Guitar Open A Tuner — Tune to Open A in Your Browser
Mic-based chromatic tuner pre-set to Open A. No download, no sign-up, works in your browser.
Tuning summary
- Notes (low to high)
- E2 · A2 · C#3 · E3 · A3 · E4
- Instrument
- Guitar
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- About this tuning
- Strums an open A major. Closely related to Open G with all strings up a tone — common in slide blues.
Start tuning
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About Open A on guitar
Open A is E A C# E A E, low to high. The open strings spell an A major chord. Functionally, Open A is Open G with every string raised a whole step — same chord shapes, same single-finger barre logic, just transposed up a tone. Players who know Open G can pick up Open A in minutes.
Open A is most common in slide blues and country. Bukka White and Robert Johnson both used Open A on different recordings, and country slide players often choose Open A over Open G for the brighter pitch when accompanying a vocal in A. The Stones occasionally used Open A as a Rolling Stones rhythm-guitar variant of their usual Open G work.
The trade-off is string tension. Raising the strings from Open G to Open A puts each string roughly 12% under more tension. On lighter-built acoustics, this can stress the top; many Open A players use lighter-gauge strings or capo Open G at fret 2 to get the same pitches without the tension penalty. The capo approach is so common that Open A is sometimes treated as 'Open G capoed at 2' rather than its own tuning.
If you are coming from Open G, treat Open A as a transposition exercise. Every chord, lick, and song you know in Open G works in Open A unchanged — just the resulting pitch is a whole step higher. If you are coming from standard, learn Open G first; Open A is rarely worth learning before Open G is solid in your hands.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Open A the same as Open G capoed at fret 2?
- Yes — the resulting pitches are identical. Many players use the capo approach to avoid the higher tension of true Open A.
- Can I use Open A for slide guitar?
- Yes — Open A is a slide tuning equally as valid as Open G or Open D. The brighter pitch suits some vocal ranges better.
- Will Open A damage my guitar?
- On a normal modern guitar, no. On a very lightly-built vintage acoustic, the higher tension may not be ideal long-term.
- What chord shapes work in Open A?
- Every Open G shape, transposed by ear or by capo. A barre at any fret produces a major chord at that root.
- What's the easiest way to switch from standard to Open A?
- Either retune (raise the 5th and 1st strings, lower the others) or capo Open G at fret 2 — most players do the second.