Oct 05 2008
Open G Guitar Tuning
Open G tuning is the standard for slide guitar playing. It is also used to provide a unique set of single finger guitar chords to the more creative axe player. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones is known for using Open G tuning in such Stones hits as ‘Brown Sugar’ and ‘Start me up’.
To start off, your guitar should be tuned to standard tuning . If you need a refresher on this we have an article that shows you how to do it. The next step is tuning your first string to a D. You may remember this process from the Guitar Today article on dropped D tuning .Next step is tuning your 5th or A string down to a G. You can check the note with the 3rd G string. Next tune your high E or first string down to a D. Giving you the open G tuning: D G D G B D
It may seem like a lot, but you only have to change the notes of three of the guitar strings.
- 6th string - D
- 5th string - G
- 1st string - D
Resources for Open G guitar playing
Open G Chords - Alan Horvath provides an extensive set of diagrams for open G chord shapes.
Songs in Open G - Extensive resource on open G guitar playing. Includes a huge list of songs recorded in Open G
