This is a highly customized and distinctive guitar tuning, famously employed by Boyce Avenue for their cover of "With Arms Wide Open." It deviates significantly from standard tuning, offering a unique sonic landscape tailored for specific melodic and harmonic voicings. The overall sound tends to be dark, rich, and resonant, providing a powerful foundation for atmospheric textures and driving riffs.

Verbal Analysis

This tuning instantly conjures a mood of introspection and depth, perfect for emotive ballads and alternative rock. The lower strings, all tuned down by a semitone, create a consistently heavy and grounded feel, while the unexpected unison of the two highest strings (both C4) introduces a striking, almost drone-like quality. This unison can act as a strong melodic or harmonic anchor, allowing for unique open chord voicings and sustained notes that resonate beautifully. Players will find that familiar chord shapes are largely recontextualized, encouraging exploration of new fingerings and open string harmonies, especially suited for intricate arpeggios and power chords across the lower registers. It's a tuning designed to evoke specific emotions and sonic textures, making it ideal for the heartfelt nature of "With Arms Wide Open" and similar musical pieces.

Technical Analysis

• Open Notes: The tuning presents the open notes as D#3, G#3, C#4, F#4, C4, and C4 (from low E to high e string).
• Interval Structure: A defining characteristic is the perfect fourth interval maintained across the first four strings (D# to G#, G# to C#, C# to F#). This arrangement is highly advantageous for playing power chords with minimal effort, providing a consistent and powerful low-end growl. The most unusual feature is the unison of the 2nd and 1st strings (both C4), which creates a strong, singular voice at the higher end of the guitar's register.
• Harmonic Implications & Chords: While not immediately forming a single common open chord, the tuning offers interesting harmonic possibilities. The lower string group (D# G# C# F#) contains elements of a D# minor chord (D#, F#, G#) or G# minor, providing a robust, minor-key foundation. For instance, an open D# minor triad (D#, F#, G#) can be implied across the lower strings (e.g., fretting the 3rd string at the 1st fret (F) and 4th string at the 3rd fret (A#) along with open 6th (D#) and 5th (G#) can create D# minor 7th voicings). The two open C strings create a strong tonal center, and when combined with the lower strings, can yield unique dissonances or resolutions. For example, striking all open strings simultaneously creates a complex, dark cluster. Open string voicings can be explored to create melancholic and expansive soundscapes, leveraging the prominent C notes against the flattened lower register. Barre chords across the lower four strings will result in a powerful root-4th-octave-4th structure.
• Overall Character: This tuning boasts a generally low and dark character due to the four flattened lower strings. This depth is then contrasted by the relatively bright and prominent unison C notes on the highest strings. It is clearly designed for specific harmonic textures and melodic lines, rather than general purpose playing, allowing players to achieve the exact sonic nuances found in the Boyce Avenue cover.

Current Tuning Notes

• 6th String (Low E): D#3
• 5th String (A): G#3
• 4th String (D): C#4
• 3rd String (G): F#4
• 2nd String (B): C4
• 1st String (High e): C4

How to Tune (from Standard EADGBe)

To achieve the Boyce Avenue tuning for "With Arms Wide Open," please follow these specific string adjustments:

• 6th String (Low E): Tune down 1 semitone from E to D#3.
• 5th String (A): Tune down 1 semitone from A to G#3.
• 4th String (D): Tune down 1 semitone from D to C#4.
• 3rd String (G): Tune down 1 semitone from G to F#4.
• 2nd String (B): Tune up 1 semitone from B to C4.
• 1st String (High e): Tune down 4 semitones from E to C4.

Important Note on String Gauge: When tuning strings significantly up or down (generally beyond 4 semitones in either direction), it is often advisable to consider using a different string gauge to maintain optimal tension, intonation, and string longevity. The 1st string (high e) in this tuning is tuned down 4 semitones, which is a considerable change. While still within a range that most standard gauges can handle, heavier gauge strings might be preferred if you plan to keep the guitar in this tuning for extended periods, especially for the high E string. Conversely, tuning up more than 3 or 4 semitones would generally necessitate a lighter gauge string to prevent excessive tension and potential string breakage.