar Craft Aphorisms ~ Oblique Strategies

Tunings

Over the years, a standard has evolved for how the open six strings of the guitar are tuned in relation to one another. The thickest or 6th string is normally tuned to E, the 5th to A, the 4th to D, the 3rd to G, the 2nd to B and the 1st to E.

Robert Fripp now eschews this established standard tuning for guitar and has formulated his own which he calls New Standard Tuning. From low to high, it is C G D A E G. The low C is the C below the standard low E.

Old Standard Tuning - E - A - D - G - B - E

New Standard Tuning - C - G - D - A - E - G

               (high)
      --||E----|
      T-||B----|
      A-||G----|
      B-||D----|
      --||A----|
      --||E----|
                (low) 

               (high)
      --||G----|
      T-||E----|
      A-||A----|
      B-||D----|
      --||G----|
      --||C----|
                (low) 

Tip - take care when bringing the strings up to full tension with New Standard Tuning especially when the high-E is tuned up to G. The higher tensions used can warp the necks of some guitars.