Tuning Overview: 7-String Dadd9 Open Tuning

This unique tuning transforms your 7-string guitar into a resonating powerhouse, specifically voiced around a Dadd9 chord with a deep A in the bass. The original intent was to create a "Dadd9 voiced for a seven string", and it succeeds beautifully. This tuning is perfect for expansive ambient textures, heavy riffing, or open-string melodic explorations. It offers a full, almost piano-like quality when strummed openly, providing an immediate musical foundation that is rich and harmonically complex.

Technical Analysis:

• Instrument Type: 7-String Guitar
• Base Tuning Concept: Derived from a Dadd9 chord (D-F#-A-E). The open strings are voiced as A1-D2-A2-E3-F#4-A3-E4, starting from the lowest string.
• Open Chord Structure: When strummed open, the tuning produces an A/Dadd9 chord (A-D-A-E-F#-A-E). This provides a rich, complex harmony with the ninth (E) and major third (F#) prominently featured over a low A pedal tone.
• Intervals & Voicing: The low A1 on the 7th string serves as a deep root/pedal tone. The D2 on the 6th string establishes the chord's root. The repeated A's (A1, A2, A3) and E's (E3, E4) across different octaves create a resonant and sympathetic drone effect, enhancing the chord's richness. The F#4 provides the essential major third, giving the D chord its bright character.

Playability & Creative Opportunities:

• Open String Resonance: Ideal for expansive strumming, arpeggios, and creating atmospheric soundscapes where the open Dadd9/A chord can ring out with exceptional clarity and sustain.
• Chord Voicings: While standard chord shapes will need re-learning due to the altered intervals, this tuning opens up unique new voicings. Barre chords will yield consistent, parallel chord qualities up the neck. For instance, barring all strings at the first fret would yield an A#/Ebadd9 (A#-Eb-A#-F-G-A#-F) chord, providing a powerful harmonic shift.
• Bass & Riffing: The low A1 and D2 strings provide a powerful foundation for heavy riffs and bass lines, particularly suited for genres like progressive metal, djent, or atmospheric rock where deep, resonant tones are prized.
• Melodic Potential: The interval choices, especially the clustered A's and E's, offer interesting opportunities for melodic lines that can utilize the natural resonance of the open strings as drones, creating a layered and full sound even with single notes.

How to Tune:

To achieve the 7-String Dadd9 Open Tuning, you will adjust your strings from their standard positions as follows. Pay close attention to the direction and number of semitones for each string:

• 7th String: Tune down 2 semitones to A1.
• 6th String: Tune down 2 semitones to D2.
• 5th String: Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to A2.
• 4th String: Tune up 2 semitones to E3.
• 3rd String: Tune down 1 semitone to F4#.
• 2nd String: Tune down 2 semitones to A3.
• 1st String: Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to E4.

Note on String Gauge: While all string adjustments for this specific tuning are within a relatively safe range (tuning up or down 2 semitones or less), general advice is to consider a different gauge string if you frequently tune more than 4 semitones up or down. This helps ensure optimal string tension, intonation, and prevents premature string breakage.

The open notes for the 7-String Dadd9 Open Tuning are as follows, from the lowest string (7th string) to the highest (1st string):

• 7th String: A1
• 6th String: D2
• 5th String: A2
• 4th String: E3
• 3rd String: F4#
• 2nd String: A3
• 1st String: E4