Online guitar Open E tuner

Guitar string notes in Open E

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 E

Three of the six strings change. Some go up: do it slowly and in small steps, because raising a string increases its tension. 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.

More tension: keep this in mind

Raising a string a whole step increases its tension by about 26%. In Open E that happens on the 5th and 4th, and the 3rd goes up a half step. The guitar feels stiffer, the neck takes more load and the risk of breaking a string goes up, especially on acoustic guitars.

That's why many guitarists prefer to tune to Open D and put a capo at the 2nd fret: it sounds in E major with the same intervals and no extra tension.

Electric slide and songs in Open E

Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band played most of his slide work in Open E, as on “Statesboro Blues”, and Derek Trucks uses it too. The Black Crowes' “She Talks to Angels” is in this tuning. Keith Richards has said that to him Open D and Open E are “the same”: the same intervals, a whole step apart.

How to tune your guitar to Open E 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 E

• Raise the strings slowly, in two or three steps, and let them settle in between.
• The 6th, 2nd and 1st don't change: tune them first as a reference.
• If your guitar is acoustic or the strings are old, consider Open D with a capo at the 2nd fret.
• If you're going to leave the guitar in Open E for a long time, have the neck checked; otherwise, go back to standard tuning when you're done.

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