Explore alternate tunings

A guide to alternate tunings and partial capos, with song examples and playlists

Alternate tunings open up all sorts of new territory on guitar—and partial capos, which hold down some strings and leave others open, offer a way to explore similar sounds without even retuning.

Here’s a guide to common tunings (including lowered versions of standard tuning) and partial capo setups, with song examples and Spotify playlists. I’ve also included lists of my own songs and arrangements released on albums, singles, and videos, with links to where you can hear the songs.

  • See Beyond Strumming for intro lessons on several tunings (dropped D, G6, dropped C) as well as using a five-string partial capo.

  • The Guitar Sessions series includes video lessons on open D, open G, DADGAD, partial capos, and more.

  • The Homespun video How to Learn Songs from Recordings includes an extended section on learning to identify alternate tunings by ear.

Songs with alternate tunings

Songs in dropped D (D A D G B E)

Dropped D is the first stop on the journey into alternate tunings, heard in all styles of guitar music. I use it extensively in both original songs and arrangements, and in many keys aside from D.

  • Teach Your Children / Graham Nash

  • Country Road / James Taylor

  • Fishin’ Blues / Taj Mahal

  • Embryonic Journey / Jorma Kaukonen

  • Wondering Where the Lions Are / Bruce Cockburn

  • Daughters / John Mayer

  • Harvest Moon / Neil Young

  • The Entertainer / Chet Atkins

  • Dear Prudence / Beatles

  • Living in the Country / Pete Seeger

  • Black Waterside / Bert Jansch

  • Never Going Back Again / Fleetwood Mac (capo 4)

  • Everlong / Foo Fighters

  • Something in the Way / Nirvana (lowered a half step, to C# G# C# F# B D#)

JPR originals

JPR arrangements

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Songs in double dropped D (D A D G B D)

Lower the first and sixth strings to D for an even bigger D drone sound. Double dropped D, aka D modal, is a favorite tuning of Neil Young.

  • Going to California / Led Zeppelin

  • Black Water / Doobie Brothers

  • Cinnamon Girl / Neil Young

  • Ohio / Neil Young

  • One of These Days / Neil Young

  • Ballad of Hollis Brown / Bob Dylan (capo 1)

  • The End / The Doors

  • The Chain / Fleetwood Mac (capo 2)

  • Bryter Layter / Nick Drake (capo 3)

  • Free Man in Paris / Joni Mitchell

  • Andrew York / Sunburst

  • Running Blind / Michael Hedges

  • Satellite / Elliott Smith

  • Bluebird / Buffalo Springfield

  • Black Queen / Stephen Stills (lowered one whole step to C G C F A C)

  • Let the Bad Air Out / Bruce Cockburn

  • Song for George / Eric Johnson

JPR arrangements

Songs in DADGAD

DADGAD is a staple of Celtic guitar but also heard in other styles, often with a bluesy flavor. It gives you lots of opportunities to play octaves, since three strings are tuned to D and two are tuned to A.

See this video lesson introducing DADGAD.

  • Black Mountain Side / Led Zeppelin

  • Kashmir / Led Zeppelin

  • Ragamuffin / Michael Hedges

  • Santa Monica / Pierre Bensusan

  • Strong Chemistry / David Wilcox

  • Travis / Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Mike Marshall (capo 5)

  • Mirage / Alex de Grassi

  • Blind Mary / Larry Campbell

  • Tango / Patty Larkin (capo 2)

JPR originals and arrangements

*All of these arrangements can also be played with an Esus partial capo setup in standard tuning.

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Songs in open D (D A D F# A D)

Open D gives you a D major chord on the open strings and, naturally enough, lends itself to playing in D major. It’s also one of the most common slide guitar tunings, along with open G.

For an introduction to open D, see this video lesson teaching basic shapes and how to play Mumford and Sons’ “The Cave.”

This list also includes songs in open E (E B E G# B E), which has the same intervals as open D one step higher. You can match open E by tuning to open D and adding a capo at the second fret.

  • The Cave / Mumford and Sons (capo 2)

  • Prayer in Open D / Emmylou Harris

  • Guitar Peace / Billy Strings

  • Little Martha / Allman Brothers (open E)

  • Big Yellow Taxi / Joni Mitchell (open E)

  • Both Sides Now / Joni Mitchell (open E)

  • Alive in the World / Jackson Browne

  • Paris, Texas / Ry Cooder

  • Center Stage / Indigo Girls

  • Bella Donna / Peppino D’Agostino

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Songs in open G (D G D G B D)

Open G gives you a G major chord on the open strings, with the fifth (D) on the bottom rather than the root. See this video lesson introducing the tuning and teaching how to play “Wild Horses.”

  • The Circle Game / Joni Mitchell (capo 4)

  • Wild Horses / Rolling Stones (Keith Richards part, with sixth string removed)

  • Water Song / Jorma Kaukonen

  • A Pirate Looks at Forty / Jimmy Buffett

  • Arthur McBride / Paul Brady

  • Steamboat Gwine ’Round de Bend / John Fahey

  • Penny for Your Thoughts / Peter Frampton

  • Daughter / Pearl Jam

  • Vaseline Machine Gun / Leo Kottke (tuned down two whole steps to Bb)

JPR arrangements

Songs in lowered standard tuning

Lowering all the strings by a half step, a whole step, or more creates a dramatically different guitar sound without your needing to adapt your fingerings, since the intervals between open strings are the same as in standard tuning.

In this list, Eb standard means all the strings are tuned down a half step, to Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb. D standard is a half step lower (D G C F A D), and C standard is a whole step further (C F Bb Eb G C).

  • Yesterday / Beatles (D standard)

  • Across the Universe / Beatles (Eb standard)

  • The Boxer / Simon and Garfunkel (Eb standard, Simon guitar part)

  • Fortunate Son / Creedence Clearwater Revival (D standard)

  • Proud Mary / Creedence Clearwater Revival (D standard)

  • Like Fire / Joan Armatrading (D standard)

  • Waiting on an Angel / Ben Harper (D standard)

  • Say Yes / Elliott Smith (D standard)

  • Life According to Rachael / Madison Cunningham (C standard)

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Songs in other tunings

Some additional tunings I’ve used in my original songs and arrangements.

G6 (D G D G B E)

C A D G B E

Dropped C (C G D G B E)

Notably, this is also the tuning Richard Thompson uses for “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” (capo 3).

C G D G B D

E G D G B E

A three-string partial capo (Shubb C7b) holding down an Esus4 chord. The intervals between open strings are the same as in DADGAD, up a whole step.

Partial capos

Partial capos hold down some of the strings and leave others open, and they can give you an alternate-tuning-type sound without your having to actually retune your strings.

Below are some songs that use five-string and three-string partial capos, the most common types.

Songs with five-string capo

The most common use of the five-string capo covers strings 1–5 at the second fret. This is sometimes called a dropped-D capo, because with the sixth string open, you get a sound very similar to dropped D, except a step higher (sounding in E).

You can buy a capo especially made for this use, but you can also try it out with any standard capo that doesn’t wrap around the neck. Just place it slightly off center to leave one string open.

  • Roving Gambler / Harvey Reid and Joyce Anderson (partial capo 2, strings 1–5)

  • Turn Away / JPR (dropped-D tuning; partial capo 2, strings 1–5)

Other JPR arrangements

Songs with three-string capo

The most common uses of the three-string capo are covering strings 3–5 at the second fret (holding down an Esus4 chord shape), and covering strings 2–4 at the second fret (holding down an A chord shape).

  • Jerusalem / Dan Bern (capo 2, strings 2–4)

  • Fly / JPR (capo 2, strings 2–4)

  • Missed the Show / Phil Henry (capo 2, strings 3–5)

  • Cassidy / JPR (capo 2, strings 3–5)

  • What I Never Said / JPR (D standard tuning; capo 2, strings 3–5)

Other JPR arrangements