Guitar Tunings Chart: Standard, Drop D, DADGAD and Open

Standard tuning

Standard tuning, from the sixth string (lowest, thickest) to the first, is E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4. The number is the octave in scientific pitch notation: middle C is C4. Each pair of neighboring strings is a perfect fourth apart, except G to B, which is a major third.

String	Note	Frequency	Up to next
6	E2	82.41 Hz	5 semitones
5	A2	110.00 Hz	5 semitones
4	D3	146.83 Hz	5 semitones
3	G3	196.00 Hz	4 semitones
2	B3	246.94 Hz	5 semitones
1	E4	329.63 Hz	–

The frequencies come from one formula. In twelve-tone equal temperament the octave is split into 12 equal semitones, each a factor of 2^1/12, about 1.059. With A4 at 440 Hz and MIDI note numbers, where A4 is 69, a note's frequency is:

Note frequency

f = 440 Hz × 2^((m − 69) ÷ 12)

The low E string is MIDI 40, so it sits 29 semitones below A4: 440 × 2^−29/12 = 82.41 Hz. The open A string, A2, is exactly 110 Hz, two octaves below 440. The guide musical note frequencies has the full table for every note.

Tunings chart

The notes run from string 6 to string 1. The changes column shows how many semitones each string moves from standard, in the same order; minus means tune down.

Tuning	Notes	Changes from standard
Standard	E A D G B E	0 0 0 0 0 0
Drop D	D A D G B E	−2 0 0 0 0 0
DADGAD	D A D G A D	−2 0 0 0 −2 −2
Open D	D A D F♯ A D	−2 0 0 −1 −2 −2
Open G	D G D G B D	−2 −2 0 0 0 −2
Open E	E B E G♯ B E	0 +2 +2 +1 0 0
Open C	C G C G C E	−4 −2 −2 0 +1 0
Half step down	E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭	−1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1
Drop C	C G C F A D	−4 −2 −2 −2 −2 −2

Drop D moves 1 string, DADGAD 3, the open tunings 3 to 4. Half step down moves all six by one semitone, which keeps every chord shape and lowers the whole guitar by a half step. Drop C is drop D taken down a further whole step on every string.

Frequency of every string pitch

To tune with a meter or a reference tone, you need the target frequency. These are all the pitches used in the chart, low to high, with A4 = 440 Hz:

Pitch	MIDI	Frequency
C2	36	65.41 Hz
D2	38	73.42 Hz
D♯2 / E♭2	39	77.78 Hz
E2	40	82.41 Hz
G2	43	98.00 Hz
G♯2 / A♭2	44	103.83 Hz
A2	45	110.00 Hz
B2	47	123.47 Hz
C3	48	130.81 Hz
C♯3 / D♭3	49	138.59 Hz
D3	50	146.83 Hz
E3	52	164.81 Hz
F3	53	174.61 Hz
F♯3 / G♭3	54	185.00 Hz
G3	55	196.00 Hz
G♯3 / A♭3	56	207.65 Hz
A3	57	220.00 Hz
A♯3 / B♭3	58	233.08 Hz
B3	59	246.94 Hz
C4	60	261.63 Hz
D4	62	293.66 Hz
D♯4 / E♭4	63	311.13 Hz
E4	64	329.63 Hz

The online tuner reads your guitar through the microphone and shows how far each string is from the target. For an alternate tuning, use its chromatic mode and tune each string to the note in the chart. It can also play reference tones if you prefer to tune by ear.

Open tunings and why they work

In an open tuning the six open strings sound a major chord on their own. The chart's open tunings and their chords:

Open D (D A D F♯ A D): D major.
Open G (D G D G B D): G major.
Open E (E B E G♯ B E): E major.
Open C (C G C G C E): C major.

Because the open strings already form a chord, laying one finger or a slide straight across any fret raises the whole chord by that many semitones. In open G, fret 5 gives C major and fret 7 gives D major, the three chords of a blues in G. The same idea works in open D, E and C with their own chord names.

DADGAD sits between the two worlds. Strummed open it sounds D with a G in place of the third, an unresolved chord that suits drones and melodies over a ringing D.

Drop D power chords

Drop D is popular for one practical reason you can see in the chart: the three lowest strings become D, A and D, a root, a fifth and an octave. That is a power chord on open strings, and because the three strings are now tuned to fit one shape, a single finger laid across them at any fret moves the whole chord up. The root is D plus the fret number in semitones:

Fret	Power chord	Lowest note
open	D5	73.42 Hz
2	E5	82.41 Hz
3	F5	87.31 Hz
5	G5	98.00 Hz
7	A5	110.00 Hz
8	B♭5	116.54 Hz
10	C5	130.81 Hz
12	D5	146.83 Hz

The 5 in a chord name such as D5 marks a power chord: root and fifth, no third. At fret 12 the chord is D again, one octave up, and its lowest note is exactly twice the open D2 frequency.

What tuning down does to frequency

Each semitone down divides the frequency by 2^1/12, about 1.0595, a drop of about 5.6 percent. Half step down takes the low E from 82.41 Hz to 77.78 Hz and the high E from 329.63 Hz to 311.13 Hz. A whole step, as in drop D or drop C, is two such steps, about 10.9 percent lower. Open E goes the other way and raises three strings, by up to two semitones.

Retuning without a meter

Drop D by octave. Play the open fourth string, D3, and lower the sixth string until it sounds the same note an octave lower, D2.
Count frets. One semitone is one fret. A change of −2 means the open string ends up where the second fret below its old pitch would be, so a note fretted two frets higher on that string now matches the old open note.
Keep time. Practice the new shapes slowly with the metronome; alternate tunings move familiar notes to unfamiliar frets.

About A = 440

Everything above assumes A4 = 440 Hz. That reference was agreed at a conference in London in 1939, taken up by the International Organization for Standardization as a recommendation in 1955 and formalized as ISO 16 in 1975. If a band tunes to another reference, every frequency here shifts by the same ratio, but the notes and the semitone changes in the chart stay the same.

Frequently asked questions

What are the notes of standard guitar tuning?

From the thickest string to the thinnest: E2, A2, D3, G3, B3, E4. Neighboring strings are a perfect fourth apart, five semitones, except G to B, which is a major third, four semitones. With A4 at 440 Hz the low E vibrates at about 82.41 Hz and the high E at about 329.63 Hz.

What is drop D tuning?

Standard tuning with only the sixth string lowered a whole step, two semitones, from E2 to D2. The notes become D A D G B E. The three lowest strings then form a D power chord that you can play with one finger.

What is DADGAD?

A tuning named after its notes, low to high: D A D G A D. Compared with standard, the sixth, second and first strings each go down two semitones. Strummed open, the strings sound D, A and G, a D chord with a G in place of the third, Dsus4.

What is an open tuning?

A tuning in which the open strings, strummed without fretting, sound a major chord. Open G (D G D G B D) gives G major, open D (D A D F♯ A D) gives D major. A finger or slide laid straight across one fret then plays another major chord.

Why 440 Hz for A?

A4 = 440 Hz is the standard reference pitch, adopted by the International Organization for Standardization as ISO 16. Tuners use it as their default, and every other note in equal temperament follows from it with the factor 2^(1/12) per semitone.

Sources

Written by Tobias. Updated October 30, 2026.