The "Open A5" tuning is a powerful and resonant open tuning for guitar, designed to create a full A power chord with all open strings. This tuning is incredibly popular for slide guitar, blues, drone music, and any genre where a thick, driving, and easily movable power chord is desired. Its simplicity allows for a very intuitive playing experience, making it easy to create impactful riffs and solid rhythmic foundations.

Technical Analysis

The open strings are tuned to A1 - E2 - A2 - E3 - A3 - A3 (low to high). This arrangement forms an A power chord (A5) across four octaves, with the highest two strings tuned to the same A3 note, creating a powerful unison effect. The interval structure from the lowest A is: Root (A1), Perfect 5th (E2), Octave (A2), Perfect 5th (E3), Octave (A3), Octave (A3). This quintal/octave structure inherently provides a very stable and resonant foundation, making the entire instrument feel alive.

Chords are readily available:

• Open Chord: Strumming all strings open yields a clear and ringing A5 power chord, ready to underpin any rock, blues, or folk composition.
• Movable Power Chords: By simply barring any single fret across all strings, you can instantly create any other power chord (e.g., barre the 2nd fret for B5, 3rd fret for C5, etc.). This makes transposing extremely straightforward and offers a vast palette of movable power chords across the fretboard.
• Drone & Slide: The natural resonance and the strong A-E-A intervals make this tuning exceptional for sustained drones and for expressive slide guitar playing, where the instrument's natural voice can truly sing with rich harmonic overtones.
• Rhythmic Riffing: The robust low-end and the unison high strings lend themselves incredibly well to heavy rhythmic playing and creating massive-sounding riffs, particularly suited for hard rock or metal.

Achieving the Open A5 tuning involves significant adjustments to each string from standard E tuning. Please follow these instructions carefully. For strings requiring movements of more than 4 semitones up or down, it is often recommended to use a different string gauge to maintain optimal tension and prevent string breakage or excessive floppiness.

How to Tune

• 6th String (Low E): Tune to A1. Tune down 7 semitones. Caution: This is a significant drop; consider a heavier gauge string for optimal tension.
• 5th String (A): Tune to E2. Tune down 5 semitones. Caution: This is a significant drop; consider a heavier gauge string for optimal tension.
• 4th String (D): Tune to A2. Tune down 5 semitones. Caution: This is a significant drop; consider a heavier gauge string for optimal tension.
• 3rd String (G): Tune to E3. Tune down 3 semitones.
• 2nd String (B): Tune to A3. Tune down 2 semitones.
• 1st String (High E): Tune to A3. Tune down 7 semitones. Caution: This is a significant drop; consider a heavier gauge string for optimal tension.