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

G Standard is what happens when you take a normal 7-string guitar and drop every string by the same amount, four frets' worth. All the shapes you already know still work, but everything comes out deeper, darker and heavier. If you love thick, low riffs or want your guitar to sit lower alongside a singer or a band, this is one of the simplest ways to get there without relearning anything.

What G Standard Actually Is

A 7-string guitar in its usual tuning has the strings B, E, A, D, G, B, E, from the thickest string (nearest your chin) to the thinnest. In G Standard, the strings become:

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

Every string has gone down by four half steps. A half step is the distance of one fret, so each string now sounds the note that used to live four frets lower. That gap of four half steps has a name: a major third.

Here's the key point. The spacing between neighbouring strings hasn't changed at all. Most pairs are a perfect 4th apart (five frets), and the one pair between string 3 (D#) and string 2 (G) is a major third (four frets), exactly as in normal tuning. The whole guitar has simply been lowered as one block.

How to Tune Down Step by Step

A clip-on or app tuner is the easiest route: tune each string to the note in the list above, one at a time. If you want to do it by ear, here's a reliable way.

1. Grab a reference first. Before you touch anything, play your open string 3, which is G in normal tuning. Your new string 7 needs to be a G too, just two octaves lower. Loosen string 7 slowly until it blends with that G and the wobble between them disappears.
2. Tune string 6 to string 7. Fret string 7 at the 5th fret. That note is C. Lower string 6 until its open sound matches.
3. Repeat the 5th-fret trick. Fret string 6 at the 5th fret and tune open string 5 to it (F). Then do the same to get string 4 (A#) and string 3 (D#).
4. Use the 4th fret once. Because strings 3 and 2 are a major third apart, fret string 3 at the 4th fret and tune string 2 to that note (G).
5. Back to the 5th fret. Fret string 2 at the 5th fret and tune string 1 to it (C).

Always tune up to a note rather than down to it. If you overshoot, go below the note and come back up; the string holds its pitch better that way. Expect to go round twice, because loosening strings shifts the tension on the neck and the others drift a little.

One honest warning: strings dropped this far can feel floppy and buzz. Many players move to thicker strings for this tuning so they feel firm again. You don't have to straight away, but if notes sound flabby or go out of tune when you dig in, that's why.

Why Players Use It

The sound. Lower strings ring with more growl and weight. Single notes on string 7 rumble almost like a bass, which is why low tunings like this are common in modern heavy metal and extended-range styles.

Heavier riffs. The open G on string 7 becomes a huge anchor note. You can chug on it with palm muting (resting the side of your picking hand lightly on the strings near the bridge) and jump to fretted notes for brutal, punchy riffs.

Easier on the voice. Because everything sounds lower, songs move into a lower range. Singers who struggle with high keys often find this more comfortable.

Open-string drones. A drone is a note you let ring while other notes move around it. Low open strings like G and C make great drones that fill out the sound.

Strumming the Open Strings

Strum all seven open strings: G, C, F, A#, D#, G, C. Because almost every string is a fourth above the last, you get a stack of fourths. Listen for how it sounds open, suspended and a bit unresolved, like a question waiting for an answer. It's dark and wide rather than happy or sad. Try letting it ring and then playing a fretted chord after it; you'll hear the tension release.

How Chord and Scale Shapes Shift

This is the good news: every shape you know stays the same. Your fingers do exactly what they did before. Only the names of the notes change, all moving down by a major third.

For example, the familiar open E major shape on strings 6 to 1 now produces C major, because string 6 is C. A power chord using open string 7 with your fingers on the 2nd fret of strings 6 and 5 gives you G5, built from G and D.

Scale patterns work the same way. Any box shape you've learned keeps its fingering; just remember the starting note is four half steps lower than you're used to. If you play along with recordings in normal tuning, move your shape four frets higher to match them.

A First Thing to Try

Tune up, then spend five minutes on just string 7. Palm-mute the open G in a steady rhythm, eight chugs at a time, and on every eighth beat slide up to the 3rd fret and back. Keep it slow and even, and listen for the low end staying clean rather than muddy. Once that feels solid, add the 2nd fret of strings 6 and 5 to turn those chugs into G5 power chords. Within a session you'll hear why so many players fall for this tuning.

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