The Dobro tuning, also widely known as Open G, is a classic and highly resonant tuning primarily favored by slide guitarists and those playing resonator guitars. It transforms your instrument into a versatile sound machine, perfect for genres such as blues, folk, country, and Hawaiian music. This tuning's defining characteristic is its ability to produce a full G major chord across all six open strings, providing an immediate harmonic foundation for expressive playing.

Technically, this tuning arranges the guitar's open strings to G-B-D-G-B-D. This configuration forms a complete G major triad (G - root, B - major third, D - perfect fifth) repeated across three octaves. This intuitive harmonic layout simplifies playing major chords significantly; simply barring across any fret will yield a major chord. For example, barring at the 5th fret produces a C major chord (C-E-G-C-E-G), while the 7th fret yields a D major chord (D-F#-A-D-F#-A). This open chord structure not only makes chord progressions straightforward, especially when using a slide, but also encourages rich, melodic playing over a solid harmonic backdrop. The distinct voicings offer a full, ringing quality, creating the signature sound often associated with resonator instruments.

How to Tune

• 6th String (Low E): Tune up 3 semitones to G2. Please take care as this is a significant upward adjustment in tension.
• 5th String (A): Tune up 2 semitones to B2. Please take care as this is an upward adjustment in tension.
• 4th String (D): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to D3.
• 3rd String (G): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to G3.
• 2nd String (B): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to B3.
• 1st String (High E): Tune down 2 semitones to D4.