Speak About It! | Tuning your guitar in Fourths | String, Note, Tuning, Guitar, Than

Tuning your guitar in Fourths

Written by deadheaddave

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The use of open tuning in guitar playing can be very useful. It can aid in playing finger style guitar as well as aid in slide guitar playing.

A popular tuning in fingerstyle guitar style is to tune your guitar in fourths. Simply put, after the guitar is in standard tuning, all of the strings will be a fourth note higher than the string lower than it.

There are some players that use this tuning very successfully in their playing. Two handed tapping wizard Stanley Jordan uses this tuning. Also one of the most beautiful melodies I’ve ever played “The Bricklayer’s Beautiful Daughter” by William Ackerman is in this tuning.

Starting with standard tuning EADGBE we will now tune to EADGCF. The lowest E string remains tuned to E. Using this E string as a starting point, place your finger on the 5^th fret of the low E string (A). Now adjust the 5th string up one whole step to A until it matches the A on the low E string. Notice that this note (A) is a fourth higher (E,F,G to A) than the E on the 6^th string.

Next is to tune the 4th string up to D. This can be accomplished by fretting the 5^th string on the fifth fret (D note). This note matches the tone of the 4^th string. Notice that this note (D) is a fourth higher than the A on the 5^th string.

Next is to tune the 3rd string to G. This can be accomplished by fretting the 4^th string on the fifth fret (G note). This note matches the tone of the 4^th string. Notice that this note (G) is a fourth higher (D,E,F,G) than the D on the 4^th string.

Next is to tune the 2nd string up to C. This can be accomplished by fretting the 3rd string on the fifth fret (C note). This note matches the tone of the 2nd string. Notice that this note (C) is a fourth higher than the G (G,A,B,C) on the 3rd string.

Next is to tune the 1st string up to F. This can be accomplished by fretting the 5^th string on the second fret (F note). This note matches the tone of the 1st string. Notice that this note (F) is a fourth higher than the C (C,D,E,F) on the 2nd string.

The final step is to check your tuning for all the strings one final time. You have just changed the surface tension of the guitar, so by adjusting one string, you might have inadvertently adjusted the tuning of another string.

Have fun playing in this tuning. Try using a Capo on different frets to change the key of the guitar and the song you are playing in. This is a very fun tuning while playing fingerstyle. By placing a capo on the fifth fret you can easily hear William Ackerman’s “The Bricklayer’s Beautiful Daughter.”