A high-strung setup where the bottom four strings (low E, A, D and G) are replaced with light-gauge strings and tuned a full octave higher, while the B and high E stay standard. Chord shapes never change, but the guitar rings with a bright, chiming, 12-string-like shimmer — the sound layered under "Wild Horses" by the Rolling Stones, "Hey You" by Pink Floyd and "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas. Low to high: E A D G B E.
Nashville Tuning (High-Strung) tuning is, from the low (6th) string to the high (1st) string, E A D G B E.
Nashville tuning is a string swap, not a normal re-tune. Replace your four lowest strings — low E, A, D and G — with much lighter gauges; the four thin octave strings from a standard 12-string set are exactly right. Leave the B and high E strings alone — they stay at their normal pitch and gauge. Tune each replacement string to the same note name as standard: E, A, D and G. They now sound a full octave higher than usual. A chromatic or online tuner still reads them as E/A/D/G, so tuning is easy. Low to high the guitar reads E A D G B E, with the bottom four an octave up. Every chord and scale shape stays identical to standard tuning — only the timbre changes, giving that bright, jangly shimmer.
A high-strung setup where the bottom four strings (low E, A, D and G) are replaced with light-gauge strings and tuned a full octave higher, while the B and high E stay standard. Chord shapes never change, but the guitar rings with a bright, chiming, 12-string-like shimmer — the sound layered under "Wild Horses" by the Rolling Stones, "Hey You" by Pink Floyd and "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas.
More tunings: see all 18 tunings · standard tuning chart