Tuning Overview: Open D Minor Drone

This unique tuning, which the original creator described as "trying to find something for myself", offers a rich, resonant, and slightly melancholic soundscape. It's not a standard open chord tuning, but rather a modal arrangement that invites exploration, perfect for fingerstyle, atmospheric compositions, or heavier drone-based music. The presence of multiple D notes across the strings provides a powerful fundamental, while the F and G notes add a complex, minor-inflected, and suspended quality.

Technical Analysis: D-F-D-G-A-D

• The open strings are tuned to D2 F2 D3 G3 A3 D4, from thickest to thinnest.
• Comparing to standard E-A-D-G-B-E tuning, this tuning involves significant drops, particularly on the 5th string, creating unique intervallic relationships.
• The intervals from the lowest D are:
  • String 6 (D2): Root
  • String 5 (F2): Minor Third
  • String 4 (D3): Octave
  • String 3 (G3): Perfect Fourth (above D)
  • String 2 (A3): Perfect Fifth (above D)
  • String 1 (D4): Two Octaves (above D2)
• The collection of open notes D, F, G, A creates a sound that is best described as a D minor chord with an added perfect fourth (G), or a Dsus4 with an added minor third (F). This provides a deep, somewhat suspended minor quality with a strong drone potential.

Open Chords and Possibilities

The open tuning itself produces a rich, complex sound. It's not a straightforward major or minor chord, but rather a modal cluster of D, F, G, A. This makes it excellent for:

• Drone Music: The repeated D notes provide a solid foundation for hypnotic and sustained passages.
• Modal Explorations: The F, G, and A over the D create an ambiguous minor/suspended feel, perfect for exploring D Dorian or D Aeolian (natural minor) scales.
• Simple Barre Chords: Barring all strings at any fret will create variations of this Dm(add4) structure, shifted chromatically. For example:
  • Barre at 3rd fret: F-Ab-F-Bb-C-F (Fm(add4))
  • Barre at 5th fret: G-Bb-G-C-D-G (Gm(add4))
• Power Chords: The D2-F2-D3 and G3-A3-D4 structures may require some adaptation, but the D-A interval on strings 6 and 2 (or D-G on 6 and 3) could be exploited for power chords with interesting extensions.
• Harmonic Exploration: Experiment with two- and three-string voicings to discover unique minor, suspended, and even dominant 7th voicings not typically found in standard tuning. The close proximity of D, F, and G offers unique cluster voicings.

How to Tune

Please follow these instructions carefully to achieve the Open D Minor Drone tuning from standard E-A-D-G-B-E:

• String 6 (Low E): Tune down 2 semitones to D2. This drops your lowest string a whole step.
• String 5 (A): Tune down 4 semitones to F2. This is a significant drop of two whole steps.
• String 4 (D): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to D3.
• String 3 (G): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to G3.
• String 2 (B): Tune down 2 semitones to A3. This drops your second string a whole step.
• String 1 (High E): Tune down 2 semitones to D4. This drops your highest string a whole step.

Important Note on String Gauge: Generally, tuning down 3 or 4 semitones requires care. When they exceed negative 4 or positive 4 semitones or more, a different gauge string is strongly advised to maintain optimal playability and string tension, and to prevent potential damage to your guitar or strings. For this tuning, the 5th string (A to F, -4 semitones) is at the limit for standard gauges.

String 6: D2 (Low D, a full step down from standard E)
String 5: F2 (A minor third below standard A, creating a rich low minor chord with the D)
String 4: D3 (Standard D, an octave above the lowest D, providing a strong resonance)
String 3: G3 (Standard G, adding a suspended or fourth quality to the D minor)
String 2: A3 (A whole step down from standard B, completing a perfect fifth above the lowest D)
String 1: D4 (High D, a whole step down from standard E, an octave above D3 and two octaves above D2)