tunetheory

Open tunings 101

Open D

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TuneTheory Pro tuning

Open D tunes the guitar to a D major chord: D A D F# A D. Strum the open strings and you get a full D major. It is the home of slide guitar, drones, and chord shapes that Standard cannot reach.

Tune to it in TuneTheory

  1. Open the Instrument tuner.
  2. Tap the capsule at the top (it reads Guitar · Standard) and choose Open D.
  3. The retune guide shows which way each string moves. Tune to D2 A2 D3 F#3 A3 D4; each string pill turns teal when it lands.

Interval map

From low (6) to high (1): D(1), A(5), D(1), F#(3), A(5), D(1). Root, fifth, root, third, fifth, root. That symmetry is why drones and one-finger barres work so well: bar any fret and you have a major chord.

History and origins

Open D is sometimes called Vestapol tuning, after the nineteenth-century parlor piece that was written in it. Blues and slide players carried it, and its whole-step cousin Open E, through the twentieth century. Modern fingerstyle picked it up again for its drones and open harmony.

Genres and artists

  • Delta and Chicago blues and slide guitar (Open D / Open E)
  • Modern fingerstyle and acoustic instrumentalists
  • Songwriters after voicings Standard does not offer

Players who reach for Open D or Open E: Elmore James, Ry Cooder, Joni Mitchell, Ben Howard, John Butler.

Songs to learn

  • Vestapol (traditional), the piece the tuning is named for
  • She Talks to Angels (The Black Crowes). Open E; play it in Open D with a capo at 2.
  • Statesboro Blues (Blind Willie McTell, The Allman Brothers). Open E; the same shapes work in Open D.
  • Dust My Broom (Elmore James). The slide vocabulary everyone borrows, in Open D or E.

Slide and voicing tips

  • Let the 1st and 6th strings ring while you move triads on the top three. The drones fill out the harmony.
  • For a minor chord without losing the barre, drop the 3rd string one fret below the bar.
  • Move only the top triad and keep the bass drones steady. That is voice leading for free.

Chord charts

Harmonized chords for D major, D Mixolydian, and D natural minor, with Roman numerals, quality filters, and note‑degree overlays on every grip.

Open D chord charts

Listen and learn

Further reading and song lists:

Setup and practice tips

  • For slide, try slightly heavier strings and a little more action. Keep the bar pressure light.
  • Drone the 6th and 1st strings while the top-string triads move.
  • Twenty minutes is plenty: five on drones, ten on I–IV–V variations, five on melody or slide.

Want more tunings? Open C, DADGAD, and Open G are all in the app’s tuning library, each with its own character.