Tuning Analysis: Open Esus2

This unique tuning, known as Open Esus2 (famously associated with John Mayer's "In Your Atmosphere"), offers a resonant, open, and slightly melancholic soundscape. It's perfectly suited for creating atmospheric ballads, intricate fingerstyle arrangements, and expressive melodic lines. The open strings provide a rich, continuous drone, enabling the construction of dense harmonic textures with relative ease.

Technical Breakdown

The open notes for this tuning are: E2, A2, E3, F#4, B3, E4 (from the lowest E string, String 6, to the highest E string, String 1). When all open strings are strummed, they collectively form an Esus2(add4) chord. The core Esus2 (E, B, F#) is clearly present, with the A acting as an added 4th, contributing to the tuning's characteristic open and suspended feel. This inherent chordal quality of the open strings simplifies playing and encourages unique harmonic exploration.

• Open Chord Voicings: The tuning provides an immediate, full Esus2(add4) chord when strummed open, which serves as an excellent harmonic foundation for compositions and gives a rich, expansive sound.
• Accessible Barre Chords: By simply barring all strings at a given fret, you can easily shift the entire Esus2(add4) shape up or down the fretboard, allowing for quick transposition and exploration of related suspended chords. For example, barring at the 2nd fret will yield an F#sus2(add4).
• Drone Capabilities: The persistent open E and A strings can serve as effective drone notes, enriching the texture and enhancing the atmospheric qualities, particularly within E-based or A-based musical contexts.
• Unique Harmonic Landscape: The specific intervallic relationships between strings, especially the presence of the F#4 on the 3rd string, open doors to unconventional melodic phrasing and chord voicings that are not readily available in standard tuning, inviting creative experimentation.

How to Tune Your Guitar

To set your guitar to the Open Esus2 tuning, start from standard EADGBe tuning (E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4) and apply the following adjustments:

• String 6 (Low E - E2): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).
• String 5 (A - A2): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).
• String 4 (D - D3): Tune up 2 semitones to E3.
• String 3 (G - G3): Tune down 1 semitones to F#3.
• String 2 (B - B3): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).
• String 1 (High E - E4): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).

Important Note on String 3: Based on the movement instruction from the tuning data, tuning a standard G3 string down 1 semitone results in an F#3. However, the provided target note for String 3 in this tuning is F#4. Achieving F#4 from a standard G3 would typically involve tuning up 11 semitones (nearly an octave), a significant increase in string tension. Generally, movements exceeding 4 semitones (up or down) advise a different string gauge for safety and optimal performance. Please exercise caution and verify the desired final pitch.