GDADEA: A Resonant and Open Soundscape

The GDADEA tuning offers a wonderfully open and resonant sound, making it a favorite for ambient, new age, and modern acoustic styles. Its wide intervals and strategic repetition of notes across octaves create a rich harmonic bed, ideal for fingerstyle playing, arpeggios, and crafting sustained, shimmering textures. The open strings themselves form a unique, expansive suspended chord, providing a deep sense of space and musical possibility.

Technical Analysis

In GDADEA, the guitar strings are tuned to G2-D3-A3-D3-E3-A3, from the lowest to the highest string. This configuration can be best understood as a G major-based voicing, specifically a Gsus2(add6) or G6(no3)add9, as it incorporates G (root), D (5th), A (9th), and E (6th), with the major third (B) notably absent. The strategic repetition of D and A notes at different octaves significantly contributes to its full, ringing quality and sustains. This unique interval structure profoundly alters the fretboard, opening up new avenues for chord voicings and melodic exploration. Standard barre chords will take on entirely new and often suspended or open qualities, while simple two-finger shapes can surprisingly yield complex harmonies. For instance, the open tuning itself rings as G-D-A-D-E-A, providing a rich, suspended tonality that can serve as a compelling drone or a versatile foundation for modal melodies. This tuning encourages creative experimentation, rewarding players who explore simple shapes and open string combinations to uncover its vast sonic potential.

Tuning Notes Overview

• String 6 (Low E String): Tuned to G2
• String 5 (A String): Tuned to D3
• String 4 (D String): Tuned to A3
• String 3 (G String): Tuned to D3
• String 2 (B String): Tuned to E3
• String 1 (High E String): Tuned to A3

How to Tune to GDADEA

This tuning involves significant changes from standard EADGBe. With several strings requiring substantial adjustments, it is generally advised that for movements exceeding 4 semitones (either up or down), considering a different gauge string may be necessary to maintain optimal tone, string tension, and to prevent potential damage to your guitar or strings.

• String 6 (Low E String - E2): Tune up 3 semitones to G2.
• String 5 (A String - A2): Tune up 5 semitones to D3. (Caution: This is a significant upward tension increase. A lighter gauge string is recommended for prolonged use.)
• String 4 (D String - D3): Tune up 7 semitones to A3. (Caution: This is a very substantial upward tension increase. A lighter gauge string is strongly recommended.)
• String 3 (G String - G3): Tune down 5 semitones to D3. (Caution: This is a significant downward tension adjustment. A heavier gauge string may be considered to maintain tension and avoid string floppiness.)
• String 2 (B String - B3): Tune down 7 semitones to E3. (Caution: This is a very substantial downward tension adjustment. A heavier gauge string is strongly recommended.)
• String 1 (High E String - E4): Tune down 7 semitones to A3. (Caution: This is a very substantial downward tension adjustment. A heavier gauge string is strongly recommended.)