How to Tune a Guitar in the Open D Position

Open D tuning works well for acoustic guitar because it allows ease of chords.

If you want to experiment with different tunings for your guitar, open D tuning may prove beneficial. Open D tuning is useful for bar chords because it contains all the notes of a D major chord played on open strings. Using a capo or slide in open D allows you to play the standard major chords without memorizing the finger position and frees your index finger, where it would normally form the bar of a bar chord.

Things You'll Need

• Adjustable guitar tuner

Instructions

1. Downtune the low E string until its seventh fret tone matches that of the open A string instead of the fifth fret.

2. Lower the G string a half step. Its fifth fret should match the B string.

3. Lower the B and high E strings a whole step.

4. Test each string again with the tuner, and adjust as necessary.

5. Play all the strings open. You hear a D major chord.

References

• University of Wisconsin; William Sethares: Open Tunings