Online guitar Open G tuner

Guitar string notes in Open G

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 G

Three 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, blues and one-finger chords

Since the open strings already form a major chord, you only need to lay one finger (or a slide) across all the strings to play another major chord: at the 5th fret you get C, and at the 7th, D. That's why it's one of the favorite tunings in blues, slide and folk.

It has a long history. In Hawaiian slack-key guitar it's known as “Taro Patch” tuning, and in the 19th century it was called “Spanish” tuning after “Spanish Fandango”, a parlor guitar piece by Henry Worrall written in open G.

Keith Richards' five-string Open G

Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones began experimenting with open tunings in the late sixties. He uses Open G with only five strings, removing string 6 because he says it gets in the way, leaving G, D, G, B, D. He used that guitar for riffs such as 'Honky Tonk Women', 'Brown Sugar' and 'Start Me Up'.

If you want to try it without removing any strings, just don't play the 6th: the riff sounds the same.

How to tune your guitar to Open G 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 G

• Lower the 6th and 5th a whole step each; check that the 6th sounds like the 4th, an octave lower.
• The 1st string drops to D4 and should match the open 4th string, an octave higher.
• For slide, rest the slide right over the fret without pressing down: that keeps the notes in tune.
• When you're done, strum all six open strings: they should sound like a clean G major chord.

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