Tuning Analysis: Open Amaj7 Chordal

This unique tuning, which was reportedly discovered "on accident" and "sounds cool," truly lives up to its name by laying out a full A Major 7 chord across its open strings. It's a highly resonant and expressive tuning that immediately evokes a rich, harmonious sound.

Verbal Analysis

From the moment you strum this tuning, you'll hear a lush, open A Major 7 chord, which provides a beautiful, shimmering sound ideal for ambient textures, fingerstyle arpeggios, and melodic exploration. The low C#3 on the 6th string grounds the tuning, while the higher G#4 and E4 strings add brilliance. The consistent major 7 harmony makes it easy to create captivating musical phrases and gives a distinct "vibe" that lends itself well to modern jazz, R&B, or even some acoustic pop styles. It's a tuning that encourages experimentation, allowing the player to discover accidental harmonies and voicings, much like its original discovery.

Technical Analysis

This is an Open A Major 7 tuning. The open strings resolve to the notes C#3, A2, C#4, E3, G#4, E4 (from low to high). When arranged by pitch, these notes are A2, C#3, E3, C#4, E4, G#4, which clearly outline the A Major 7 chord (A, C#, E, G#) with octave doublings for a full, rich sound.

The intervals from the root (A) are:

• 6th String: C#3 (Major 3rd above A2, or simply a C#)
• 5th String: A2 (Root)
• 4th String: C#4 (Major 3rd, octave higher than C#3)
• 3rd String: E3 (Perfect 5th)
• 2nd String: G#4 (Major 7th, octave higher)
• 1st String: E4 (Perfect 5th, octave higher)

This arrangement makes it incredibly easy to voice A Major 7 chords simply by strumming the open strings. By barring all strings at any given fret, you will automatically produce a Major 7 chord, making modulation simple and intuitive. For example, a bar at the 1st fret yields A#maj7 (Bbmaj7), at the 2nd fret Bmaj7, and so on. This structure is excellent for creating drone effects, melodic lines over sustained harmonies, and exploring new chord shapes that naturally emerge from the open major 7 framework. While explicitly major, creative fretwork can introduce minor or other tensions for more complex harmonies.

Tuning Notes: Open Amaj7 Chordal

Here are the target notes for each string:

• 6th String: C#3
• 5th String: A2
• 4th String: C#4
• 3rd String: E3
• 2nd String: G#4
• 1st String: E4

How to Tune

To achieve the Open Amaj7 Chordal tuning from standard E Standard tuning (E-A-D-G-B-e), follow these steps for each string:

• 6th String (Low E): Tune down 3 semitones to C#3.
• 5th String (A): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to A2.
• 4th String (D): Tune down 1 semitone to C#4.
• 3rd String (G): Tune down 3 semitones to E3.
• 2nd String (B): Tune down 3 semitones to G#4.
• 1st String (High e): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to E4.