GuitarTuner.online

6-String Guitar tuner – Open C

C-G-C-G-C-E · 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 C tuning (C-G-C-G-C-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 C tuning

Compared with Standard E, Open C moves 4 strings. Some strings go up and others go down, so the total tension stays close to Standard E while the shape of the fretboard changes completely.2 strings stay exactly where they were.

How Open C differs from Standard E, string by string.
StringStandard EOpen CChange
1E2C2down 4 semitones
2A2G2down 2 semitones
3D3C3down 2 semitones
5B3C4up 1 semitone

Played open, the strings sound C-G-C-G-C-E – from C2 at the bottom to E4 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 C. 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 C shapes in this tuning →

Open C drops the low string a full two tones to C, giving the guitar a bass note well below its usual floor and an enormous, piano-like resonance. It is a favourite of fingerstyle and ambient players for exactly that reason.

It is also the most demanding of the common open tunings on your strings: the bottom two move a long way down, and a standard set will buzz. A heavier gauge, or a dedicated instrument, makes the difference between a huge sound and a loose one.

Dropping 4 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 C tuning comes from

Open C appears in the American parlour guitar repertoire and in blues slide playing, but it became well known in rock through Mick Ralphs, who wrote Bad Company's “Can't Get Enough” (1974) in C-G-C-G-C-E. Later Devin Townsend made open C a signature of his heavy, wide sound; John Fahey and other fingerstylists also explored it.

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 C?

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 (C-G-C-G-C-E).

Which notes are used in Open C tuning?

Open C tuning for 6-String Guitar uses the notes C-G-C-G-C-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.