Emaj9 Open Drone - A Serendipitous Resonance

This intriguing guitar tuning, derived from an accidental alteration, unfolds into a rich and resonant open E Major 9th chord. What began as a "messed up" attempt at another tuning has serendipitously blossomed into a beautiful and harmonically full configuration. The arrangement of notes creates a warm, expansive soundscape, perfect for atmospheric textures, slide guitar, or fingerstyle pieces where a rich, open major tonality is desired.

Verbal Analysis: The Soundscape

The most striking feature of Emaj9 Open Drone is its immediate and full harmonic content. Strumming all open strings yields a vibrant E Major 9th chord (E-G#-B-D#-F#), providing an instant sense of lushness and sophistication. The low E string provides a solid root, while the high D# (D5#) beautifully echoes the Major 7th from the D#4, creating a shimmering top end. The significant drop from F#4 on the 3rd string to B3 on the 2nd string adds an unexpected, almost lute-like spacing in the middle, creating unique voicing opportunities. This tuning invites experimentation with drone-like qualities, as the open strings ring together forming a strong tonal center. It's particularly well-suited for blues, folk, ambient, or even some jazz styles where a consistent harmonic foundation is beneficial.

Chords are very accessible in this tuning. Barring across any fret will produce an E Major 9th chord transposed to that fret's root note. For instance, barring at the 1st fret gives an Fmaj9, the 3rd fret a Gmaj9, and so on. This makes it incredibly easy to create rich chord progressions. Additionally, the open G# and D# notes create natural opportunities for suspended and extended chords with minimal effort. The open B string acts as a perfect fifth to the root E, making simple root-fifth power chords readily available on the lower strings. Scales in E Major or E Lydian will sound particularly sweet over this open chord.

Technical Analysis: Intervals and Structure

• Overall Chord: The open strings collectively form an E Major 9th chord (E-G#-B-D#-F#). The specific notes are E2, G#3, D#4, F#4, B3, D#5.
• Intervals (Low to High):
  • String 6 (E2) to String 5 (G#3): Compound Major 3rd (16 semitones).
  • String 5 (G#3) to String 4 (D#4): Perfect 5th (7 semitones).
  • String 4 (D#4) to String 3 (F#4): Minor 3rd (3 semitones).
  • String 3 (F#4) to String 2 (B3): Descending Tritone / Diminished 5th Down (6 semitones down). This is a unique and challenging interval in the middle of the tuning, providing a distinct character.
  • String 2 (B3) to String 1 (D#5): Compound Major 3rd (16 semitones).
• Key/Tonality: Strongly rooted in E Major, with the added F# naturally leaning towards an E Lydian feel if played melodically.
• Repetitions: The D# note appears on both the 4th (D#4) and 1st (D#5) strings, an octave apart, enhancing the open resonance.

How to Tune: From Standard EADGBe

To achieve the Emaj9 Open Drone tuning, follow these precise adjustments from standard EADGBe tuning. Please note the recommended string gauge considerations for significant pitch changes.

• String 6 (Low E): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). This string remains at E2.
• String 5 (A): Tune down 1 semitone from A to G# (G#3).
• String 4 (D): Tune up 1 semitone from D to D# (D#4).
• String 3 (G): Tune down 1 semitone from G to F# (F#4).
• String 2 (B): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). This string remains at B3.
• String 1 (High E): Tune down 1 semitone from E to D# (D#5).

Important Note on String Gauge: All adjustments in this tuning are within a +/- 1 semitone range. This is generally safe for standard guitar strings without requiring a change in gauge. However, always exercise caution when tuning up any string, especially close to or beyond the recommended tension for your string gauge and instrument.

Open String Notes

The open strings for Emaj9 Open Drone tuning are as follows, from the lowest (6th) to the highest (1st) string:

• String 6: E2 (The low E, providing the root of the E Major 9th chord.)
• String 5: G#3 (The major third, adding richness and defining the major tonality.)
• String 4: D#4 (The major seventh, giving the chord its sophisticated, extended quality.)
• String 3: F#4 (The major ninth, further extending the harmony and adding brightness.)
• String 2: B3 (The perfect fifth, providing harmonic stability to the E chord.)
• String 1: D#5 (Another major seventh, an octave higher than the 4th string, creating a shimmering resonance.)