Tuning Overview: Drop e Open

The "Drop e Open" tuning transforms your guitar into a vibrant and expansive soundscape, resonating with a bright, complex, and potentially jazzy or ethereal character. The open strings, when strummed together, form a rich and extended major chord, offering a lush foundation for melodic exploration, sophisticated fingerstyle arrangements, or adding a unique shimmer to strummed passages. Its wide voicings and non-linear string progression make it particularly suitable for ambient music, modern pop, or anything requiring a sparkling, full-bodied, and harmonically interesting sound.

Technical Analysis

This tuning is set to E2-G3#-C4#-F4#-B3-D5# from the lowest to highest string. When strummed open, these notes collectively form an E Major 13th (Emaj13) chord. The specific notes are E (root), G# (major 3rd), B (perfect 5th), C# (major 6th/13th), D# (major 7th), and F# (major 9th). This creates an incredibly full, sweet, and harmonically sophisticated sound, rich with extensions.

The intervals between consecutive open strings are particularly notable:

• 6th to 5th String (E2 to G3#): A Major 10th (a compound Major 3rd).
• 5th to 4th String (G3# to C4#): A Perfect 4th.
• 4th to 3rd String (C4# to F4#): A Perfect 4th.
• 3rd to 2nd String (F4# to B3): A Diminished 5th descending. Unusually, the 3rd string is actually higher in pitch than the 2nd string, creating a non-linear pitch arrangement across the guitar. This offers unique voicing opportunities and challenges for players accustomed to ascending open string tunings.
• 2nd to 1st String (B3 to D5#): A Major 10th (a compound Major 3rd).

The E major foundation provides easy access to E major and related chords simply by barring frets, while the extended notes allow for quick formation of sophisticated voicings or drone-like textures. The non-sequential pitch of string 3 relative to string 2 encourages innovative fingerings and arpeggiated patterns that would be impossible in standard tuning.

How to Tune

To achieve the 'Drop e Open' tuning from standard EADGBe, follow these steps:

• 6th String (E2): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).
• 5th String (G3#): Tune down 1 semitone from standard A.
• 4th String (C4#): Tune down 1 semitone from standard D.
• 3rd String (F4#): Tune down 1 semitone from standard G.
• 2nd String (B3): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).
• 1st String (D5#): Tune down 1 semitone from standard E.

Note on String Gauge: All string movements for this tuning are within +/- 1 semitone from standard pitch. Therefore, a change in string gauge is generally not required, and your existing strings should handle the tension changes safely.

6th String (E2): This is the lowest string, tuned to E2, matching the standard low E string.

5th String (G3#): Tuned to G sharp in the third octave. This is significantly higher than a standard A2 string, providing a bright, open major third when played with the 6th string, considering the octave difference.

4th String (C4#): Tuned to C sharp in the fourth octave, contributing to the rich chordal structure.

3rd String (F4#): Tuned to F sharp in the fourth octave. This string is notably higher in pitch than the 2nd string, adding a distinctive characteristic to the tuning's voicing.

2nd String (B3): This string remains at B3, matching the standard B string, but it is actually lower in pitch than the adjacent 3rd string.

1st String (D5#): The highest string, tuned to D sharp in the fifth octave, providing a sparkling top voice to the Emaj13 open chord.