Octave mandolin in unison. Alternate tunings exist in which the strings in some courses are tuned to octaves, rather than unisons, but this is more typical of the Irish Bouzouki. Usually, courses of 2 adjacent strings are doubled (tuned to the same pitch). The standard octave mandolin tuning is G2 G2 • D3 D3 • A3 A3 • E4 E4, so the lowest open strings are tuned to the lowest 'G' on the guitar, and the highest strings are tuned to the same 'E' as the highest string of the guitar. This tuning is one octave below the mandolin (or a fourth
Guitar tunings tuning and typically lowers the pitch ("drops") of only a single string, more common is the whole instrument and least common is two dropped strings (ie. DADGAD). This is almost always the lowest pitched (E) string on the guitar, although occasionally the A string may be lowered. The Drop D tuning, for example, is common in classical guitar and heavy metal music. For it, the low E string is tuned down one whole step, to a low D, and the rest of the guitar remains in standard tuning. This creates an 'open power chord' (three-note fifth) with the low three