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This article is about a tuning for six-string guitar. For the steel guitar tuning, see E9 tuning.
Standard and Nashville guitar tunings.
Standard and Nashville guitar tunings, notated an octave higher than they sound.[1][2]

Nashville tuning (also high-strung) is the practice of replacing the heavy lower strings of a guitar with lighter ones that sound an octave higher.[3][4]

The six strings of a guitar are normally tuned to the notes E2-A2-D3-G3-B3-E4.[1] The lowest four strings, numbers 6–3, are wound. On a high-strung guitar, these strings are replaced with lighter gauge strings, often from the higher string from each course of a twelve-string guitar set.[5]

Because the note names are the same, the chord shapes do not change, making high-strung guitars relatively easy to play for most guitarists. The resulting sound is bright and distinctive.[6] It is common practice for sessions in Nashville to have a rhythm guitarist playing in Nashville tuning.[2]

The practice emerged in the 1950s. Ray Edenton is often mistakenly credited with inventing it after he broke a string. Edenton recalls that he merely adopted the practice from Chet Atkins. The high-strung sound became a signature in Edenton’s prolific session work.[6]

Pink Floyd used Nashville tuning on “Hey You“, as did Kansas on “Dust in the Wind“.[7] David Gilmour slightly modified the practice by using identical high Es for both the 6th and the 1st string of his Ovation Custom Legend.[8] Mick Taylor plays in Nashville tuning on the Rolling Stones‘ “Wild Horses“. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” featured two acoustic guitars overdriven through a cassette recorder. The main riff is played on a guitar in open tuning. The second part is played on a high-strung guitar.[9] James Williamson used Nashville tuning on “Gimme Danger”[10] on Raw Power by the Stooges. Elliott Smith used a variant of Nashville tuning with a twelve-string guitar on XO for the song “Tomorrow Tomorrow.”[11] Andy Fairweather Low used a high-strung guitar on his 1975 UK hit single “Wide Eyed and Legless“, taken from his La Booga Rooga album.[12][13] The Smiths used Nashville tuning on “William, It Was Really Nothing” and “The Headmaster Ritual“.[14][15][16]

Pat Metheny is known for using Nashville tuning on several occasions, notably his song “Phase Dance” from his group’s debut album.[17][14] Metheny also applied a “half-Nashville tuning” to a baritone guitar, where the 3rd and 4th string only are raised an octave.[18] Frank Gambale uses a version of Nashville tuning a fifth lower.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b Adler, Samuel. The Study of Orchestration. W.W. Norton, 1989. 105.
  2. ^ a b Weissman, Dick. Guitar Tunings: A Comprehensive Guide. Taylor & Francis Group, 2006. xiii, 76ff.
  3. ^ Leslie, Jimmy. “High Chimes and Crisp Demeanors.” Guitar Player, vol. 54, no. 1. January 2020. 88.
  4. ^ “High-strung/ Nashville tuning” (PDF). Daddario.com. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  5. ^ McLean, Terri Bocklund. New Harmonies: Choosing Contemporary Music for Worship. Bloomsbury Academic, 1999. 97.
  6. ^ a b Young, Doug. “String ‘Em High!” Acoustic Guitar, vol. 18, no. 3, Sept., 2007, pp. 98-101.
  7. ^ “Kansas’ Kerry Livgren Shares The Story Behind “Dust In The Wind”“. Guitarworld.com. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  8. ^ Guesdon, Jean-Michel and Philippe Margotin. Pink Floyd All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Workman Publishing Company, 2017. 489.
  9. ^ “Jumping Jack Flash”. July 2, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-07-02.
  10. ^ “The Stooges’ James Williamson – Guitar Moves – Episode 1”. YouTube. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  11. ^ ““Heaven Adores You” Elliott Smith Documentary”. Video.billboard.com. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  12. ^ La Booga Rooga (record sleeve). UK: A&M Records. 1975.
  13. ^ William Ruhlmann. “La Booga Rooga – Andy Fairweather Low | Songs, Reviews, Credits”. AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  14. ^ a b “What is Nashville Tuning? – Strings Direct”. Strings Direct –. March 14, 2019.
  15. ^ “The Smiths’ 20 greatest guitar moments, ranked”. August 17, 2021.
  16. ^ Songs That Saved Your Life – the Art of the Smiths 1982–87 (Revised ed.). Titan Books. February 2013. ISBN 978-1-78116-259-0.
  17. ^ “Pat Metheny: Question & Answer”. www.patmetheny.com. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  18. ^ a b Jones, Lee A. (2018). Exploration of Unorthodox Tunings and Muscle Memory Practice for the Electric Guitar (Thesis). University of Salford. p. 12. Retrieved 21 January 2026.