Press Play for the low D, then each string below: D A D F# A D, a D major chord.
Open D Tuning Guitar: 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, root of the D chord73.42 Hz, lowered two semitones from E (82.41 Hz). The lowest of three D strings, each an octave from the next. Held at fret 7 it sounds the 5th string's A.
5th string A2, stays where it is110 Hz, unchanged from standard tuning: the fifth of the D major chord. Held at fret 5 it sounds the 4th string's D.
4th string D3, stays where it is146.83 Hz, unchanged from standard tuning: the middle D of the three. Held at fret 4 it sounds the 3rd string's F sharp.
3rd string F#3, the major third185 Hz, one semitone under standard's G (196 Hz). It is what makes the chord major. Fret 3 sounds the 2nd string's A.
2nd string A3, an octave over the 5th220 Hz, lowered two semitones from B (246.94 Hz). Held at fret 5 it sounds the 1st string's D.
1st string D4, the top of the chord293.66 Hz, lowered two semitones from the high E (329.63 Hz): the highest of the three Ds.
How it works
Open D tuning for guitar is D A D F# A D, low to high. From standard, the sixth, second and first strings drop a whole step, the third a half step. Strummed open, they sound a D major chord.
Read the full guide
How to tune a guitar to open D
1. Start in standard tuning and leave the fifth and fourth strings, A and D, alone.
2. Press Play: the low D sounds. Lower your sixth string to it.
3. Press the third string's row and lower your G to F sharp. It is the only string that moves a half step.
4. Press the rows of the second and first strings: lower B to A, then the high E to D.
5. Strum all six open. If the chord sounds minor, the third string went too far, down to F: bring it up one fret's worth.
One finger across all six strings is a major chord at any fret: E at fret 2, F at fret 3, G at fret 5.
These are sawtooth tones: on speakers too small for 73.42 Hz, the low D still reaches you through its overtones.
Questions and answers
What is open D tuning on a guitar?
A tuning whose six open strings use only the three notes of D major: D, the root, on three strings, A, the fifth, on two, and F sharp, the major third, on one. Other names are open D major tuning and Vestapol tuning.
Where is the A in open D tuning?
The note A is on two open strings: the fifth, 110 Hz as in standard tuning, and the second, 220 Hz, lowered from B. The chord of A major is one finger across all six strings at fret 7.
Is open D tuning good on an acoustic guitar?
Yes: it is used on acoustic and electric guitar alike. Its full sound on an acoustic suits fingerstyle playing, and slide players favor it because a slide laid straight across the strings plays a complete chord.
How do you get from open D to open E?
Open E, E B E G sharp B E, is the same pattern a whole step higher. Rather than tighten the strings, many players stay in open D and put a capo at fret 2, which gives the notes of open E.