Alternate guitar tunings are both interesting and useful. You can create a whole different sound just by tuning the guitar Differently. Most often alternate tunings are used in folk, bluegrass, traditional blues and slide and sometimes rock guitar
styles.

To achieve an alternate tuning you just tune the guitar differenty, as its name implies. Most often the guitar is tuned to a full chord, usually major. However in more ecletic guitar styles the guitar is often tuned to suspended or 7th chords, most commonly major 7th, to give it a new age kind of sound.

In the modern rock / nu metal context alternate tunings take the form of the lower guitar strings or sometimes the whole guitar being tuned down dramatically. This gives the guitar a low pitched growl when used with distortion.

Here are a few cool alternate tunings to experiment with. I recommend that you use a chromatic tuner to tune up so that all of the pitches are accurate.

Common alternate tunings
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Drop D: d a d g b e

Drop C: c g c f a d

Open D: d a d f# a d

Open G: d g d g b d

Open C: c g c g c e

Open E: e b e g# b e

Open A: e a c# e a e
Some that sound like other instruments
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All Fourths: e a d g c f

Dobro: g b d g b d

Mandoguitar: c g d a e b
Some that sound elclectic or “new age”
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D A D G A D
D A D D D D
C G D G B D
C G D G B E
D A D E A D
D G D G A D

Have fun with these tunings! They should keep you busy for a while.