E Open Canvas is a highly evocative and versatile tuning, designed to inspire creativity and provide a broad sonic palette. As its original description beautifully states, "an art gallery could never be as magnificant as you", hinting at the expressive potential this tuning unlocks. It moves beyond conventional major or minor tonalities, offering a spacious and luminous sound that is both familiar and intriguing.

Verbal Analysis

This tuning creates an open, resonant soundscape perfect for ambient textures, fingerstyle compositions, and modern songwriting. The prominent open E notes (E2, E3, E4) across the low, middle, and high strings, coupled with a strong B (perfect fifth), provide a solid, almost drone-like foundation. This gives the tuning a strong sense of grounding in E, yet the inclusion of C# and F# adds a beautiful, airy quality that avoids sounding strictly major or minor. It lends itself well to genres like folk, country, blues, and contemporary rock where open string resonance and rich harmonic voicings are desired. Its open nature makes it forgiving for new chord shapes and encourages exploration beyond standard fretting.

Technical Analysis

The open notes for E Open Canvas are (from low to high): E2, E3, C#4, F#4, B3, E4. Analysing these notes relative to the lowest E (E2):

• String 6 (E2): Root
• String 5 (E3): Octave above the root
• String 4 (C#4): Major 6th above the root
• String 3 (F#4): Major 9th (or Major 2nd) above the root
• String 2 (B3): Perfect 5th above the root
• String 1 (E4): Two octaves above the root

This configuration essentially outlines an E6/9 chord without a major or minor third. The absence of the G# (major third) or G (minor third) is key, as it creates an ambiguous, suspended quality that is neither explicitly happy nor sad, but rather open and full of potential. The strong E and B presence makes open E5 power chords readily available. Fretting a G# on the 5th fret of the 4th string (C#) would instantly complete an Emaj6/9. The close proximity of E3 and C#4 (a major 6th) and C#4 and F#4 (a perfect 4th) allows for interesting melodic and harmonic clusters with minimal effort. Barring across the higher strings (E3, C#4, F#4, B3, E4) can easily yield rich, complex voicings that slide smoothly up and down the neck, making this a very inspiring tuning for exploring new chord shapes and melodic ideas.

Tuning Details

Here are the specific notes for each string in the E Open Canvas tuning:

• String 6 (Low E): E2
• String 5 (A): E3
• String 4 (D): C#4
• String 3 (G): F#4
• String 2 (B): B3
• String 1 (High E): E4

How to Tune to E Open Canvas

To achieve the E Open Canvas tuning, follow these specific string adjustments:

• String 6 (Low E): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). The target note is E2.
• String 5 (A): Tune up 7 semitones from standard A to E3. Caution: Tuning up 7 semitones (exceeding 4 semitones) is a significant increase in string tension. For optimal playability and string longevity, consider using a lighter gauge string for this position if you plan to keep this tuning for extended periods.
• String 4 (D): Tune down 1 semitone from standard D to C#4.
• String 3 (G): Tune down 1 semitone from standard G to F#4.
• String 2 (B): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). The target note is B3.
• String 1 (High E): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). The target note is E4.