GuitarTuner.online

12-String Guitar tuner – Open D

D-D-A-A-D-D-F#-F#-A-A-D-D · Open

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Microphone off
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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 12-String Guitar is to Open D tuning (D-D-A-A-D-D-F#-F#-A-A-D-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 tuning

Compared with Standard, Open D moves 8 strings. Every change is downward, the largest by 2 semitones, so the instrument sits at lower tension than in Standard.4 strings stay exactly where they were.

How Open D differs from Standard, string by string.
StringStandardOpen DChange
1E2D2down 2 semitones
2E3D3down 2 semitones
7G3F#3down 1 semitone
8G4F#4down 1 semitone
9B3A3down 2 semitones
10B3A3down 2 semitones
11E4D4down 2 semitones
12E4D4down 2 semitones

Played open, the strings sound D-D-A-A-D-D-F#-F#-A-A-D-D – from D2 at the bottom to F#4 at the top, a span of 2 octaves and 4 semitones.

Open D 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 →

The drop is small enough that a standard set handles it. If the lowest string starts to rattle against the frets, one step up in gauge fixes it.

History

Where the Open D tuning comes from

Open D (Vestapol) on the twelve-string continues the 19th-century parlour and blues tradition of this tuning. It is well suited to slide, and Leo Kottke and other fingerstylists used it.

History of the instrument: 12-String Guitar →

Other 12-String Guitar tunings

Standard

Standard E-E-A-A-D-D-G-G-B-B-E-EHalf Step Down D#-D#-G#-G#-C#-C#-F#-F#-A#-A#-D#-D#Whole Step Down D-D-G-G-C-C-F-F-A-A-D-D

Drop

Drop D D-D-A-A-D-D-G-G-B-B-E-EDouble Drop D D-D-A-A-D-D-G-G-B-B-D-DDrop C C-C-G-G-C-C-F-F-A-A-D-DDrop C# C#-C#-G#-G#-C#-C#-F#-F#-A#-A#-D#-D#Drop B B-B-F#-F#-B-B-E-E-G#-G#-C#-C#Drop A A-A-E-E-A-A-D-D-F#-F#-B-B

Modal

D Modal D-D-A-A-D-D-G-G-A-A-D-D

Open

Open C C-C-G-G-C-C-G-G-C-C-E-EOpen D D-D-A-A-D-D-F#-F#-A-A-D-DOpen E E-E-B-B-E-E-G#-G#-B-B-E-EOpen G D-D-G-G-D-D-G-G-B-B-D-D

Chords for this tuning

CGDAEFAll 12-String Guitar chords →
How do I tune my 12-String Guitar to Open D?

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 (D-D-A-A-D-D-F#-F#-A-A-D-D).

Which notes are used in Open D tuning?

Open D tuning for 12-String Guitar uses the notes D-D-A-A-D-D-F#-F#-A-A-D-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.