The "Open Em11" tuning, famously utilized by the Brazilian emocore band Ludovic, offers a rich and resonant harmonic landscape. This tuning creates an extended E minor sound, specifically an Em7(add11) voicing, when strummed open. The low E, G, D, G, A, E sequence provides a dark and melancholic yet full-bodied foundation perfect for atmospheric playing, open strumming, and creating drone notes.

Verbal Analysis

This tuning immediately evokes an emotional and expansive sound, characteristic of the emocore genre. The open strings present a deep E minor character with added extensions (the 7th and 11th). The presence of two E's and two G's in different octaves provides a powerful and sustained resonance. It's an excellent tuning for creating intricate chord progressions with minimal finger movement, allowing for easy access to various minor voicings and suspended sounds. Its open nature makes it very friendly for slide guitar or for exploring new melodic possibilities over a consistent minor backdrop.

Technical Analysis

Starting from the 6th string, the open notes are E2, G2, D3, G3, A3, E4. Analytically, these notes form the constituents of an E minor 7 chord (E, G, D) with an added 11th (A). While the perfect 5th (B) and the 9th (F#) are not present in the open strings, the strong root, minor third, minor seventh, and eleventh give it a distinctive "Em11" character. The intervals between the strings are: Low E to G (minor 3rd), G to D (perfect 5th), D to G (perfect 4th), G to A (major 2nd), and A to High E (perfect 5th). The tuning adjustments are relatively minor, with only the 5th (A) and 2nd (B) strings being lowered by two semitones each to G and A respectively. All other strings remain at their standard pitch. These moderate changes mean that standard string gauges should be perfectly suitable without risk of excessive tension or looseness.

Open String Notes

• String 6 (Low E): E2
• String 5 (A string): G2
• String 4 (D string): D3
• String 3 (G string): G3
• String 2 (B string): A3
• String 1 (High E): E4

How to Tune

To achieve the Open Em11 tuning, follow these adjustments from standard E Standard tuning (E-A-D-G-B-E):

• String 6 (Low E to E2): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). This string remains at its standard E2 pitch.
• String 5 (A to G2): Tune down 2 semitones. This string will move from A2 to G2.
• String 4 (D to D3): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). This string remains at its standard D3 pitch.
• String 3 (G to G3): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). This string remains at its standard G3 pitch.
• String 2 (B to A3): Tune down 2 semitones. This string will move from B3 to A3.
• String 1 (High E to E4): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). This string remains at its standard E4 pitch.

Note: All string movements are within a range where standard string gauges should perform well. No significant changes (beyond +/- 4 semitones) are required that would necessitate a different string gauge.