7-String Guitar tuner – Russian (Open G)
D-G-B-D-G-B-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 7-String Guitar is to Russian (Open G) tuning (D-G-B-D-G-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 Russian (Open G) tuning
Compared with Standard B, Russian (Open G) moves 4 strings. Some strings go up and others go down, so the total tension stays close to Standard B while the shape of the fretboard changes completely.3 strings stay exactly where they were.
| String | Standard B | Russian (Open G) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B1 | D2 | up 3 semitones |
| 2 | E2 | G2 | up 3 semitones |
| 3 | A2 | B2 | up 2 semitones |
| 7 | E4 | D4 | down 2 semitones |
Played open, the strings sound D-G-B-D-G-B-D – from D2 at the bottom to D4 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 major third, a minor third, and that is what decides how chord shapes fall under the hand.
Strummed open, with nothing fretted, the strings spell G. 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 G shapes in this tuning →
The Russian seven-string is a different instrument from the metal seven-string that shares the name. It is tuned to an open G chord across all seven strings, and it carried the entire Russian guitar tradition – romances, gypsy song, and later the bard repertoire of Vysotsky and Okudzhava.
Because the open strings already form a chord, accompaniment is largely a matter of moving one or two fingers, which is exactly what a singer accompanying themselves needs. Western six-string fingerings do not transfer; this tuning has its own literature going back to the early nineteenth century.
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 Russian (Open G) tuning comes from
The Russian seven-string tuning, D-G-B-D-G-B-D, is an open G major chord. It was promoted at the turn of the 19th century by Andrei Sychra (1773–1850), who published a method and hundreds of pieces for it in St Petersburg; his pupils, and later virtuosos such as Mikhail Vysotsky, made it the guitar of Russian salons and Gypsy choirs.
In the 20th century it was the tuning of the Soviet bard song: Bulat Okudzhava and Vladimir Vysotsky both played seven-string guitars (Vysotsky usually tuned a tone or a tone and a half lower). The tuning survives as a distinct tradition today.
Other 7-String Guitar tunings
Chords for this tuning
How do I tune my 7-String Guitar to Russian (Open G)?
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-G-B-D-G-B-D).
Which notes are used in Russian (Open G) tuning?
Russian (Open G) tuning for 7-String Guitar uses the notes D-G-B-D-G-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.