Guitar tuning
Open E Tuning
Open E tunes the open strings to an E major chord and is strongly associated with slide guitar.
- Notes low to high
- E, B, E, G#, B, E
- Strings
- 6
- Default frets
- 24
- Open pitch range
- E2 to E4
- 24-fret pitch range
- E2 to E6
- Also called
- EBEG#BE
How this tuning changes the guitar
The open strings spell E-B-E-G sharp-B-E, an E major chord with roots doubled across three octaves. Compared with standard tuning, strings 5, 4, and 3 rise to B, E, and G sharp.
Fretboard and chord implications
A straight barre across all six strings moves the open major voicing chromatically. Slide lines can target the root, major third, and fifth on a single fret, while partial voicings help avoid crowding every register.
Open E Tuning fretboard notes
Open E Tuning string notes
| String | Note | Pitch |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | E | E2 |
| 5 | B | B2 |
| 4 | E | E3 |
| 3 | G# | G#3 |
| 2 | B | B3 |
| 1 | E | E4 |
Common uses
- slide guitar
- blues
- southern rock
- Derek Trucks-style open tuning
Practice this tuning
- Tune from low to high as E B E G# B E, then play each open string while saying its note name and string number aloud.
- Play the open E chord, then barre all six strings at frets 5, 7, and 12 and name the resulting major chords.
- Create a slide phrase that alternates the open E chord with E major pentatonic chord tones at frets 5, 7, and 12.
Open this tuning in the fretboard tool
Start with open e tuning loaded, then adjust root, scale, fret count, labels, colors, and orientation.
Open in interactive fretboard