In guitar playing, an open tuning is one where the strings are tuned so that a chord is achieved without fretting, or pressing any of the strings; using such a tuning other chords may be played by simply barreing a fret, or through the use of a slide.

In Hawai`ian Music, for Slack-key guitar, an example would be the taro patch , or open 'G' tuning, with strings low-high; D-G-D-G-B-D.

Other open tunings include

• Open A: low-high; E-A-C#-E-A-E
  • Alternatively: low-high; E-A-C#-E-A-C#
  • "Slide" Open A: low-high; E-A-E-A-C#-E
• Open C: low-high; C-G-C-G-C-E
• Open D: low-high; D-A-D-F#-A-D
• Open E: low-high; E-A-E-G#-B-E (use light gauge strings because two strings must be raised)
• Open F: low-high; F-A-C-F-C-F (rare)
• dobro Open G: low-high; G-B-D-G-B-D (occasionally adopted for ordinary guitar, but requires lighter fifth and sixth strings)

Open tunings are common in blues music and some rock and folk music.

Notable players who make extensive or exclusive use of open tunings include Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Leo Kottke, Richie Havens, and Ted Hawkins.

Crossnote tunings

The above open tunings all give a major chord with open strings. Since it is highly likely guitarists will need to play minor chords as well, open tunings must be adapted to allow this by lowering the pitch of one of the strings forming the open chord by half a step. To avoid the relatively cumbersone designation "open D minor", "open C minor", such tunings are sometimes called "crossnote tunings". The term also expresses the fact that, by fretting the lowered string at the first fret, it is possible to produce a major chord very easily.

Crossnote tunings include

• Crossnote A: low-high; E-A-E-A-C-E
  • Alternative: E-A-C-E-A-E (rare)
• Crossnote C: low-high; C-G-C-G-C-Eb
• Open D: low-high; D-A-D-F-A-D
• Crossnote E: low-high; E-A-E-G#-B-E
• Crossnote F: low-high; F-Ab-C-F-C-F (extremely rare)
• Crossnote G: low-high; D-G-D-G-Bb-D

Modal tunings

Sometimes a guitarist will want a tuning that will permit very easy chords but not be defintively minor or major. In this case, modal tunings can be used. They can be especially effective with droning open strings, and give "suspended" second or fourth chords:

Modal tunings include:

• Csus2: low-high; C-G-C-G-C-D (very rare)
• Csus4: low-high; C-G-C-G-C-F
• Dsus2: low-high; D-A-D-E-A-D
• Dsus4: low-high; D-A-D-G-A-D (very popular in Celtic music.
• Esus2: low-high; E-A-E-F#-B-E
• Esus4: low-high; E-A-E-A-B-E
• Gsus2: low-high; D-G-D-G-A-D
• Gsus4: low-high; D-G-D-G-C-D

"Extended chord" tunings

These tunings allow a guitarist to play an open seventh, ninth, eleventh or thirteenth chord. One or more of the strings is retuned to the appropriate note of the required scale. Such tunings may be either minor or major.

Examples are:

• Open D7: low-high; D-A-D-F#-A-C#
• Open Dmin7: low-high; D-A-D-F-A-C
• Open G6: low-high; D-G-D-G-B-E
• Dobro open G6: low-high; G-B-D-G-B-E (two lowest strings tuned up and require lighter gauges)
• Open G7: low-high; D-G-D-G-B-F or F-G-D-G-B-D
• "Modal" G7: low-high; F-G-D-G-C-D
• Open Cmin7: low-high; C-G-C-G-Bb-Eb
• Open C7: low-high; C-G-C-G-B-E

These open tunings offer much room for expermient, but can only be used in a few keys.

External links

• Hanson, Mark; The Complete Book Of Alternate Tunings; published 1996 by Music Sales Corporation.
• Alternate tunings for guitar; unknown author and publisher.