Guitar · 6 STRINGS

Guitar Standard Tuning

The reference every other guitar tuning is described against: fourths between the strings, with one major third between the third and second.

How to tune

Getting into Standard

Work down the list in order — each string's tension moves the ones already set.

  1. Allow microphone access

    Asked once. Detection runs on your device; nothing is uploaded.

  2. Play one string at a time

    Let it ring open. A strummed chord gives the detector several pitches.

  3. Centre the needle

    Sharp means loosen, flat means tighten. Inside three cents is in tune.

  4. Work up from string 6, one at a time

    The lowest string carries the most tension, so setting it first means the rest hold. The panel below lists every target in that order.

  5. Run through every string once more

    Setting one string drifts the rest; the second pass makes it hold.

Strings

Every string at standard pitch

This is the reference every other guitar tuning is measured against.

Standard
1String 1 stays at E4, 329.63 hertz.E4
2String 2 stays at B3, 246.94 hertz.B3
3String 3 stays at G3, 196.00 hertz.G3
4String 4 stays at D3, 146.83 hertz.D3
5String 5 stays at A2, 110.00 hertz.A2
6String 6 stays at E2, 82.41 hertz.E2

Select a string in Note Locking above to hold the tuner on it while you turn the peg.

About this tuning

About Standard Tuning

Standard tuning stacks a fourth between each pair of strings except one — the gap between the third and second string is a major third. That single irregularity is what makes the CAGED shapes look the way they do, and why a chord shape changes when you move it across the B string.

The layout is a compromise that has held for more than a century. Pure fourths would make scales perfectly symmetrical but put common chords out of reach of one hand; the major third pulls the top strings close enough that a first-position C or G stays playable. Every method book, chord chart and tab site assumes it.

It is also the tuning to return to between experiments. Alternate tunings are almost always described as a change from standard, so getting back here accurately is the first step of retuning to anything else.

Also known as

  • E Standard
  • EADGBE tuning

What it buys you

  • Every chord chart, scale diagram and tab you will find assumes it
  • Full string tension, so the factory setup and intonation are correct
  • The reference point every alternate tuning is measured from

Note frequencies

Standard string frequencies

The 6 open strings of Guitar Standard, lowest first, at A4 = 440 Hz. Each one is the pitch the tuner is listening for — E2 is E in octave 2.

NoteAlsoSolfègeFrequency
E2—Mi82.41 Hz
A2—La110.00 Hz
D3—Re146.83 Hz
G3—Sol196.00 Hz
B3—Si246.94 Hz
E4—Mi329.63 Hz

Sharps and flats share a pitch on a tuner: C♯ and D♭ are the same frequency, and which name you use depends on the key you are in, not on what the meter reads.

Questions

Standard tuning, answered

The reference every other guitar tuning is described against: fourths between the strings, with one major third between the third and second. The 6 strings are tuned E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4, from the lowest-pitched string up.

Yes. The tuner on this page listens through your device microphone and compares what it hears against the exact frequencies for E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4. Play one string at a time in a quiet room, and let the note ring rather than strumming.

No. This Standard tuner runs in your browser — there is nothing to download, nothing to install and no account to create. Allow microphone access when the browser asks and the tuner starts listening. It works the same way on a phone, a tablet and a desktop.

Related tunings

Where to go from Standard

Each one is described as the move from Standard, so you can see how far away it is before you commit to turning a peg.

TrueTuner

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