Online guitar Open D tuner

Guitar string notes in Open D

Frequencies are calculated with the reference A at 440 Hz. If your group tunes to a different reference, such as 442 Hz, adjust it with the − and + buttons next to “A = 440 Hz” and the tuner shifts every note.

How to go from standard tuning to Open D

Four of the six strings change. All the strings that change go down, so the guitar ends up with less tension than in standard tuning. If you overshoot, drop below the note and tune back up to it: that way the string stays firmly set at the tuning peg. To go back to normal tuning, use the standard guitar tuner.

Slide and fingerstyle

Open D is very popular for slide playing, because the slide forms full major chords at any fret. Since all the strings that change go down, the overall tension is lower than in standard tuning, which makes slide on acoustic guitar comfortable. It also works very well for fingerstyle, with open bass strings ringing while the melody moves on the high strings.

It's also known as “Vestapol,” a corruption of “Sebastopol,” a parlor guitar piece published by Henry Worrall in 1856 and written in this tuning.

Songs in Open D

Elmore James played his version of “Dust My Broom” in Open D; its riff is one of the most imitated slide riffs in the blues. Stone Gossard's guitar part on Pearl Jam's “Even Flow” is in this tuning, and Mumford & Sons use it with a capo at the 2nd fret on “The Cave.”

Open D, DADGAD and Open E

Open D and DADGAD differ only on the 3rd string: F♯ in Open D, G in DADGAD. And Open E has exactly the same intervals a whole step higher, so a guitar in Open D with a capo at the 2nd fret sounds in Open E.

How to tune your guitar to Open D with this tuner

1. Tap Enable microphone and accept the browser's permission request. The sound is analyzed on your device: it isn't recorded or sent anywhere.
2. Leave the tuner on Auto so it recognizes which string you're playing, or tap a note to lock it (tap it again to go back to Auto).
3. Play a single open string with medium force and let it ring.
4. If the needle is to the left, the note is flat: tune up. If it's to the right, tune down. Anywhere between −5 and +5 cents counts as in tune.
5. Once a string stays in tune for a moment, its button gets a green check mark. Keep going until every string has one.
6. Use the speaker icon under each note to hear the reference and train your ear.
7. Go over every string again at the end: the tension of some strings shifts the others slightly.

Tips for tuning your guitar to Open D

• Lower the 6th, 2nd and 1st strings a whole step, and the 3rd just a half step (from G to F♯).
• Check that the 6th, 4th and 1st sound like the same D in three different octaves.
• The 3rd string (F♯) is what makes the chord major: if the open strum sounds off, check it first.
• For slide, slightly higher string action helps keep the slide from hitting the frets.

Common tuning problems

• The needle jumps between notes: play a single string, a little more softly, and wait for the sound to settle. The first instant of every note always sounds slightly sharp.
• It doesn't pick up the low strings: phone microphones struggle with low frequencies. Hold your phone closer to the instrument or play the harmonic at the middle of the string (12th fret): the tuner recognizes it as the same string and tells you it sounds an octave higher.
• The open strings are in tune, but what you play sounds off: check that no string is in the wrong octave and that your strings aren't old. If it still sounds wrong, ask your teacher or a luthier to check the instrument's intonation.
• It goes out of tune right away: new strings keep stretching for several days, and changes in temperature and humidity shift the tuning. Tune in the same place where you're going to play.
• The browser doesn't ask for the microphone: check the site permissions in your browser settings and make sure no other app is using the microphone.

Frequently asked questions