What is alternative tuning?
Standard tuning on guitars is EADGBE but there are other possibilities which can change the entire timbre of the guitar. Naturally chord shapes are a little different but alternative tuning can open a whole range of possibilities for both the fingerstyle acoustic and electric guitar player. One of the simplest is known as the dropped D tuning. In this tuning, the bass E string is simply detuned down a tone to D. A common alternative tuning is DADGAD, so named because that is how the strings are tuned! This tuning is quite commonly used by fingerstyle guitarists. A more unusual tuning is Nashville tuning. In this tuning, standard tuning of EADGBE is used, but the three bass strings are tuned an octave higher. Obviously this means you need thinner guage strings for the three bass strings to avoid breaking them and putting an unneccessary strain on the guitar neck. There are lots of other tuning possibilities worth trying out to expand your playing. Try them and see!
