GuitarTuner.online

6-String Guitar tuner – Open A

E-A-C#-E-A-E · Open

Also known as Spanish A

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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 6-String Guitar is to Open A tuning (E-A-C#-E-A-E). 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 A tuning

Compared with Standard E, Open A moves 3 strings. Every change is downward, the largest by 3 semitones, so the instrument sits at lower tension than in Standard E.3 strings stay exactly where they were.

How Open A differs from Standard E, string by string.
StringStandard EOpen AChange
3D3C#3down 1 semitone
4G3E3down 3 semitones
5B3A3down 2 semitones

Played open, the strings sound E-A-C#-E-A-E – from E2 at the bottom to E4 at the top, a span of 2 octaves. Step by step across the neck the intervals are a fourth, a major third, a minor third, a fourth, a fifth, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.

Strummed open, with nothing fretted, the strings spell A. 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 A shapes in this tuning →

Open A is Open G raised a whole step: the same shapes, the same slide logic, but brighter and with more tension under the fingers. Blues players who want the Open G vocabulary in a key that suits a voice better often come here.

Because it raises rather than lowers, it puts noticeably more pull on the neck than Open G does. Tuning to Open G with a capo at the second fret gets you the same pitches without the strain.

Dropping 3 semitones takes the tension down noticeably. A heavier set – or at least a heavier bottom string – keeps the intonation honest and stops the low string buzzing.

History

Where the Open A tuning comes from

This open A voicing, E-A-C#-E-A-E, is a close relative of the old “Spanish” tunings of the 19th century and has been used by blues slide players since the 1920s and 30s. It is harder on the guitar than open G because several strings are raised, so many players get the same result by putting a capo on the second fret in open G.

History of the instrument: 6-String Guitar →

Other 6-String Guitar tunings

Standard

Standard E E-A-D-G-B-EHalf Step Down (Eb) D#-G#-C#-F#-A#-D#Whole Step Down (D) D-G-C-F-A-DB Standard B-E-A-D-F#-BPlus 1 (F) F-A#-D#-G#-C-FPlus 2 (F#) F#-B-E-A-C#-F#

Drop

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

Open

Open C C-G-C-G-C-EOpen D D-A-D-F#-A-DOpen Dm D-A-D-F-A-DOpen E E-B-E-G#-B-EOpen Em E-B-E-G-B-EOpen F C-F-C-F-A-FOpen G D-G-D-G-B-DOpen Gm D-G-D-G-A#-DOpen A E-A-C#-E-A-EOpen A 2 E-A-E-A-C#-EOpen Am E-A-E-A-C-EOpen B B-F#-B-F#-B-D#CGDGBD (Open G Low C) C-G-D-G-B-DFACGCE (Fmaj7) F-A-C-G-C-EWahine (G) D-G-D-F#-B-D

Modal

DADGAD (D Modal) D-A-D-G-A-DG Modal D-G-D-G-C-DOrkney C-G-D-G-C-D

Alternative

Double Daddy D-A-D-D-A-DAll Fourths E-A-D-G-C-FNew Standard (NST) C-G-D-A-E-GNashville (High Strung) E-A-D-G-B-EEADF#BE E-A-D-F#-B-EOstrich D-D-D-D-D-D

Chords for this tuning

CGDAEFAll 6-String Guitar chords →
How do I tune my 6-String Guitar to Open A?

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 (E-A-C#-E-A-E).

Which notes are used in Open A tuning?

Open A tuning for 6-String Guitar uses the notes E-A-C#-E-A-E, 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.