DAEABD Tuning: The Open Dadd6/9

This DAEABD tuning is a distinctive and harmonically rich deviation from standard EADGBe. It offers a deep, resonant soundscape, often embraced in folk, acoustic fingerstyle, and various alternative music genres. The open strings create a lush, ringing chord that provides a strong tonal center around D, making it an excellent choice for open-string drones, melodic playing, and creating expansive, ethereal textures.

Technical Analysis:

• Open Chord: The open strings, D2 A2 E3 A3 B3 D4, combine to form a Dadd6/9 chord. This specific voicing is rich with extensions, featuring the root (D), perfect fifth (A), major ninth (E), and major sixth (B). Strumming all open strings delivers a full, pleasing harmony without any fretting.
• Intervals and Voicings: The lowest two strings (D2-A2) establish a strong perfect fifth, ideal for powerful bass lines and 'power chord' foundations. The middle strings E3 and A3 form a perfect fourth, while A3 and B3 create a major second. The top B3 and D4 form a minor third. This combination of intervals creates unique harmonic possibilities not readily available in standard tuning.
• Chordal Opportunities: Beyond the open Dadd6/9, this tuning is highly conducive to easily accessible chord shapes. Barring all strings at any fret will produce the same rich added-note chord quality in a different key (e.g., barring at the 2nd fret yields an Eadd6/9, and at the 3rd fret an Fadd6/9). The open fifths and octaves present also make it easy to create resonant drone notes and simple, impactful chord voicings.
• Sonic Character: With D as both the lowest and highest note, the tuning is firmly anchored in the key of D. The inclusion of E (the 9th) and B (the 6th) adds brightness and an open, slightly suspended, and melancholic or yearning quality, making it versatile for various musical moods.

How to Tune from Standard EADGBe:

To achieve the DAEABD tuning from standard EADGBe, follow these precise string adjustments. Tune each string carefully to its target note:

• 6th String (Low E): Tune down 2 semitones from E2 to D2.
• 5th String (A): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) from A2.
• 4th String (D): Tune up 2 semitones from D3 to E3.
• 3rd String (G): Tune up 2 semitones from G3 to A3.
• 2nd String (B): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) from B3.
• 1st String (High E): Tune down 2 semitones from E4 to D4.

All string movements for this tuning are within 2 semitones. This means it is generally safe for standard gauge guitar strings and does not typically require a specialized string set.

Open String Notes:

6th String: D2 — The lowest string, tuned down two semitones from its standard E, providing a deep, resonant, and foundational D note.

5th String: A2 — This string remains at its standard pitch, serving as a stable perfect fifth above the low D, contributing to the strong D-A root-fifth foundation.

4th String: E3 — Tuned up two semitones from its standard D, it introduces a bright major ninth (or second) interval relative to the low D, and forms a perfect fourth with the A string above it.

3rd String: A3 — Tuned up two semitones from its standard G, this string reinforces the A note, completing a perfect fourth with the E string below it, and creating a major second with the B string above.

2nd String: B3 — This string remains at its standard pitch, adding a major sixth (or thirteenth) interval relative to the low D, and forming a minor third with the highest D string.

1st String: D4 — The highest string, tuned down two semitones from its standard E, completing the octave with the low D and adding clarity and brightness to the tuning's top end.