GuitarTuner.online

6-String Guitar tuner – Drop A

A-E-A-D-F#-B · Drop

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Microphone off
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Press “Start tuner” – the browser will ask for microphone access. Sound is analysed on this device and never uploaded.

This free online tuner listens through your microphone and shows how close each string of your 6-String Guitar is to Drop A tuning (A-E-A-D-F#-B). Play a string, watch the needle, and turn the peg until the meter glows green. If you prefer tuning by ear, tap any string card to hear its reference tone.

About Drop A tuning

Compared with Standard E, Drop A moves 6 strings. Every change is downward, the largest by 7 semitones, so the instrument sits at lower tension than in Standard E.

How Drop A differs from Standard E, string by string.
StringStandard EDrop AChange
1E2A1down 7 semitones
2A2E2down 5 semitones
3D3A2down 5 semitones
4G3D3down 5 semitones
5B3F#3down 5 semitones
6E4B3down 5 semitones

Played open, the strings sound A-E-A-D-F#-B – from A1 at the bottom to B3 at the top, a span of 2 octaves and 2 semitones. Step by step across the neck the intervals are a fifth, a fourth, a fourth, a major third, a fourth, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.

Drop A on a six-string is an extreme: the low string sits an octave plus a step below its standard pitch. It is used almost exclusively for riffing – chords above the fifth fret lose definition, and the point is the weight of the bottom string rather than harmony.

This needs a purpose-built setup. A baritone scale, a very heavy bottom string and often a truss-rod adjustment are the difference between a tuning and a rattle. Players who want this register more often reach for a seven-string, where A is a normal string rather than a stretched one.

This is a long drop: 7 semitones below Standard E. Standard gauges will flap at this pitch. A heavy set, and often a longer scale, is what makes the tuning playable rather than merely possible.

History

Where the Drop A tuning comes from

Drop A takes a six-string down to the low A that George Van Eps put on his seven-string around 1940 – but in drop form it belongs to the 2000s and 2010s, to deathcore and extreme metal. It is really a baritone tuning, and most players who use it play longer-scale guitars built for it.

History of the instrument: 6-String Guitar →

Other 6-String Guitar tunings

Standard

Standard E E-A-D-G-B-EHalf Step Down (Eb) D#-G#-C#-F#-A#-D#Whole Step Down (D) D-G-C-F-A-DB Standard B-E-A-D-F#-BPlus 1 (F) F-A#-D#-G#-C-FPlus 2 (F#) F#-B-E-A-C#-F#

Drop

Drop D D-A-D-G-B-EDouble Drop D D-A-D-G-B-DDrop C# C#-G#-C#-F#-A#-D#Drop C C-G-C-F-A-DDrop B B-F#-B-E-G#-C#Drop A A-E-A-D-F#-BDrop G# G#-D#-G#-C#-F-A#Drop G G-D-G-C-E-ADrop F# F#-C#-F#-B-D#-G#Drop E E-B-E-A-C#-F#

Open

Open C C-G-C-G-C-EOpen D D-A-D-F#-A-DOpen Dm D-A-D-F-A-DOpen E E-B-E-G#-B-EOpen Em E-B-E-G-B-EOpen F C-F-C-F-A-FOpen G D-G-D-G-B-DOpen Gm D-G-D-G-A#-DOpen A E-A-C#-E-A-EOpen A 2 E-A-E-A-C#-EOpen Am E-A-E-A-C-EOpen B B-F#-B-F#-B-D#CGDGBD (Open G Low C) C-G-D-G-B-DFACGCE (Fmaj7) F-A-C-G-C-EWahine (G) D-G-D-F#-B-D

Modal

DADGAD (D Modal) D-A-D-G-A-DG Modal D-G-D-G-C-DOrkney C-G-D-G-C-D

Alternative

Double Daddy D-A-D-D-A-DAll Fourths E-A-D-G-C-FNew Standard (NST) C-G-D-A-E-GNashville (High Strung) E-A-D-G-B-EEADF#BE E-A-D-F#-B-EOstrich D-D-D-D-D-D

Chords for this tuning

CGDAEFAll 6-String Guitar chords →
How do I tune my 6-String Guitar to Drop A?

Allow microphone access, pluck a string, and the tuner will detect it automatically. The needle shows whether the string is flat or sharp – adjust until the reading is within ±5 cents (A-E-A-D-F#-B).

Which notes are used in Drop A tuning?

Drop A tuning for 6-String Guitar uses the notes A-E-A-D-F#-B, listed from the lowest string to the highest.

Can I tune without a microphone?

Yes. Every string card plays a reference tone – tap it and match your string to the sound by ear.