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Stumped on tunning, lost on open D

I got my new CBG done last night and I got to playing it, and man am I rusty!

Anyhow, I was going to tune to open G, but I could not get the top string to tune into G, I felt like I was going to snap it. So I went to my old, open D, so I tuned it DAD, using the top strings for a pack of six. Anyhow, when I strum the open D, on my guitar tuning app on my phone, I get A chord. Why is that? is that because the A string is the root note? Not well rounded on music theory, so any help would be great, thanks, and if anyone can lead me to some good, one finger chords using the open D tuning, that would be awesome too. I am wanting to change up my playing style and polish it a bit more, and mix in some sliding with some finger work.

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on May 11, 2017 at 1:47pm

there are other things that come in to play also, as scale length variation will result in string tension variations, but your general string sets will work ok around the 24-25 1/2 inch scale length, usually giving you the ability to step up or down at least 1 step, often 2, and sometimes even more, the longer the scale length the more tension is required to tune to a particular note, eg. if you tuned a guitar of 24" scale to a G , using the recommended G string, you could easily step that up to A or B, maybe even a C. but on a 25 1/2" scale with the same string, you would be lucky to reach B without the risk of breaking, also stepping up more than 1 step can make it a bit harsh on the fingers, but works well with a slide, not trying to confuse you here, just hoping to save you snapping string

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Permalink Reply by Snuffy Smith on May 11, 2017 at 1:55pm

Good info, but all too confusing for a beginner. He should just grab a new set of strings, and start with the 6/5/4 from the set. Tighten the strings till they're a little tighter than "floppy" and wait for the note to appear on the tuner. Tune the 6th to Low G (the first G to appear after floppy), and so on...for Open G tuning. Best way for a beginner.

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Permalink Reply by Snuffy Smith on May 11, 2017 at 1:34pm

My best advice to you is to start off with Open G tuning on your CBG. Once you get a firm grasp on that, then move onto experimenting with other "open" tunings.

Here is a list of some common CBG 3-string tunings:

Open G - GDg

Open A - AEa

Open B - BEb

Open C - CGc

Open D - DAd

Open E - EBe

Open F - FCf

Some other possibilities:

DGC

EeB

ACE