Open G tuning

This month, we take a look at the chord-based tuning known as open G

“Retuning our guitars sounds complicated!”

If you’ve never changed the tuning on your guitar then, yes, there’s a bit of a mental leap to make. Once you’ve retuned though, hopefully you’ll be inspired by the new chord shapes at your disposal. We’re looking at open G here.

“Okay. What does G refer to and what does it mean when you say it’s open?”

Hopefully you’ve played a G chord before. Well, in this tuning, when you strum the ‘open’ strings you get a G chord. ‘Open’ just means you don’t fret any notes to get the G chord.

“But why tune my guitar to always be a G?”

Well it doesn’t stay as a G when you play. You still play notes all over the fretboard just as you would in standard tuning. But in any altered tuning the gaps between the open strings is different – not the physical gaps, obviously; we mean the relationships between the notes. Open G sounds nice and it’s fun to play in.

“I get it. How do I go about retuning then?”

Have a look at the boxout on the right. Retuning is a relatively simple process and it’s made much easier if you use a tuner. Hardware tuners are very affordable – any multi-fx pedal will include one – and there are loads of free tuner apps available for smartphones.

“So I simply adjust the open strings until they reach the new notes, right?”

Exactly. For example, slacken off the sixth string with its machine head until it changes from E to D. Simple.

“Are a lot of songs played in open G tuning?”

Sure. Check out Jealous Again and Twice As Hard by The Black Crowes, Robert Johnson’s Walkin’ Blues and both Start Me Up and Brown Sugar by The Rolling Stones – in fact, Keith Richards uses open G tuning a lot!

“Got it! Shall we play some music?”

Sure! Look at the first tab example below. The very first chord shows you the most amazingly useful thing about tunings like open G… the one-finger major chord. No need for weird shapes – just rest one finger over all six strings.

“I like it. What’s next?”

Our second tab example shows you another simple way to build on the one-finger shape. In each case just place your third finger on the fretboard two frets higher up.