Why E a D G B E?

Get the when and why of your guitar's typical tuning. Ever wonder why the “standard” tuning of a guitar is EADGBE? ... The aim was to create a tuning that would ease the transition between fingering simple chords and playing common scales, minimizing fret-hand movement.

Why is the B string different?

Explained in short, the reason why the B string always sounds out of tune is that we use the 12-tone Equal Temperament tuning system to tune the instrument, which is not 100% accurate in comparison to the way sounds occur in nature.

Why is guitar tuned that way?

So why do we continue to use this tuning for the guitar? The answer is that standard tuning strikes a balance between playing scales and playing chords. For playing scales and melodies, a neat, repetitive system of 'all-fourth's or 'all-fifths' helps. It makes visualizing and playing them easy.