Guitoro

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Half step down tuning: Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb

Tune your guitar to Half step down, Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb, with your microphone. Allow the microphone, play one string at a time and turn the peg until the needle sits in the middle. Each string button plays its note from a real guitar recording, so you can also tune by ear.

Half step down tuning notes

Half step down (Eb standard) is standard tuning with every string lowered one semitone. Hendrix, Guns N' Roses, Stevie Ray Vaughan and countless others recorded this way: it eases string tension and sits a little lower for singers.

StringNoteFrequency (A4 = 440 Hz)
6 (thickest)Eb277.78 Hz
5Ab2103.8 Hz
4Db3138.6 Hz
3Gb3185.0 Hz
2Bb3233.1 Hz
1 (thinnest)Eb4311.1 Hz

How to tune to Half step down

Lower every string by one semitone: E to Eb, A to Ab, D to Db, G to Gb, B to Bb and the high E to Eb. Standard chord shapes still work, sounding a half step lower.

  1. Tap Start tuner and allow the microphone when the browser asks.
  2. Play one string and let it ring. Keep the other strings quiet, and keep the guitar close to the microphone.
  3. The string nearest the note you played lights up. The needle to the left means flat (tune up), to the right means sharp (tune down).
  4. Turn the tuning peg slowly until the needle sits in the green middle and the note name turns green.
  5. Do the same for every string, then check the first one again: tuning one string changes the neck tension a little.

Questions

Does the tuner need a microphone?

To hear your guitar, yes. Allow the microphone when the page opens. Listening starts automatically. The sound is analyzed in your browser and never recorded or uploaded. Without a microphone, tap a string button to hear its note and tune by ear.

How accurate is this tuner?

On a clean, ringing note it reads the pitch to within a cent, a hundredth of a semitone. The needle turns green within 3 cents of the note, closer than most ears can tell.

What is Half step down tuning?

Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb, low string to high. Half step down (Eb standard) is standard tuning with every string lowered one semitone. Hendrix, Guns N' Roses, Stevie Ray Vaughan and countless others recorded this way: it eases string tension and sits a little lower for singers.

Should I tune up or down to the note?

Tune up to it. If a string is sharp, lower it below the note and come back up, so the string sits firmly on the tuning peg and holds its pitch.

What does A4 = 440 Hz mean?

440 Hz is the concert pitch most instruments tune to: the A above middle C. Some orchestras use 442 or 443 Hz, and some people prefer 432 Hz. Change the A4 field and every string follows.

Other tunings

Guitar

Bass

Ukulele

Tuned up? Play along with a song

The virtual guitar sets itself up for each song: key, capo, tempo and the strum or picking pattern. Playing your own guitar along? Choose Play my guitar to slow the song down, from 20% to full speed. The easy guitar songs page groups them by how many chords they have.

Guitoro: a free virtual guitar for the browser: steel-string, classic, electric and bass.