The Mears tuning for guitar offers a unique and resonant soundscape, particularly well-suited for fingerstyle playing. As the tuning description suggests, 'throwing different notes on any of the D# strings and strumming is great,' indicating its versatility for creating complex harmonies and textures, especially with the unison D# strings. This tuning deviates significantly from standard EADGBe, creating an open chord with a distinctive, rich character.

Technical Analysis

The open strings are tuned to F2 G#3 D4# D4# C4 D5#. This arrangement creates an open chord that can be analyzed as an F augmented major 7th (Faug(maj7)) voicing. The constituent notes of this open chord are F (root, String 6), G# (augmented 2nd / enharmonic minor 3rd, String 5), C (perfect 5th, String 2), and D# (major 7th, Strings 4, 3, and 1). The presence of two D# notes (strings 4 and 3) in unison provides a dense, sustained quality to this interval, enhancing the overall resonance.

The wide intervals and non-standard structure make this tuning ideal for exploring new melodic and harmonic ideas. The low F2 provides a strong bass foundation, while the higher strings, including a compound perfect 5th (C4) and compound major 7th (D5#) relative to the root, allow for sparkling arpeggios and intricate chord voicings that would be challenging or impossible in standard tuning. Common chord shapes will need to be re-learned, opening up a fresh perspective on the fretboard.

How to Tune Your Guitar to Mears Tuning

To achieve the Mears tuning, begin from standard EADGBe tuning (E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4, from low to high string). Please refer to the specific open string notes provided in the 'Open String Notes' section for the target pitches. Note that for some strings, the tuning movements described below, if strictly applied from standard pitch, may result in an octave different from the specified target note, or a different note entirely (as with string 3). Always use a precise tuner to ensure accuracy and to reach the intended notes as listed in the 'Open String Notes' section. Exercise caution when making significant tuning adjustments.

• String 6 (Low E equivalent): Tune up 1 semitone from its standard E2 pitch to F2.
• String 5 (A equivalent): Tune down 1 semitone from its standard A2 pitch to G#2. The target open note for this string is G3#, an octave higher than the G#2 that results from this movement.
• String 4 (D equivalent): Tune up 1 semitone from its standard D3 pitch to D#3. The target open note for this string is D4#, an octave higher than the D#3 that results from this movement.
• String 3 (G equivalent): Tune down 4 semitones from its standard G3 pitch to E3. The target open note for this string is D4#, which is a significant departure from E3. If you intend to reach D4# from standard G3, you would need to tune up by 9 semitones, not down by 4. Please verify your intended target note carefully for this string.
• String 2 (B equivalent): Tune up 1 semitone from its standard B3 pitch to C4.
• String 1 (High E equivalent): Tune down 1 semitone from its standard E4 pitch to D#4. The target open note for this string is D5#, an octave higher than the D#4 that results from this movement.

Important Note on String Gauge: Tuning strings up or down by more than 4 semitones from their standard pitch can place excessive tension on the string and guitar neck (tuning up) or make the string too slack (tuning down), potentially requiring a different string gauge for optimal playability and safety. In this tuning, if the target note for String 3 (D4#) is desired, it requires a 9-semitone increase from standard G3, which strongly advises using a lighter gauge string to avoid breakage or neck damage. Conversely, a 4-semitone drop for String 3 (to E3) might make it too loose without a heavier gauge string.

Open String Notes (Low to High)

String 6 (Low E Equivalent): F2

String 5 (A Equivalent): G3#

String 4 (D Equivalent): D4#

String 3 (G Equivalent): D4#

String 2 (B Equivalent): C4

String 1 (High E Equivalent): D5#