You’ve been tuning your guitar E-A-D-G-B-E since day one, without ever asking why these notes, in this order. Behind this tuning lies a compromise centuries old, and an exception that explains half your struggles on the neck. Welcome to the Guitar Fretboard Guide series: we start with the foundation of everything, the setting of your six strings.
The essentials in 30 seconds
The standard tuning of the guitar is E, A, D, G, B, E, from the lowest string (the 6th, the thickest) to the highest (the 1st, the thinnest). This order is not arbitrary: most strings are spaced a perfect fourth apart (five half steps), except between the 3rd string (G) and the 2nd string (B) where the interval is a major third (four half steps). This setting is a compromise that makes both chords easy to form with one hand and scales accessible without too much shifting. It’s the default tuning used on almost all sheet music, tabs, and methods.
1. The notes of the six strings, from low to high
Start with the gesture you already know: play your six open strings, one by one, from thickest to thinnest. You just stated standard tuning: E, A, D, G, B, E. Listen to them here, with their name and frequency:
The match with Anglo-Saxon notation
Two E’s two octaves apart
Your two E strings, what we could call the twin strings (an image, not an official term), are exactly two octaves apart: same name, frequency four times higher (one octave doubles the frequency, why each note corresponds to a frequency, you know this from the theory series). Beautiful consequence: they have the same note layout fret by fret. What you learn on one, you get for free on the other.
And the reference point for all of this is the tuning fork: A at 440 Hz. Your open A string sounds exactly two octaves below, at 110 Hz: 110, 220, 440. Everything holds together by octaves.
2. How the strings are numbered
The convention that trips up all beginners: the numbering goes opposite to thickness. String 1 is the thinnest (high E, at the bottom when you play), string 6 the thickest (low E, at the top). This is the convention of all tabs and chord diagrams, and we’ll keep it throughout this series. Remember it once and for all: string 1 = thinnest.
3. Why this tuning and not another
The perfect fourth, the basic interval of tuning
Measure the gap between two adjacent strings, with the tool from the theory series: the perfect fourth and the major third. From E to A: 5 half steps, a perfect fourth. From A to D: a fourth. From D to G: a fourth. From B to E: a fourth. And from G to B… only 4 half steps, a major third. Four fourths, one third: that’s the entire recipe for standard tuning.
A compromise between chords and scales
Why not tune everything in fourths, nice and regular? Because you’d lose your chords: many would become unplayable with one hand, and your high string would no longer be an E but an F, breaking the symmetry of the two E’s. Standard tuning is a deliberate compromise: the fourths keep the hand compact and make scale fingerings regular, the G-B third makes open chords playable and closes the whole thing on exactly two octaves. The guitar chose to serve both worlds, melodies and harmony. (An all-fourths tuning exists, some jazz players use it: different choice, different compromises.)
One last word: standard tuning isn’t the only one. Drop your low E string by one tone and you get drop D, handy for riffs and one-finger power chords. But that’s another subject.
4. The special case of the G and B strings
This major third between G and B, we’ll call it the G-B exception, and it will follow us through the entire series: it’s what explains why certain shapes (octaves, chords, scale patterns) shift by one fret as soon as they cross these two strings. You already encountered it in the theory series; here, it becomes a main character. It’s neither a bug nor an error: it’s the price, very reasonable, of the compromise we just saw.
And the beautiful part: you already know it with your fingers. Proof by the tuning gesture:
On your guitar: three challenges this week
Challenge 1. Recite your six strings in both directions (E A D G B E, then E B G D A E) and in both notations. Goal: without hesitation.
Challenge 2. Play your two open E’s, one after the other, and listen to the two octaves apart. Then play the same fret (say, the 3rd) on both strings: same note, two octaves. The twins in action.
Challenge 3. Do the tuning round by the 5th fret while naming each gap aloud (“fourth… fourth… fourth… THIRD… fourth”). The G-B exception will never escape you again.
Frequently asked questions about standard tuning
What is standard guitar tuning?
Standard tuning is the default pitch setting of the six guitar strings: E, A, D, G, B, E, from lowest to highest. It’s the tuning on which the vast majority of tabs, sheet music, and methods are written. Every guitar sold new is set this way by default. Other tunings, like drop D or open G, are variations used for specific styles or songs.
What are the notes of the strings in E A D G B E?
From the lowest to the highest string, the notes are: E (string 6), A (string 5), D (string 4), G (string 3), B (string 2), and E (string 1). The two outer strings are both E’s, but separated by two octaves: the 6th string is a low E, the 1st a high E. A common mnemonic in English is “Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie” or simply reciting E, A, D, G, B, E from bottom to top.
Which is the lowest string and how are the strings numbered?
The lowest string is the low E string, also called string 6: it’s the thickest, the one at the top when you hold the guitar in playing position. The numbering goes opposite to thickness: string 1 is the thinnest and highest (high E), string 6 the thickest and lowest. This convention is used in all tabs and chord diagrams. Remembering that string 1 is the thinnest avoids the most common beginner confusion.
Why is the guitar tuned E A D G B E?
This tuning is a compromise between ease of playing chords and ease of playing scales. Most strings are tuned a perfect fourth apart, an interval that allows forming chords with one hand without too much stretching. The tighter gap between the G and B strings (a major third) facilitates playing common chords and brings the high notes closer under your fingers. Historically, this setting prevailed because it offers the best balance between hand comfort, harmonic richness, and note coverage across six strings.
Why is the gap between the G and B strings different from the others?
On five of the six strings, the interval between two adjacent strings is a perfect fourth (five half steps). Between the 3rd string (G) and the 2nd string (B), the gap is only a major third (four half steps). This small irregularity is deliberate: it makes open chords and common shapes easier to play, and it allows covering more high notes on the last strings. In return, it’s also what explains why certain shapes shift by one fret when they cross the G and B strings.
Summary
- E A D G B E, from string 6 (thickest) to string 1 (thinnest). Two E’s at the extremes, exactly two octaves apart.
- Four fourths, one third: perfect fourth (5 half steps) between almost all strings, major third (4) between G and B. Total: 24 half steps = 2 octaves.
- A compromise, not a coincidence: fourths serve scales, the third serves chords and closes on two E’s.
- The G-B exception shifts shapes that cross it by one fret, even in the tuning gesture (4th fret of G, not the 5th).
- The reference point for everything: the A440 tuning fork, two octaves above your A string (110 Hz).
You now know your instrument’s setting and its logic. Natural next step: getting it in tune, with the right method.
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Open the tunerNext in the series
You know what your six strings should sound like. Now get them there: with a tuner, by ear, with harmonics, the right method and pitfalls to avoid.
Lesson 2: How to Tune a Guitar → Back to the fretboard guide · For the theory behind all this: the music theory series