The Open D6/Bm7 Tuning (D-A-B-F#-B-D) transforms your guitar into a vibrant soundscape, heavily influenced by the D Major 6 and B minor 7 chords. This unique tuning provides a rich, full sound when strummed open, making it instantly inspiring for songwriting, fingerstyle arrangements, and slide guitar. Its open structure facilitates fluid melodic lines and allows for complex voicings with minimal effort.

Technical Analysis:

• Root & Drone: The tuning is anchored by the low D (6th string) and high D (1st string), providing a powerful, resonant drone that adds depth and sustain to your playing.
• Open Chord Voicing: When all strings are strummed open, they produce a D Major 6 chord (D-F#-A-B). This chord is inherently rich and slightly melancholic or sophisticated, making it ideal for atmospheric pieces.
• Interval Structure (relative to D2 on 6th string):
  • 6th String (D2): Root
  • 5th String (A2): Perfect 5th
  • 4th String (B2): Major 6th
  • 3rd String (F#4): Major 3rd (two octaves above D2, one octave above D4)
  • 2nd String (B3): Major 6th (one octave above B2)
  • 1st String (D4): Octave (two octaves above D2)
• Unique B Presence: The presence of B on both the 4th and 2nd strings, along with F# and D, strongly suggests a B minor 7 tonality (B-D-F#-A) which can be easily evoked by emphasizing these notes or fretting appropriately.

Chordal Opportunities:

• Open D Major 6: The most prominent chord, sounding lush and full without any fretting. Perfect for intros and arpeggios.
• B Minor 7: By focusing on the B, D, F#, and A notes, a beautiful B minor 7 chord is readily available, offering a contrasting, more introspective feel.
• Movable Shapes: Simple barre chords can create other Major 6 chords up the neck, retaining the tuning's unique intervallic relationships. For example, a barre at the 2nd fret would yield an E Major 6.
• Modal Exploration: The strong D and B notes allow for exploration of D Major, B minor, and even Lydian or Dorian modes with creative fingering.

This tuning invites experimentation, particularly in genres like folk, blues, ambient, and modern acoustic music, where rich harmonies and open string resonance are highly valued.

Current Tuning Notes:

String 6: D2
String 5: A2
String 4: B2
String 3: F#4
String 2: B3
String 1: D4

How to Tune to Open D6/Bm7:

To achieve the Open D6/Bm7 tuning from standard EADGBe, follow these string adjustments. Always tune carefully and in small increments.

• 6th String (Low E to D2): Tune down 2 semitones from E to D2.
• 5th String (A to A2): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).
• 4th String (D to B2): Tune down 3 semitones from D to B2.
• 3rd String (G to F#4): Tune down 1 semitone from G to F#4.
• 2nd String (B to B3): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).
• 1st String (High E to D4): Tune down 2 semitones from E to D4.

Note: All string movements are within safe limits for standard guitar strings. For movements exceeding 4 semitones up or down, a change in string gauge is typically recommended, but it is not necessary for this tuning.