Press Play for the low D, then each string below: D A D F A D, a D minor chord.
Open D Minor Tuning: 73.42 Hz sawtooth tone
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Sawtooth wave · both channels
73.42Hz
Period 13.6 ms
Wavelength 4.67 m (15.3 ft)
The note D2
Ready. It starts quiet and fades in over half a second.
A steady tone can harm ears and speakers before it sounds loud. Hear nothing? Do not turn it up to find the tone: small speakers cannot play very low tones, and many adults cannot hear very high ones.
Percent of this tool's loudest. Your device volume does the rest.
6th string D2, the low root73.42 Hz, two semitones under the low E of standard tuning (82.41 Hz), and one octave under the 4th string. Held at fret 7 it sounds the 5th string's A.
5th string A2, kept from standard110 Hz, two octaves under the 440 Hz tuning A. Not retuned: the fifth of the D minor chord. Held at fret 5 it sounds the 4th string's D.
4th string D3, kept from standard146.83 Hz. Not retuned: set the 6th string an octave under it and the 1st an octave over it. Held at fret 3 it sounds the 3rd string's F.
3rd string F3, the minor third174.61 Hz, two semitones under standard's G (196 Hz). The only F: at fret 1 it is F sharp and the open chord turns major. Fret 4 sounds the 2nd string's A.
2nd string A3, down from B220 Hz, two semitones under standard's B (246.94 Hz) and one octave over the 5th string. Held at fret 5 it sounds the 1st string's D.
1st string D4, the high root293.66 Hz, the D above middle C: two semitones under standard's high E (329.63 Hz) and two octaves over the 6th string.
How it works
Open D minor tuning is D A D F A D, low to high (DADFAD). From standard the sixth, third, second and first strings each come down a whole step; the fifth and fourth stay.
Read the full guide
How to tune a guitar to open D minor
1. Start in standard tuning and leave the fifth and fourth strings, A and D, alone.
2. Press Play: the sixth string's D sounds. Lower your low E to it, one octave under your open fourth string.
3. Press the rows of the third, second and first strings in turn, F, A and D, and lower each string to its tone.
4. Strum all six open: D minor. Then hold the third string alone at fret 1 and strum again: D major. If both chords ring true, the tuning is right.
Small speakers cannot produce the low D, 73.42 Hz, itself. The tones are sawtooth waves, so their overtones carry the pitch.
Questions and answers
What is open D minor tuning on guitar?
A tuning whose open strings are the three notes of a D minor chord: D, F and A. It is also called cross-note D: fretting the F string at the first fret crosses the chord over to major with one finger.
How is open D minor different from open D?
By one string. Open D is D A D F sharp A D, a D major chord. Open D minor takes the third string one half step lower, from F sharp to F, and the chord becomes minor.
Is open D minor guitar tuning the same as DADGAD?
No. The third string is F here and G in DADGAD, where it stays as standard tuning has it. With a G the open strings sound a D suspended fourth chord, not a minor one.