The "End Sky" tuning is an imaginative and evocative guitar tuning designed to facilitate a specific musical idea, as described by its creator: "I wrote a song called End Sky that has a simple D - F bassline and wanted it to grow into a thing that alternates between D notes and a Dm6 chord. This tuning made it quite easy since you only need to mute the three non-D strings and release them once the accent comes." This description perfectly encapsulates the tuning's purpose, offering a unique sonic landscape for composers and players.

Verbal Analysis

This tuning immediately presents a rich, open, and slightly melancholic sound, perfect for atmospheric or introspective pieces. The dominant D and F notes create a strong minor tonality, while the inclusion of the B natural adds a distinctive, almost wistful color, hinting at a D minor 6th chord. The arrangement of notes allows for a resonant drone on D, easily transitioning to a Dm6 chord by simply releasing muted strings, as the creator intended. This makes it incredibly intuitive for creating a dynamic bassline or chordal progression that shifts between a solid root and a nuanced minor harmony.

The open strings resonate beautifully together, making simple strumming or arpeggiation sound full and harmonically interesting. It's particularly well-suited for fingerstyle playing where the individual voices can ring out, or for powerful rhythmic strumming where the D and F provide a strong foundation. The open D notes across multiple octaves create a powerful, consistent root that can anchor complex melodic ideas.

Technical Analysis

The open string notes are configured as D2 - F2 - D3 - F3 - B3 - D4 (low to high). Analyzing the intervals relative to the root D, we find:

• Low D (String 6): Root
• F (String 5): Minor third
• D (String 4): Octave
• F (String 3): Octave of minor third
• B (String 2): Major sixth
• D (String 1): Octave

This configuration essentially creates a D minor 6th chord (D - F - A - B) but notably omits the perfect fifth (A). Instead, it heavily emphasizes the root (D) and minor third (F) with multiple octaves, and prominently features the major sixth (B). This results in a very specific sonic signature, making the Dm and Dm6 voicings incredibly accessible and resonant.

Open Chords and Reachable Shapes:

• Open D Minor 6 (Dm6): The open strings directly present a Dm6 chord without the 5th (D-F-B). Strumming all open strings yields a full, resonant Dm6 sound.
• Open D Power Chord / Octaves: By muting the F and B strings (Strings 5, 3, and 2), you are left with D2-D3-D4, creating a powerful, open D drone or power chord. This fulfills the creator's intent for the D-F bassline and D notes.
• F Major possibilities: With two F notes in the open tuning, an F major chord (F-A-C) can be easily formed by using the open F notes (strings 5 and 3) and adding an A (e.g., by fretting the 3rd string at the 3rd fret) and a C (e.g., by fretting the 2nd string at the 1st fret). The open Fs provide a strong basis for constructing this chord.
• B Diminished Triad: The B3, D3, F3 combination (Strings 2, 4, 3 if rearranged) creates a B diminished triad (B-D-F), offering a darker harmonic texture within the tuning.
• Easy Minor Chords: Barring across specific frets will naturally produce minor chord voicings that are relative to the D minor key, leveraging the strong minor third presence. For example, a single-finger barre at the 2nd fret on strings 1, 2, 3, 4 would yield E-C#-G-E (Esus4 with no 5th or 6th string) or similar interesting shapes depending on the strings selected.

How to Tune to End Sky

To achieve the End Sky tuning from standard E-A-D-G-B-E, follow these specific string adjustments:

• 6th String (Low E): Tune down 2 semitones from E to D2.
• 5th String (A): Tune down 4 semitones from A to F2. Please exercise caution when tuning down 4 semitones, as such a significant drop in tension might require a different string gauge for optimal playability and intonation, especially if you plan to keep this tuning for extended periods.
• 4th String (D): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to D3.
• 3rd String (G): Tune down 2 semitones from G to F3.
• 2nd String (B): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to B3.
• 1st String (High E): Tune down 2 semitones from E to D4.

The notes for the End Sky tuning, from the thickest (6th) to the thinnest (1st) string, are as follows:

• 6th String: D2 (Low D)
• 5th String: F2 (F, a minor third above the 6th string D)
• 4th String: D3 (Middle D, an octave above the 6th string D)
• 3rd String: F3 (F, an octave above the 5th string F)
• 2nd String: B3 (B natural)
• 1st String: D4 (High D, two octaves above the 6th string D)