The six strings, low to high
From the thickest string (closest to you when you look down) to the thinnest: E, A, D, G, B, E. Only the note names change between strings โ the two E strings are the same note two octaves apart.
The intervals are what matter for playing: E to A and A to D are each a fourth, D to G a fourth, and G to B a third โ the odd one out. That single third is why the shape of a scale shifts between the third and second strings.
Two ways to remember EADGBE
The classic mnemonic is "Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie". Whatever phrase you choose, say it while naming the strings out loud a few times โ the goal is speed, not cleverness.
A faster method for players who already read a little: remember that the note two frets up on the low E is the name of the next string down. Knowing the octave shape saves you from counting from the nut every time.
Check one string against the one below it
Once one string is in tune, every other string can be checked without a reference tone.
- Low E, 5th fret = A โ matches the open A string
- A, 5th fret = D โ matches the open D string
- D, 5th fret = G โ matches the open G string
- G, 4th fret = B โ the exception, not the 5th fret
- B, 5th fret = high E โ matches the open top string
Drop D: one string, a different feel
Drop D lowers the low E by a whole tone to D, leaving the other five strings untouched. The bottom three strings โ D, A, D โ now sound a D power chord when strummed open, which is why heavy music lives in this tuning.
The trade is that every shape involving the low string shifts by two frets. Chords that used a barre reach further, and riffs that were easy need rethinking, so most players keep one guitar in each tuning rather than switching all the time.
New strings need a few days to settle
Freshly fitted strings stretch under tension and drift flat, especially in the first hour. Tune, bend every string a few times, retune, and repeat until it holds.
Tune up to pitch rather than down to it. Approaching from below keeps the string seated against the tuning peg and holds tuning noticeably longer.