OpenD tuning

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…the Open D tuning.

Its a really versatile tuning. If you `re wondering just what an an open tuning is, it`s a tuning which means that the strings produce a chord when played open or unfretted and today I`m going to focus upon the open D guitar tuning.

Its an open chord tuning which when strummed produces a D major chord:

(bass)
6D
5A
4D
3F♯
2A
1D
(treble)

The open string notes in this tuning are: D A D F♯ A D. It uses the three notes that form the triad of a D major chord: D, the root note; A, the perfect fifth; and F♯, the major third. The six guitar strings, from lowest pitch to highest, should be tuned as follows: D A D F♯ A D.

When the guitar is strummed without fretting any of the strings a D major chord is sounded. This means that any major chord can be easily created using one finger, fretting all the strings at once (also known as barring); for example, fretting all the strings at the second fret will produce an E major, at the third fret an F major, and so on up the neck.

Open D tuning is very popular with slide guitar (or ‘bottleneck’) players, as it allows them to play complete chords using the slide. This tuning is also used for regular (non-slide) guitar playing.

1. Strike your D string, and then loosen your E string until you are sounding the same note, one octave lower.

2. Leave your A string exactly as it is and your Dstring also it’s the toni, first or root note.

3. Strike the note on the fourth fret of your D string, and loosen your G string until the notes are exactly the same – an F#

4. Next, strike the A STRING and loosen your B string until the notes are exactly alike.

5. Finally, strike your fourth string, and loosen your first string until both tones are alike, but an octave apart.

It’s rich and spacious harp-like tuning that allows a different complete major chord to be produced simply by barring each fret all the way up the neck

For example here at the 2nd fret the product is an E major,
And here at the third is an F major.

Well, That`s all folks,
Cheers…

The Jamorama Team!

Comments

  1. skooal

    Hi,

    I am 33 years old and play in open D tuning exclusively. Problem: the documentation when it comes to find obscure tunings, scales and others are hard to find… I am kind of lazy. But the discovery of open tunings was a revelation for me. I was allowed to play with my heart and not ununderstandable boring techniques. Progressions are making sense, so is the fretboard and I never had such fun playing.

    I wanted to share my experience on the subject.

    skooal.

    1. Jamorama Post author

      Skooal , please feel free to share everything and anything about open tunings with us!

      Please Join our Facebook page here and let us know what you’ve been discovering – we’re all ears!

  2. Pingback: Richie Havens Open D « Rock Star Recipes

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