Open D Tuning on 6-String Guitar: Notes, Chords and How to Use It
Open D is one of those tunings that makes a guitar sound bigger the moment you hit it. You retune four strings so that the open strings, played together without fretting anything, ring out as a full D major chord. It is a favourite for slide guitar, for blues and folk fingerpicking, and for anyone who wants deep, droning riffs with a lot of space and sustain. Best of all, it lets you play satisfying music with very little left-hand work, which makes it a great playground while you are still learning.
What Open D Actually Is
In standard tuning your strings, from the thickest (string 6, nearest your chin) to the thinnest (string 1), are E A D G B E. In Open D they become:
- String 6: D
- String 5: A
- String 4: D
- String 3: F#
- String 2: A
- String 1: D
Notice that only three different notes appear: D, F# and A. Those three notes are exactly what makes up a D major chord. A chord is simply several notes sounding together, and a major chord has a bright, settled, happy quality. D is the root (the note the chord is named after), F# is the third (which makes it major rather than minor) and A is the fifth (which adds strength and fullness).
Tuning Into Open D, Step by Step
Two quick terms first. A half step is the distance of one fret. A whole step is two frets. Strings 5 and 4 stay exactly where they are, so you only touch four strings. Tune down slowly, and if you go too far, come back up from below, which helps the string hold pitch.
- String 6: down a whole step, E to D. Play the open 4th string (D) and lower the 6th until it matches, one octave lower. An octave is the same note at a higher or lower pitch; the two will blend almost into one sound when you get there.
- String 3: down a half step, G to F#. Press the 4th string at the 4th fret; that note is F#. Lower the open 3rd string until it matches.
- String 2: down a whole step, B to A. Press your newly tuned 3rd string at the 3rd fret to get A, or compare with the open 5th string (A), an octave below. Lower the 2nd string to match.
- String 1: down a whole step, E to D. Press the 2nd string at the 5th fret to get D, and lower the open 1st string to match.
Strum all six open strings. If everything is right, you will hear a clean, ringing D major chord with no sour notes. If something wobbles or beats against the rest, that string needs a small adjustment. A tuner makes this quicker, but learning to tune by ear like this trains your listening at the same time.
Why Players Love It
The sound. Because so many open strings are the same note or close relatives, everything rings together. Chords sound wide and resonant, almost like a piano with the sustain pedal down.
Easy chords. Lay one finger flat across all six strings at a single fret, called a barre, and you get a major chord. Open strings give you D major, a barre at the 5th fret gives you G major, and a barre at the 7th fret gives you A major. Those three chords are enough to play a huge number of folk, blues and rock songs. This is also why slide players love the tuning: a slide is basically a perfect barre.
Heavier riffs. The low D is a whole step deeper than your usual low E, so riffs feel weightier. The bottom three strings, D A D, form a power chord (just root and fifth, no third), and you can move it around with one finger flat across those three strings. Open is D5; at the 5th fret it becomes G5.
Drones. A drone is a note that keeps sounding underneath while other notes move above it. In Open D you can play a melody on the 1st or 2nd string while letting the low D strings ring, and you get that hypnotic, old-time sound instantly.
How Chord and Scale Shapes Change
Here is the honest trade-off: most of the shapes you know from standard tuning will not work as they are. The distance between neighbouring strings has changed. From string 6 up, the gaps are now a perfect 5th, a perfect 4th, a major 3rd, a minor 3rd and a perfect 4th. In standard tuning they were mostly perfect 4ths with one major 3rd. Only the pair of strings 5 and 4 (A to D, a perfect 4th) keeps the same relationship it had before.
So think of Open D as a fresh fretboard rather than a broken one. A few handy landmarks:
- Strings 6, 4 and 1 are all D, so a note at any fret on one of them has the same name on the other two.
- To turn the open D major chord into D minor, fret the 3rd string at the 1st fret. That changes F# to F, and the mood turns darker instantly.
- A simple D major scale lives on the 1st string alone: frets 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 12. Play it while the low strings drone and you have instant melody.
A First Thing to Try
Pick or strum the open strings, then barre the 5th fret, then the 7th, then back to open. That is D, G, A, D. Keep your barre finger flat and right behind the fret, and listen for every string ringing clearly. Once that feels steady, try letting the bottom strings drone with your thumb while you pick out the D major scale on the 1st string. Spend ten relaxed minutes a day here and you will soon start inventing your own riffs; this tuning rewards curiosity, so play around and enjoy the noise.
More on the instrument itself: the 6-String Guitar guide.