Fourths tuning spaces every string a perfect fourth apart: E-A-D-G-C-F (low to high). The bottom four strings are identical to standard tuning. The difference is the top two: C and F replace B and E.
This one change removes the major third interval between the G and B strings that breaks every pattern in standard tuning. The result is complete symmetry: any shape you learn works identically on every string pair. Scales, arpeggios, and chord voicings become movable in two dimensions - across frets and across strings.
Standard Tuning - C Major Scale
Notice how the pattern shifts at the G-B string boundary. Every note on the B and high E strings moves up one fret compared to where you would expect it.
Fourths Tuning - C Major Scale
Same scale, same root. Now the pattern is uniform across all six strings. A shape that works on E-A works identically on D-G, G-C, and C-F.
Who Uses Fourths Tuning?
Stanley Jordan pioneered fourths tuning in the 1980s, using it for his two-handed tapping technique. Allan Holdsworth expressed regret at not adopting it earlier, saying the symmetry aligned with how he thought about the fretboard. Today, players like Tom Quayle, Ant Law, and Alex Hutchings use it for jazz, fusion, and modern guitar. Bass players have always been in fourths tuning - guitar is the outlier.
The trade-off is real: open chord shapes from standard tuning no longer work, and most published guitar material assumes standard tuning. But if you value consistency over convention, fourths tuning dramatically reduces what you need to memorize.
Try It Now
Look at the two C major fretboard diagrams above. On the standard tuning diagram, find the G-B string boundary where the pattern shifts. Then look at the fourths tuning diagram and notice how the same pattern continues uniformly across that boundary. This is the core advantage you will build on throughout these courses.