A Standard Tuning on 7-String Guitar: Notes, Chords and How to Use It

A Standard on a 7-string guitar is about as simple as alternate tunings get. You take every string and lower it by the same amount, a whole step, so the guitar keeps the same feel and the same shapes but sits deeper and darker. If you already play a 7-string in standard tuning, you can pick this up in an afternoon. It also opens up a heavy, growling low end that's hard to get any other way.

What A Standard Actually Is

Standard tuning on a 7-string, from the thickest string (string 7, nearest your chin) to the thinnest (string 1), is B E A D G B E. In A Standard, every string drops by a whole step. A whole step is the distance of two frets. A half step is one fret.

So your new open strings, from string 7 to string 1, are:

• String 7: A (was B)
• String 6: D (was E)
• String 5: G (was A)
• String 4: C (was D)
• String 3: F (was G)
• String 2: A (was B)
• String 1: D (was E)

The gaps between neighbouring strings haven't changed. Most pairs are a perfect 4th apart, which is five frets. The one exception is between string 3 (F) and string 2 (A), which is a major 3rd, four frets. That's the same quirk standard tuning has between the G and B strings. Because the pattern is identical, everything you know still works. It all just sounds two frets lower.

Tuning Down From Standard, Step by Step

The easiest way is a tuner. Lower each string until the tuner reads the new note. Always tune up to the note from slightly below, as it helps the string hold its pitch.

If you'd rather tune by ear, get string 7 right first, then tune each string to the one above it:

1. Tune string 7 down to A. A handy reference: before you retune, your open string 5 is an A, one octave higher. Match string 7 to that sound, just lower.
2. Play string 7 at the 5th fret (D). Tune open string 6 to match.
3. Play string 6 at the 5th fret (G). Tune open string 5 to match.
4. Play string 5 at the 5th fret (C). Tune open string 4 to match.
5. Play string 4 at the 5th fret (F). Tune open string 3 to match.
6. Play string 3 at the 4th fret (A). Tune open string 2 to match.
7. Play string 2 at the 5th fret (D). Tune open string 1 to match.

Go round once more to check. Lowering strings changes the pull on the neck a little, so the first ones you tuned may drift.

Why Players Use It

A deeper, heavier sound

That open A on string 7 is a seriously low note. Down-tuned 7-strings are a mainstay of modern heavy and progressive metal, where riffs need weight and rumble. Chugging on a low A feels like it moves the floor.

Looser strings

With less tension, the strings feel slacker. Bends take less effort, which many players enjoy. The flip side is that very low strings can flop around and buzz if you dig in too hard. Some players move to thicker strings to firm things up, but start with what you have and see how it feels.

Fitting a singer

Dropping everything a whole step moves every song down too. If a singer struggles with the high notes of a tune, playing your usual shapes in A Standard can put it right in their comfort zone without learning anything new.

Open-string drones

A drone is a note that keeps ringing underneath what you play. The open A on string 7 and the open D on string 6 make great drones. Let one ring while you play melodies higher up, and you get a big, dark, atmospheric sound.

Strumming the Open Strings

Strum all seven strings without fretting anything and you'll hear A, D, G, C, F, A and D. Because they're mostly stacked in 4ths, it doesn't sound like a neat, happy chord. It's open and a bit unresolved, the same kind of sound as strumming an open standard-tuned guitar, just lower and moodier. Listen for how long the low strings ring and how the whole guitar seems to hum.

How Scales and Chords Shift

Here's the good news: every shape stays the same. Only the names change. Whatever a shape was called in standard, it now sounds a whole step lower.

• Your open E major chord shape now sounds as D major.
• A barre chord at the 5th fret now sounds two frets' worth lower than its usual name.
• Your open E minor pentatonic pattern becomes D minor pentatonic.

Let's check that last one. Play strings 7 and 6 at frets 0 and 3, strings 5, 4 and 3 at frets 0 and 2, and strings 2 and 1 at frets 0 and 3. You get the notes D, F, G, A and C, which is D minor pentatonic. Same fingers, new key.

If you play with other people in standard tuning, remember this two-fret shift. When they play in E, you'd play your D shapes to match the sound of E... no wait, the other way round: to sound in E, you play shapes two frets higher than usual, like your F# shapes. When in doubt, just use your ears.

A First Riff to Try

Start with a power chord, a simple two- or three-note chord with no major or minor flavour. Play open string 7, plus string 6 at fret 2 and string 5 at fret 2. That gives you A, E and A, a big low A power chord.

Now try this:

1. Chug the open string 7 (A) in steady eighth notes, resting the side of your picking hand lightly on the strings near the bridge to get a tight, muted sound.
2. Every fourth beat, hit string 7 at the 3rd fret (C).
3. Then string 7 at the 5th fret (D), and back to your open A.

Listen for how the muted open A gives the riff its punch, and how the C and D pull away and snap back. Keep it slow and even before you speed up.

Spend ten minutes today just living in this tuning: play the open-A chug, add the power chord, then noodle through that D minor pentatonic shape over the ringing low string. You'll be surprised how quickly the deeper sound starts to feel like home.

More on the instrument itself: the 7-String Guitar guide.