Guitar tuning · Lowered tuning
Half step down (E♭) tuning
Every string lowered a half step: E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭. Your chord shapes don’t change at all — they just sound a half step lower. The strings are a little slacker, which makes bends easier and the tone warmer and heavier.
6thE♭↓ ½ step
5thA♭↓ ½ step
4thD♭↓ ½ step
3rdG♭↓ ½ step
2ndB♭↓ ½ step
1stE♭↓ ½ step
Your chord shapes stay the same
Play every chord exactly as you would in standard tuning — the shapes, fingerings and chord diagrams don’t change. Everything simply sounds a half step lower:
| You play | E | A | D | G | C | Em | Am | Dm | B7 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| It sounds as | E♭ | A♭ | D♭ | G♭ | B | E♭m | A♭m | D♭m | B♭7 | E |
To play along with a song in standard tuning without retuning back, put a capo on fret 1.
How to tune to Half step down
- Use the tuner’s “Half step down” setting: each string goes down to the note one fret below — E to E♭, A to A♭, D to D♭, G to G♭, B to B♭, E to E♭.
- Or tune the 6th string down to E♭ first, then tune the other strings to it the usual way (5th fret to the next open string, 4th fret for the G-to-B pair).
Easiest of all: use the guitar tuner set to Half step down.
What it’s used for
Blues and rock — it was a favorite of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eddie Van Halen — and any song that sits slightly too high for a singer in standard tuning.