This unique tuning, affectionately named "C Drone Major," offers a rich and resonant soundscape that immediately evokes a sense of openness and harmonic fullness. Originating from experimentation with standard Open C, it expands upon that foundation with a distinctive double G drone on the lowest strings. The result is a vibrant, lush C Major chord when strummed open, perfect for creating big, sweeping sounds, driving rhythmic patterns, or intricate fingerstyle passages. It's particularly well-suited for blues, folk, indie rock, and any genre where a deep, sustained harmonic bed is desired. The tuning encourages an intuitive approach to melody and harmony, making it a joy to explore for both beginners and seasoned players.

Technical Analysis

The "C Drone Major" tuning sets the guitar strings to G2-G2-C3-E3-C4-E4 from the lowest (6th) to the highest (1st) string. The open strings form a full C Major chord (C-E-G), significantly enriched by doubled notes across different octaves. The presence of two low G2 notes on the 6th and 5th strings creates a powerful, sustained drone effect, providing a deep sonic anchor.

The intervals between adjacent strings are as follows:

• String 6 (G2) to String 5 (G2): Unison (P1)
• String 5 (G2) to String 4 (C3): Perfect Fourth (P4)
• String 4 (C3) to String 3 (E3): Major Third (M3)
• String 3 (E3) to String 2 (C4): Minor Sixth (m6)
• String 2 (C4) to String 1 (E4): Major Third (M3)

This arrangement provides an interesting mix of traditional and non-traditional intervals, promoting unique melodic and harmonic voicings not commonly found in standard tuning.

Chords and Playability

• Open Chord: The open strings resonate a magnificent C Major chord, making it incredibly easy to start playing with a full, rich sound.
• Barre Chords: One of the most intuitive aspects of this tuning is the ease of forming major chords. Simply barring across any fret will instantly produce a major chord corresponding to that fret's root note (e.g., barring at the 2nd fret creates a D Major chord).
• Minor Chords: While full barre chords will always be major, minor chords can be explored by selectively fretting individual strings, particularly the 3rd and 1st strings, to alter the major third into a minor third.
• Power Chords: The low G-G-C configuration (strings 6, 5, 4) makes it straightforward to create powerful, resonant power chords by just fretting these lower strings.
• Drone Potential: The doubled low G strings offer excellent opportunities for drone-based music, allowing for melodies and harmonies to be played over a sustained, foundational tone. This is especially effective with slide guitar techniques.
• Harmonic Richness: The repetition of C and E notes across octaves, coupled with the low G drone, ensures that even simple melodies or two-note harmonies will sound remarkably full and harmonically rich.

How to Tune

To achieve the "C Drone Major" tuning from standard EADGBe, follow these steps carefully:

• String 6 (Low E): Tune up 3 semitones from E to G2.
• String 5 (A): Tune down 2 semitones from A to G2.
• String 4 (D): Tune down 2 semitones from D to C3.
• String 3 (G): Tune down 3 semitones from G to E3.
• String 2 (B): Tune up 1 semitone from B to C4.
• String 1 (High E): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) from E to E4.

String 6 (Low E): G2

String 5 (A): G2

String 4 (D): C3

String 3 (G): E3

String 2 (B): C4

String 1 (High E): E4