Open C6 Tuning: A Rich, Versatile Landscape

The Open C6 tuning presents a wonderfully rich and expansive sound, perfectly suited for players looking to explore deep, resonant chords and melodic possibilities. With its open strings forming a C6 chord, it immediately offers a sense of completeness and harmonic fullness, making it an excellent choice for slide guitar, fingerstyle, or simply strumming to create a broad, captivating soundscape. This tuning feels intuitive and allows for creative exploration, hinting at the joy of just "doing stuff" and discovering new sonic textures.

Technical Breakdown:

This tuning configures your guitar to a C6 chord (C-E-G-A) across its open strings, specifically C2-G2-A2-G3-A3-C4. The intervals create a powerful foundation:

• Root (C): Available on the 6th (low) and 1st (high) strings, providing a strong tonal center.
• Perfect 5th (G): Found on the 5th and 3rd strings, adding harmonic stability and depth.
• Major 6th (A): Present on the 4th and 2nd strings, which gives the tuning its characteristic C6 flavor, adding a touch of sweetness and sophistication.

The doubling of G and A notes across octaves contributes to the tuning's full and ringing quality.

Chordal Possibilities:

One of the immediate benefits of Open C6 is the ease of forming major and minor chords. By simply barring all strings at any fret, you instantly achieve a new 6th chord (e.g., barring at the 1st fret yields a C#6, the 2nd fret a D6, and so on), making transposing incredibly straightforward. The open strings themselves form a beautiful C6. Experimenting with simple one or two-finger additions can unlock a wealth of unique voicings; for instance, fretting the 4th string (A2) up two semitones to B2 would create a Cmaj7 sound (C-G-B-G-A-C). The consistent interval patterns (G-A on strings 5-4 and G-A on strings 3-2) also allow for interesting melodic movements and drone-like effects, particularly effective for blues, folk, or world music styles.

Due to the significant down-tuning on several strings, particularly the 4th string (-5 semitones), and the 6th and 1st strings (-4 semitones), you might experience a slacker feel. For optimal tension and tone, especially for prolonged use or aggressive playing, consider using a slightly heavier gauge string set for the guitar, or at least a specific heavier string for the 4th, 6th and 1st strings.

Tuning Notes Overview:

Here are the specific notes for each string in this Open C6 tuning:

• 6th String (Low E): C2
• 5th String (A): G2
• 4th String (D): A2
• 3rd String (G): G3
• 2nd String (B): A3
• 1st String (High E): C4

How to Tune:

To achieve the Open C6 tuning from standard EADGBe, follow these steps for each string. Please take care when tuning, especially when making large adjustments.

• 6th String (Low E): Tune down 4 semitones from E2 to C2.
• 5th String (A): Tune down 2 semitones from A2 to G2.
• 4th String (D): Tune down 5 semitones from D3 to A2. A different gauge string is advised for this significant drop to maintain proper tension and intonation.
• 3rd String (G): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) from G3 to G3.
• 2nd String (B): Tune down 2 semitones from B3 to A3.
• 1st String (High E): Tune down 4 semitones from E4 to C4.

For the 6th and 1st strings, tuning down 4 semitones brings them to the threshold where a different gauge string might be beneficial for maintaining optimal tension. Given the 4th string drops by 5 semitones, a lighter gauge string specifically for this string is strongly recommended to prevent excessive slack and potential intonation issues.