

Here is a fretboard diagram representing the location of every note that belongs to the Eb Major scale: Eb Natural Minor Scale In the key of Eb Major, we have the following set of notes: It can be described by its formula: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. The Major scale is undoubtedly one of the most important scales in music, and it is the foundation of many more theoretical concepts. Here are the diagrams of some of the most commonly used scales in music, in the key of Eb, since it is a key that many guitarists choose to use with this tuning. In any case, it is still important to understand where the notes are really located on the fretboard. Once again, you’re in luck – every scale that you have learned in the past in standard tuning is also transferrable to Eb tuning. Here are some open chords you can play using Eb tuning: The resonance obtained by using open strings gives you a full-bodied sound that you should take advantage of. Open chords can be of any quality (major, minor, etc), but they must use the open strings of the guitar. The diagrams below represent some of the possibilities you have to play them in Eb tuning: Open Chords in Eb Tuning Dominant seven chords have a root, a major third, a perfect fifth and a minor seventh. Seventh chords have 4 notes instead of 3. The only difference from major chords is the third, which is a semitone lower.Ĭheck a few examples of minor chords you can play in Eb tuning: Dominant Seventh Chords in Eb Tuning Minor chords have a root note, a minor third and a perfect fifth. The diagrams shown below are a few examples of chord voicings that you can use in Eb tuning. Major chords contain a root note, a major third and a perfect fifth. Here are a few examples of chords of different qualities for you to check: Major Chords in Eb Tuning However, if you’re playing with someone like a pianist, this kind of approach wouldn’t work, which is why you should get used to naming chords properly when tuned a half step below standard. It could be that you’re playing with a guitarist and a bassist that are also tuned down, and something like maintaining the same names for the sake of being practical could pass, albeit slightly incorrect. The only thing that changes is the name of the chord, and it is still useful to know where everything is for communication purposes with other musicians. Since every string goes down in pitch by the same amount, the fingerings are the same. Playing chords in Eb tuning couldn’t be simpler – you probably already know a bunch of different chord voicings for most types of chords. If your guitar has a tremolo system, like Stratocasters or Jazzmasters usually do, you really ought to have it set up for the new set of strings, otherwise you will most likely have intonation problems due to the changes in string tension. Because of this, you might want to try a slightly heavier string gauge to compensate. If you are considering giving the Eb tuning a shot, you should know that it has an effect on your string tension. Here is a visual representation of the two tunings we’ve seen so far: If you were playing in E before, you will be playing in Eb instead, taking advantage of the lower bass note you get from this tuning. If you play it on the exact same frets, it will sound a half step below what you were hearing before.
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This means that everything that you knew how to play before can still be applied using this tuning. Standard tuning has the following notes (from lowest to highest string):Įb tuning on the other hand, has the following set of strings:Īs you can see, it is as simple as lowering each string by a semitone in pitch. Let’s compare both tunings further to see the differences more clearly. To get to Eb tuning from standard, you must lower the pitch of every string by a semitone.
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Lastly, one of the best advantages of playing guitar in this tuning is that bending is much easier to accomplish, you need to apply much less force in general to play the instrument, and that can be a big plus depending on what you play. A lot of factors come into play, such as the change in string tension, harmonics and how the guitar resonates with different frequencies.

In fact, many people argue that some guitars such as Stratocasters tend to sound much better when they’re tuned a half step down. There are many bands and guitarists that have played using Eb tuning throughout most or all of their careers, such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Slash, Jimi Hendrix, Alice in Chains, and many more. You have access to a low Eb instead of the usual low E present in standard tuning. It is the same as if you took any guitar riff you know and played it one fret lower. The Eb tuning is quite simple to comprehend. Additional Song Examples Featuring Eb Tuning.Jimi Hendrix – Voodoo Chile (Slight Return).Popular Songs that use Eb Tuning and Tabs.
