5-String Banjo tuner – Open D (f#DF#AD)
F#-D-F#-A-D · Open
Press “Start tuner” – the browser will ask for microphone access. Sound is analysed on this device and never uploaded.
This free online tuner listens through your microphone and shows how close each string of your 5-String Banjo is to Open D (f#DF#AD) tuning (F#-D-F#-A-D). Play a string, watch the needle, and turn the peg until the meter glows green. If you prefer tuning by ear, tap any string card to hear its reference tone.
About Open D (f#DF#AD) tuning
Compared with Standard / Open G (gDGBD), Open D (f#DF#AD) moves 3 strings. Every change is downward, the largest by 2 semitones, so the instrument sits at lower tension than in Standard / Open G (gDGBD).2 strings stay exactly where they were.
| String | Standard / Open G (gDGBD) | Open D (f#DF#AD) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G4 | F#4 | down 1 semitone |
| 3 | G3 | F#3 | down 1 semitone |
| 4 | B3 | A3 | down 2 semitones |
Played open, the strings sound F#-D-F#-A-D – from D3 at the bottom to F#4 at the top, a span of 1 octave and 4 semitones.
Open D (f#DF#AD) is re-entrant: the strings do not rise steadily in pitch, so the string nearest your thumb is not the lowest note available. That is deliberate, and it is a large part of why the instrument sounds the way it does.
Strummed open, with nothing fretted, the strings spell D. That is what makes a tuning like this useful for slide playing and drones – a full chord is one straight barre away at any fret. See D shapes in this tuning →
Open D – f#DF#AD – gives the banjo a D major chord on the open strings, with the drone string raised to F#. It is the old-time counterpart to Open G for tunes in D, and it has a brighter, more strident voice.
The raised fifth string is the thing to watch: it is already the highest-tension string on the instrument and is the one most likely to break when tuned up.
History
Where the Open D (f#DF#AD) tuning comes from
Open D (f#DF#AD) is an old tuning of the five-string banjo used for pieces in D. In the 1950s Earl Scruggs used cam tuners to switch between G and D tunings within a piece, as in “Earl's Breakdown”, and in 1964 Bill Keith and Dan Bump introduced Keith tuners, which made such changes precise.
Other 5-String Banjo tunings
Chords for this tuning
How do I tune my 5-String Banjo to Open D (f#DF#AD)?
Allow microphone access, pluck a string, and the tuner will detect it automatically. The needle shows whether the string is flat or sharp – adjust until the reading is within ±5 cents (F#-D-F#-A-D).
Which notes are used in Open D (f#DF#AD) tuning?
Open D (f#DF#AD) tuning for 5-String Banjo uses the notes F#-D-F#-A-D, listed from the lowest string to the highest.
Can I tune without a microphone?
Yes. Every string card plays a reference tone – tap it and match your string to the sound by ear.