Verbal Analysis

The "FADFAD" tuning immediately presents an open D minor chord, offering a rich, melancholic, and resonant sound. When strummed open, it evokes a full, dark, and somewhat bluesy or folk-inspired atmosphere. This tuning is excellent for creating drone-like textures or for slide guitar, where the open minor chord provides a perfect backdrop. Its inherent minor tonality can lend itself beautifully to expressive ballads, somber instrumental pieces, or even heavy, downtuned rock with a unique flavor. The repetition of the F, A, and D notes across octaves creates a powerful and layered sound, giving chords a dense and full quality.

Technical Analysis

This tuning sets the guitar strings to F2-A2-D3-F3-A3-D4 from the thickest (6th) to the thinnest (1st) string. This specific arrangement forms a complete D minor chord (D-F-A) in multiple octaves when all strings are played open.

• Root (D): Prominently featured on the 4th (D3) and 1st (D4) strings.
• Minor Third (F): Provided by the 6th (F2) and 3rd (F3) strings, establishing the minor tonality.
• Perfect Fifth (A): Carried by the 5th (A2) and 2nd (A3) strings, adding harmonic stability.

The intervallic structure, taking the lowest F2 as a reference, is F (root), A (Major 3rd), D (Perfect 5th), F (Octave), A (Octave), D (Octave). When viewing it from the perspective of D as the root, the structure beautifully outlines D (root), F (minor 3rd), A (perfect 5th), with these notes repeating across various octaves.

Chordal Opportunities:

• Open D Minor: Strumming all strings open yields an incredibly rich and resonant D minor chord, ideal for creating drone textures or as a solid foundation for melodic lines.
• Barre Chords: A significant advantage of this tuning is the ease of creating minor chords by simply barring across any fret. For example, barring the 1st fret instantly gives you a D# minor chord, the 2nd fret an E minor chord, and so on. This makes transposing minor chords straightforward and intuitive.
• Simple Fingerings: The consistent F-A-D pattern allows for the exploration of many melodic and harmonic ideas with minimal finger movement. Experiment with lifting or fretting individual strings to discover inversions, suspend notes, or add extensions that fit the minor key.

How to Tune

To achieve the FADFAD tuning from standard EADGBe tuning, carefully follow these string adjustments:

• 6th String (Low E): Tune up 1 semitone from E2 to F2. (This is a minor adjustment and generally safe for standard gauge strings.)
• 5th String (A): Keep as is; no change is required from A2.
• 4th String (D): Keep as is; no change is required from D3.
• 3rd String (G): Tune down 2 semitones from G3 to F3.
• 2nd String (B): Tune down 2 semitones from B3 to A3.
• 1st String (High E): Tune down 2 semitones from E4 to D4.

Important Note: The tuning movements required for FADFAD are relatively moderate, with the largest adjustment being 2 semitones down or 1 semitone up. These changes should be safe for most standard gauge guitar strings. However, always exercise caution when tuning strings, particularly when increasing tension beyond 3 or 4 semitones, as this can significantly increase the risk of string breakage. For more extreme tuning changes (exceeding 4 semitones up or down), it is generally recommended to consider using a different string gauge to ensure optimal playability, intonation, and string longevity.

6th String: F2 (Low F)
5th String: A2 (A)
4th String: D3 (D)
3rd String: F3 (F)
2nd String: A3 (A)
1st String: D4 (High D)