This unique guitar tuning, famously used by City and Colour for their song "The Way It Used To Be," offers a dark and resonant sonic landscape. It departs significantly from standard tuning, creating a distinct melancholic atmosphere. The combination of dropped lower strings and specific intervals across the fretboard facilitates rich, complex voicings and allows for open string drones that can evoke a sense of yearning or introspection. It's not a tuning for simple open chords, but rather one designed for intricate fingerstyle patterns, arpeggios, and specific melodic lines that leverage its unique intervallic structure. Players will find new harmonic possibilities and a characteristic sound well-suited for acoustic singer-songwriter styles.

Technical Analysis

The tuning is D#3 G#3 B2 E3 A#4 D#5 (low to high). Enharmonically, these notes correspond to Eb3 Ab3 B2 Eb3 Bb4 Eb5. Relative to standard EADGBe tuning, most strings are significantly lowered. The 6th (low E), 5th (A), 2nd (B), and 1st (high E) strings are each dropped by one semitone. The 4th (D) and 3rd (G) strings are notably dropped by three semitones (a minor third or 1.5 steps), creating a "drop" effect on the middle strings.

The open string intervals (from low to high) are:

• D#3 to G#3: Perfect Fourth (5 semitones)
• G#3 to B2: Minor Third (3 semitones)
• B2 to E3: Perfect Fourth (5 semitones)
• E3 to A#4: Augmented Fourth / Diminished Fifth (6 semitones)
• A#4 to D#5: Perfect Fourth (5 semitones)

This non-linear interval pattern, particularly the minor third and augmented fourth, ensures that the open strings do not easily resolve into a simple major or minor chord, demanding specific fretting or melodic approaches.

Open Chords & Voicings

While the open strings don't form a conventional consonant chord, the lowest three strings (D# G# B) can be heard as a G# minor triad (G# B D#) with D# in the bass, providing a melancholic foundation. The presence of D# on the 6th, A# on the 2nd, and D# on the 1st string offers a strong D#5 (Eb5) power chord potential across non-adjacent strings. The multiple perfect fourths (D#-G#, B-E, A#-D#) allow for easy transposition of power chords or two-note harmonies across these string pairs. The tuning seems designed to create specific dissonances and suspended qualities, especially with the E on the 3rd string often clashing against D# or G# roots, or offering a major second/major ninth tension. This encourages moving beyond standard chord shapes and exploring unique voicings and arpeggios that highlight its distinctive character.

How to Tune

To achieve this unique tuning, carefully adjust each string from standard EADGBe:

• 6th String (Low E): Tune down 1 semitone to D#3.
• 5th String (A): Tune down 1 semitone to G#3.
• 4th String (D): Tune down 3 semitones to B2.
• 3rd String (G): Tune down 3 semitones to E3.
• 2nd String (B): Tune down 1 semitone to A#4.
• 1st String (High E): Tune down 1 semitones to D#5.

Important Note: While most strings are tuned down by 1 semitone, the 4th and 3rd strings require a more significant drop of 3 semitones. When tuning down by more than 4 semitones or up by more than 4 semitones, it is generally advised to consider using a different string gauge to ensure proper tension and avoid potential string damage or intonation issues. For this specific tuning, the 3-semitone drops are substantial but typically manageable with standard string gauges, though extra care should be taken during adjustment.