C standard takes every string on your guitar down two whole steps, so E A D G B E becomes C F A# D# G C. Wikipedia says hard rock and metal players use it “to achieve a heavier and deeper sound”, and Arch Enemy’s Michael Amott explained in a 2017 Loudwire interview why it’s enough for his band: “C standard tuning is I think heavy enough to be heavy, but it gives a little bit more clarity in the riffs.” You’ll find it in stoner rock, doom, death metal and hard rock, and this list has all four.
The hard part is the strings. Tune a normal set down this far and the strings get loose and it is strange to play: Stringjoy says the low string of a 10 to 46 set is “going to feel like a wet noodle.” A heavier set fixes most of that, and I give the gauges below. Also read the tuning line of any tab before you start, because some of the most popular tabs for these songs are E standard versions that sound two whole steps higher than the record, and others mix C standard up with drop C.
That’s what this list is for. Every song has a video, the main riff explained and a tab, and I checked each tuning against a Songsterr tab and an Ultimate Guitar tab, plus a band interview or Wikipedia where one covers it. The best known bands come first (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Arch Enemy and In Flames), then the stoner and doom bands, then death metal and the rest. Queens of the Stone Age get four songs, so I spread them out, and no band comes up twice in a row.
Want a guided path from your first chords to your first solo? My book, From First Chord to First Solo, adds a chord or two in each chapter, each with a real song to play, all the way to your first solo.
How To Tune To C Standard
| String | Standard | C standard |
|---|---|---|
| 6 (low) | E | C |
| 5 | A | F |
| 4 | D | A# (Bb) |
| 3 | G | D# (Eb) |
| 2 | B | G |
| 1 | E | C |
Every string drops four half steps, so tune each one to the note in the right column, low string first. Don’t confuse it with C# tuning, which Wikipedia notes is only one and a half steps down.
Looser strings are the catch. Wikipedia points out that slack strings make bending easier, which some players like, while others go heavier to avoid accidental bends and keep chords in tune. Ernie Ball’s gauge guide recommends its Not Even Slinky set, 12 to 56, for C standard on both Fender scale and Gibson scale guitars, or the Beefy Slinky, 11 to 54, on a Fender scale guitar if you want a looser feel. D’Addario says its EXL148 Extra Heavy set, .012 to .060, is optimized for C tuning (the same page lists it for drop C as well). You don’t have to go that heavy, though: Premier Guitar’s 2021 Rig Rundown found The Sword’s Kyle Shutt playing C standard on Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottom strings, .010 to .052.
A new gauge can mean a little setup work. D’Addario’s guide to drop C, which uses the same low C string, warns that lower tunings reduce string tension, which “can lead to fret buzz or instability if your setup isn’t dialed in.” Its advice is to “increase neck relief slightly”, raise the action at the bridge if buzz stays on certain frets, and make sure the nut slots take the thicker strings without binding. Wikipedia also mentions a baritone guitar, built a bit longer and stronger so heavy strings reach low notes at normal tension.
C standard is not drop C. Drop C, C G C F A D, tunes five strings like D standard and drops only the low one to C. In C standard all six strings go down the same two whole steps, so every string keeps the same gap to its neighbor as in standard tuning and the shapes you know still work. For the step in between, try 40 Songs In D Standard Tuning (DGCFAD), Tabbed.
Plenty of bands record this way. Josh Homme told guitar.com in 2024 that No One Knows is tuned in C standard and that “Queens, still, is detuned much of the time.” Michael Amott told Loudwire that Arch Enemy use C standard “for like 99% of the time”, Matt Pike gave Premier Guitar his High on Fire tuning as C F A# D# G C on a nine string guitar, and the same magazine’s Rig Rundown found both guitarists in The Sword in C standard on stage. Wikipedia says Six Feet Under have used it since Maximum Violence (1999) “except for select occasions.”
Two famous heavy bands are missing on purpose. Wikipedia says Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath experimented with C# tuning and settled on E flat, and Songsterr’s main tabs of Master of Reality songs like Into the Void are in C# standard. Mastodon’s main Songsterr tabs are in D standard or drop C.
In the riff notes below I call each string by its new note: low C, F, A#, D#, G and high C. So “the F string” means the 5th string.
No One Knows – Queens of the Stone Age
No One Knows is from Songs for the Deaf (2002). It was the band’s first single on the Billboard Hot 100 and their only one to top the US Alternative chart, and it was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 2003 Grammys. Homme named this exact song when he talked to guitar.com about tuning down: “[On] No One Knows, you’re hearing a song that’s tuned in C standard.”
The intro hits a chord shape on the F, A# and G strings at the 7th, 9th and 8th frets, with the D# string muted, and answers it with a slide down the low C string from the 12th fret to open. The verse keeps that shape and drops single open low C notes between the hits. Go slowly until the muted string stays quiet.
Gardenia – Kyuss
Drummer Brant Bjork wrote Gardenia, and Kyuss recorded it in 1993 at Sound City in Van Nuys for Welcome to Sky Valley (1994); it came out as the album’s second single in 1995. Wikipedia’s Kyuss page says Josh Homme “used C tuning and played his guitar through a bass cabinet,” and Songsterr has both of his guitar parts in C standard. The video is an official live performance, since I couldn’t find the studio version on an official channel.
The opening riff pairs the open low C with the 17th fret of the F string, hammering on to the 19th and bending it in rhythm. The next part slides two string power chords on the low strings from the 7th fret to the 8th, then up to the 10th.
As the Pages Burn – Arch Enemy
This is the band behind the Michael Amott quotes above. As the Pages Burn was the second single from War Eternal (2014), the first Arch Enemy album with Alissa White-Gluz on vocals. Songsterr also carries a drop C version, but its main tab has all four guitars in C standard, and so does the Ultimate Guitar tab.
The intro alternates a two string power chord, 7th fret on the F string and 9th on the A#, with repeated 10th fret notes on the F string. Then the same shape moves down to the 6th and 8th frets. Keep the repeated notes even and the rest falls into place.
Embody the Invisible – In Flames
Embody the Invisible opens Colony (1999), and it turned up on the soundtrack of the 2003 game Tony Hawk’s Underground. Wikipedia says In Flames tuned exclusively to C standard up to Whoracle, and the only Colony songs it names as going lower are Ordinary Story and the title track, in drop A#. Songsterr has all four guitars on this one in C standard.
Riff A is a harmonized melody: two guitars play single notes across the G, D# and A# strings while a third plays power chords from the open low C. The tab’s frets run 8-7, 7-9-7, 10-9, then 7-9-10-9-7-9. Learn that top line on its own first, then add the power chords once it flows.
Embody the Invisible Guitar Tabs
Go with the Flow – Queens of the Stone Age
Go with the Flow, the second Songs for the Deaf track here, came out as a single on April 7, 2003 and reached No. 7 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart. It earned the band another Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance, and its video won Best Special Effects at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. The Ultimate Guitar tab gives C F A# D# G C in its text, and Songsterr has all three guitar tracks in C standard.
According to the tab, the rhythm guitar plays one riff for the whole song: steady eighth note power chords rooted at the 4th fret of the low C, then at the 7th and 4th frets of the F string. The tab also says the lead part looks harder than it is, so try it once the rhythm feels easy.
Demon Cleaner – Kyuss
Demon Cleaner reached No. 78 on the UK singles chart and No. 13 on the UK Rock chart, and Tool have covered it live. It’s another Welcome to Sky Valley song, so the same Wikipedia line about Homme’s C tuning applies, and Songsterr’s main tab has both of his guitar parts in C standard.
The verse riff is a single note line on the F and A# strings around the 5th and 7th frets, with a hammer on from 5 to 7. Before that, the intro plays a 10th fret note on the low C and then a lick on the D# string between the 10th and 15th frets.
Burning Angel – Arch Enemy
Burning Angel is from Wages of Sin (2001), Arch Enemy’s first album with Angela Gossow, and Wikipedia says it was also their first recorded in C tuning, “starting a trend which continues across their discography.” Amott told APESHIT in 2008, “overall we tune to C, standard tuning,” though he added that a few songs on Wages of Sin went lower. Burning Angel isn’t one he named, and Songsterr has every guitar part in C standard.
The intro is steady eighth note power chords on two strings, the same 7th fret F and 9th fret A# shape as As the Pages Burn. Then the shape changes to the 7th and 10th frets. The tab marks it at 155 bpm.
Trigger – In Flames
Trigger is from Reroute to Remain (2002) and came out again on its own EP on June 10, 2003; it’s also on the Freddy vs. Jason soundtrack. Wikipedia says the band used drop A# on that album, with some songs in C standard, but it doesn’t say which. Both tabs I checked, on Songsterr and Ultimate Guitar, put Trigger in C standard.
Bursts of palm muted open low C notes are answered by two string power chords on the F and A# strings, first at the 3rd and 5th frets, then open and 2nd. A second guitar plays a lead line on the G string built on 7h8p7, a hammer on to the 8th fret and a pull off back to the 7th.
Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop – Kyuss
Welcome to Sky Valley first came out on CD with its ten songs grouped into three tracks, and it was the last Kyuss album with founding drummer Brant Bjork, the man who wrote Gardenia. This is the third song here from it. Songsterr shows both of Homme’s guitars in C standard, and the Ultimate Guitar tab is tuned the same.
The intro and verse are single picked notes, each followed by a short burst of muted strokes. The notes go open F string, then the 12th fret of the F string, then the 10th and 12th frets of the A# string. Let your fretting hand rest lightly on the strings for the muted picks.
Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop Guitar Tabs
Space Lord – Monster Magnet
Space Lord, from Powertrip (1998), peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and No. 29 on Alternative Songs, and Wikipedia notes it is in the key of C minor. The Ultimate Guitar tab I linked says “Down 2 steps”, though its list of notes has a typo, an E where it should be D#. Songsterr’s main version is in C standard too.
According to the tab, you play acoustic guitar alone for about two minutes before an electric comes in and doubles the same riffs. The main riff moves between a power chord on the open low C (open C plus the 2nd fret on the F and A# strings) and shapes that use open strings. The chorus hammers that same 0-2-2 shape.
If you want songs a little higher, half a step up, check out my other post 40 Drop C# (C Sharp) Songs And Riffs, Tabbed
Aquarian – Sleep
Aquarian is from Sleep’s Holy Mountain (1992). The album began as a demo the band sent to Earache Records, which signed them and released the recordings exactly as they came in. I found no interview where Sleep name the tuning, but Songsterr has both guitars in C standard and the Ultimate Guitar tab is set to C.
Riff 1 rocks between the 7th and 5th frets on the A# string and the open F string. The main riff is a chord made of the open F string with the 2nd fret on the A# and D# strings, moved up to a shape at the 5th and 7th frets with a bend.
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret – Queens of the Stone Age
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret was the only single from Rated R (2000) to chart, reaching No. 21 on Mainstream Rock, No. 36 on Modern Rock and No. 31 in the UK. In 2021 Kerrang ranked it first on its list of the 20 greatest Queens of the Stone Age songs. The most popular Ultimate Guitar tab is an E standard version, so I linked the one that says “All guitars tuned down two whole steps to C.”
The intro and verse are one bar each of power chords: the open low C under a shape at the 7th fret, then shapes rooted at the 7th, 6th and 5th frets of the low C string. Each pass ends with a short bend fill on the A# string.
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret Guitar Tabs
Snakes for the Divine – High on Fire
Snakes for the Divine is the title track of High on Fire’s 2010 album, recorded at The Pass Studios in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman. Matt Pike told Premier Guitar that year that he tunes C F A# D# G C on a nine string guitar with the top three strings doubled, so the six notes are plain C standard, and the one exception he named was Bastard Samurai, with the low string down to A#. The video is an official live performance, because I couldn’t find the studio version on an official channel.
The intro is a fast pull off pattern on the two highest strings, from the 7th and 5th frets down to open. The verse chugs on the open low C, broken up by a two note shape slid down from the 12th and 14th frets.
Snakes for the Divine Guitar Tabs
Arrows in the Dark – The Sword
Arrows in the Dark is from Warp Riders (2010), which reached No. 42 on the Billboard 200, the band’s best chart placing at the time. Premier Guitar’s 2021 Rig Rundown found both of The Sword’s guitarists in C standard on stage, and Songsterr has all of this song’s guitar parts in C standard.
The intro is a harmonized melody on the top strings. Riff 2 is a gallop on the open low C, answered by three string power chords moving through the 7th, 5th, 8th, 7th, 10th and 8th frets. One warning: the Ultimate Guitar tab labels its strings with the normal E standard letters, even though its tuning line says C standard.
Arrows in the Dark Guitar Tabs
The Clarity – Sleep
The Clarity came out free on July 21, 2014, through Adult Swim’s singles series, and it was Sleep’s first newly recorded music in 15 years. NPR’s Lars Gotrich called it the band’s cleanest sounding recording. Songsterr credits both guitar parts to Matt Pike, the High on Fire guitarist from a few songs back, and has them in C standard.
The verse riff is one power chord on the F and A# strings at the 7th and 9th frets. Slide into it from below, hold it with vibrato, and drop to the 5th and 7th frets at the end of each line.
Rumors of War – High on Fire
Rumors of War is from Death Is This Communion (2007), which Total Guitar put fourth in its 50 Best Guitar Albums of the Year and Revolver named the third best album of the year. Premier Guitar’s 2014 rig feature lists Pike’s nine string in what it calls “man tuning”: C F A# D# D# G G C C, which is C standard with the top three strings doubled.
A two note shape on the two lowest strings slides up to the 12th and 14th frets. Then comes a fast run of two note hits, the open low C together with the 14th fret of the F string.
Venus Blue – Acid Bath
Venus Blue is from Paegan Terrorism Tactics (1996), the album with a painting by Dr. Jack Kevorkian on the cover. The Ultimate Guitar tab says “The entire song is tuned to C Standard,” and Songsterr’s main version agrees.
It opens with a clean single note figure on the D#, A# and F strings. When the distortion comes in, that figure turns into a three string power chord, 3-5-5 on the F, A# and D# strings, slid up two frets and held.
Lament for the Aurochs – The Sword
Lament for the Aurochs is from Age of Winters (2006). AllMusic’s Eduardo Rivadavia gave the album 4.5 out of 5 and called “its megalithic guitar work” its main attraction. The same Rig Rundown applies here, and Songsterr has all four guitar parts in C standard.
The intro is a palm muted three note pattern falling across the two lowest strings, 12-10-9 on the F string and then 12-11-9 on the low C, repeated lower at the 7th and 10th frets while a second guitar harmonizes. Be warned that the tabber says the first solo is missing and the intro is “inaccurate at best”, so check it against the recording.
Lament for the Aurochs Guitar Tabs
Angel of Betrayal – Spiritual Beggars
Arch Enemy guitarist Michael Amott formed Spiritual Beggars in 1993, and Wikipedia says Ad Astra (2000), the album with Angel of Betrayal, “enjoyed strong sales across Europe and in Japan.” Amott’s tuning quotes are about Arch Enemy, but the tabs agree here too. The Ultimate Guitar tab and all three of Songsterr’s guitar tracks are in C standard.
The main riff hits a power chord on the open low C (0-2-2) twice, adds muted strums, then moves to a shape at the 5th and 7th frets before coming back. The chorus uses three string power chords, 3-5-5 and 5-7-7.
New Orleans Is the New Vietnam – Eyehategod
Eyehategod first played New Orleans Is the New Vietnam live at Roskilde Festival in Denmark on July 1, 2011, and it came out as a single in 2012. Songsterr has two versions, both in C standard. The Ultimate Guitar tab I linked has no votes yet, so use the Songsterr tab as your check.
Riff A is a sludgy line on the low C at the 3rd and 5th frets, with 3h5 hammer ons and a 3rd fret note on the F string. Then a two string power chord slides from the 3rd and 5th frets up to the 5th and 7th and gets chugged.
New Orleans Is the New Vietnam Guitar Tabs
If you want to go lower still, check out my other post 50 Drop B Songs And Riffs, All Tabbed
Sick, Sick, Sick – Queens of the Stone Age
Sick, Sick, Sick is the last Queens of the Stone Age song here, from Era Vulgaris (2007). Released as a single on May 8, 2007, it reached No. 23 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart and No. 40 on Mainstream Rock. Two Ultimate Guitar tabs, with 20 and 30 votes, both say C standard, and so does Songsterr.
The main riff is a steady two note chug, the 17th fret of the F string over the open low C. Later sections add a hammer on from the 19th to the 21st fret and a slide on the F string. It’s simple, and it never lets up.
Fury Whip – High on Fire
Fury Whip opens Death Is This Communion, the first High on Fire album with bassist Jeff Matz. Pike said the album’s lyrics drew on David Icke, H. P. Lovecraft and the Bible. The tab says it plainly: “This song is in C standard.”
Riff 1 swaps between power chord stabs and palm muted open low C notes. Each stab is the open low C with the 7th fret of the F string and the 9th of the A#, held with vibrato. The tabber notes that most of the single open low C notes are palm muted.
Bleed Me an Ocean – Acid Bath
Paegan Terrorism Tactics was Acid Bath’s second and final studio album, and the band split in 1997 after bassist Audie Pitre died. Bleed Me an Ocean is from it too. Its Ultimate Guitar tab, with 27 votes, says C standard, and both Songsterr versions agree.
The intro and first verse swap between power chords on the F and A# strings (2nd and 4th frets, then 5th and 7th), open low C notes and three string shapes at 3-5-5 and 6-8-8. In the chorus a 2-4-4 shape rings over palm muted low C notes.
Hollowman – Entombed
Hollowman is on Wolverine Blues (1993) and on the Hollowman EP from the same year. Guitar World called Wolverine Blues “1994’s best death metal effort and quite possibly the finest death metal album of this decade.” The only Ultimate Guitar tab has no votes yet, but it lists both Uffe’s and Alex’s guitars in C standard, and Songsterr agrees.
Two open low C hits, palm muted, lead into three string power chords at the 3rd and 5th frets of the low C, then the open and 2nd fret shapes. Each phrase ends on shapes at the 3rd and 6th frets, and the tab marks it at 130 bpm.
Go into the Water – Dethklok
Go into the Water is from The Dethalbum (2007), which debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard 200 with 33,740 copies in its first week, at the time the highest charting death metal album in the chart’s history. The tab I linked has no votes yet but gives the tuning, key and tempo. The most voted Ultimate Guitar tab, with 30 votes, has the same C F A# D# G C tuning.
The intro holds a power chord on the open low C (0-2-2) against repeated low C hits, then moves through shapes at 3-2-0, 4-2-2 and 3-2-2. The tab gives the key as C minor and the tempo as 120 bpm.
Override of the Overture – Dismember
Override of the Overture is from Like an Ever Flowing Stream (1991), which went into Decibel’s Hall of Fame in 2010. Entombed drummer Nicke Andersson played all the album’s lead guitars except the solo on this song, which is David Blomqvist’s. Songsterr’s main version is in C standard, and the Ultimate Guitar tab, with no votes yet, says “Tuning: C Standard.”
Riff A1 is a single note line on the A# string between the 7th and 12th frets, starting from the 7th fret of the F string. A second guitar adds power chords underneath.
Override of the Overture Guitar Tabs
What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse – The Black Dahlia Murder
The title comes from the band’s debut demo, which took it from the 1988 video game Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. The song itself is from Nocturnal (2007) and is on the Saints Row 2 soundtrack. The most voted Ultimate Guitar tab (25 votes) says C standard, and so does Songsterr’s main version.
The lead guitar part opens with fast palm muted sixteenth notes on the 1st fret of the low C. Two note hits at the 2nd fret of the low C and the 4th fret of the F string accent them.
What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse Guitar Tabs
Awaken – Dethklok
Awaken is another one from The Dethalbum. Wikipedia explains that the show’s creator, Brendon Small, performs the Metalocalypse music, with other musicians added for live concerts and albums. Songsterr has its four guitar tracks in C standard, and on Ultimate Guitar the song is listed as Awaken Mustakrakish.
It opens with single notes on the F string, 7-7-9-10. The main melodic riff then weaves between the F and A# strings (9-7 on the A#, 10-9-7 on the F) with notes at the 8th and 9th frets of the low C.
Shadow of the Reaper – Six Feet Under
Shadow of the Reaper is from 13 (2005), Six Feet Under’s sixth studio album, on Metal Blade Records. Wikipedia says the band have used C standard since Maximum Violence in 1999, “except for select occasions,” and Songsterr has Steve Swanson’s guitar parts on this one in C standard.
The verse is a groove riff that swaps open low C notes with single notes on the F string: 12, 8, 11, 7, 8, 5, 7. The chorus uses two string shapes at the 12th and 14th frets with a 12p11 pull off, then a 13-12-13-12-10 line on the low C.
Shadow of the Reaper Guitar Tabs
The Gears – Dethklok
Dethalbum II peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 with 45,000 copies sold in its first week, and Bryan Beller plays bass on The Gears. Both Songsterr and the Ultimate Guitar tab have it in C standard.
The opening riff is palm muted chugs on the low C, open and then at the 5th, 3rd and 2nd frets. Each one is answered by a short fill on the F and A# strings.
Conclusion
These 30 songs build the two things C standard asks of you: a picking hand that keeps loose strings quiet, and a feel for where the notes sit two whole steps down. Start with Go with the Flow or Sick, Sick, Sick, where one riff carries most of the song, then work up to the In Flames harmonies and the fast picking in The Black Dahlia Murder.
If two whole steps feel like too much at once, start half a step down with E Flat Tuning (Eb) On Guitar: How To Tune Down and come back when your hands are ready.
Loose strings feel strange at first. Keep playing no matter what. Good luck and keep on rockin’!
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