Guitar Open E Tuner — Tune to Open E in Your Browser
Mic-based chromatic tuner pre-set to Open E. No download, no sign-up, works in your browser.
Tuning summary
- Notes (low to high)
- E2 · B2 · E3 · G#3 · B3 · E4
- Instrument
- Guitar
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- About this tuning
- Open E shape — same intervals as Open D, raised a tone. High string tension; consider lighter strings.
Start tuning
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About Open E on guitar
Open E is EBEG#BE, low to high. It is Open D shifted up a whole step — same intervals, raised pitch. The open strings spell an E major chord, and the tuning is a slide-blues staple anywhere a player wants the brighter, sharper character of E over the warmer D.
Duane Allman is the patron saint of Open E slide. His work on 'Statesboro Blues' and the entire Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs sessions is built on this tuning. The Rolling Stones' 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' and several Eric Clapton tracks also use Open E. The bright, ringing quality of the E major triad — with its higher fundamental — cuts through a band mix more aggressively than Open D does.
The trade-off is string tension. Pulling the 5th, 4th, and 3rd strings up from A, D, and G to B, E, and G# means the entire neck is under noticeably more tension than standard. On a vintage acoustic this can be a problem; many players who live in Open E either use lighter strings (10s instead of 11s on an acoustic, 9s instead of 10s on an electric) or simply do not leave the guitar in Open E for long stretches.
If you already know Open D, Open E is the same vocabulary capoed at the second fret in your head. Slide barres at frets 5, 7, and 12 give A, B, and E. Single-finger movable major chords up the neck are the entire game. For a beginner coming from standard, Open E is harder to start with than Open D because of the tension and the sharper third — Open D is the easier first open tuning.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I keep my guitar in Open E long-term?
- Probably not on a vintage acoustic — the increased tension can warp the neck over time. Many players drop to Open D and capo at fret 2 to get the same pitches with less tension.
- What strings should I use for Open E?
- If you stay in Open E often, drop one gauge size lighter than your standard set to compensate for the higher tension.
- Why is Open E associated with slide?
- A slide barre at any fret produces a clean major chord, and the bright E voicing cuts through electric blues mixes especially well.
- What songs use Open E?
- Duane Allman's 'Statesboro Blues', Eric Clapton's 'Layla' (the slide parts), the Stones' 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' and 'Gimme Shelter'.
- Is Open E the same as Spanish tuning?
- No. Spanish tuning is a 19th-century name for Open G (DGDGBD). The names predate modern terminology and can be confusing.