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Guitar tuning

Open G

Strum all six open and you get a G major chord.

Electric · 6 in line
D2G2D3G3B3D4
Acoustic · 3 + 3
D2G2D3D4B3G3
6th
D2
73.4 Hz
5th
G2
98.0 Hz
4th
D3
146.8 Hz
3rd
G3
196.0 Hz
2nd
B3
246.9 Hz
1st
D4
293.7 Hz

Note names won’t tune your guitar.

Knowing the strings should read D G D G B D is the easy half. Landing each frequency — and knowing whether you are nine cents flat or three — is the half that needs an ear or an instrument.

1
Open Dial and play a string
It listens as soon as you play. Nothing to press.
2
Turn each peg until the needle centres
Three strings move: both E strings drop to D, and the fifth string drops to G.
3
Check the remaining strings
Changing tension on one string shifts the neck slightly. The rest usually need a nudge.
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Dial showing the low E string at 82.4 hertz, needle centred

What Open G is for

The blues and slide tuning — and Keith Richards' home for fifty years of Stones riffs. Barre one fret and you have a full major chord; a slide does the rest. Delta players tuned here long before it was electric.

A few chords to try

G
Open
C
Barre 5th
5fr
D
Barre 7th
7fr

Nearby tunings