GuitarTuner.online

6-String Guitar tuner – Open B

B-F#-B-F#-B-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 6-String Guitar is to Open B tuning (B-F#-B-F#-B-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 B tuning

Compared with Standard E, Open B moves 5 strings. Every change is downward, the largest by 5 semitones, so the instrument sits at lower tension than in Standard E.1 string stays exactly where it was.

How Open B differs from Standard E, string by string.
StringStandard EOpen BChange
1E2B1down 5 semitones
2A2F#2down 3 semitones
3D3B2down 3 semitones
4G3F#3down 1 semitone
6E4D#4down 1 semitone

Played open, the strings sound B-F#-B-F#-B-D# – from B1 at the bottom to D#4 at the top, a span of 2 octaves and 4 semitones. Step by step across the neck the intervals are a fifth, a fourth, a fifth, a fourth, a major third, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.

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

This is a long drop: 5 semitones below Standard E. Standard gauges will flap at this pitch. A heavy set, and often a longer scale, is what makes the tuning playable rather than merely possible.

History

Where the Open B tuning comes from

Open B has the same shape as open C a semitone lower – root and fifth doubled in the bass and a major third on top. It is a modern tuning used by some heavy and ambient players for its big open sound at a lower pitch. There is no documented originator.

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 B?

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 (B-F#-B-F#-B-D#).

Which notes are used in Open B tuning?

Open B tuning for 6-String Guitar uses the notes B-F#-B-F#-B-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.