Open A Guitar Tuner
Tuner settings
🎶 Tune by ear 🎶
Open A tunes the six strings to E, A, E, A, C#, E — strum them open and you get a full A major chord. It is the same interval shape as Open G moved up a whole tone, which is why the two tunings share so much repertoire.
This is the tuning most associated with slide blues: because every open string belongs to the chord, a slide laid straight across any fret gives you a clean major chord at that position. Click here to open the tuner and follow the steps below.
Strings and Frequencies of the Guitar in Open A Tuning
In Open A tuning, the guitar strings are tuned to the following notes and frequencies:
- 6th string (E2): 82.41 Hz
- 5th string (A2): 110.00 Hz
- 4th string (E3): 164.81 Hz
- 3rd string (A3): 220.00 Hz
- 2nd string (C#4): 277.18 Hz
- 1st string (E4): 329.63 Hz
This particular voicing — E A E A C# E — was chosen because it raises only the 4th and 3rd strings and leaves the 6th where it is, so total tension stays close to standard. You may see Open A written as A E A C# E A instead, which pulls every string up and puts real strain on the neck. Unless a piece specifically calls for it, the version on this page is the safer one to live with.
Tune your Guitar to Open A
Tuning your guitar to Open A with OnlineTuner.org is straightforward:
- Ensure you are in a quiet environment and position your guitar near your device’s microphone.
- Click the "Start Tuner" button and allow microphone access when prompted.
- Pluck each string of your guitar one by one, letting the note ring rather than damping it, and the tuner will display the nearest note.
- Use the tuning pegs to adjust each string until it matches the correct note for Open A.
- Retune and double-check each string, since adjusting one string changes the tension on the others.
The 4th string goes up from D3 to E3 and the 3rd from G3 to A3. Raising strings is where breakages happen, so move in small increments and let the tuner settle between adjustments rather than pulling straight to pitch.
OnlineTuner.org's Features for Tuning your Guitar More Accurately
OnlineTuner.org offers a number of features that make tuning to Open A both easy and precise:
- Customizable A4 Frequency: Adjust the reference pitch for A4 from the default 440 Hz to alternatives like 432 Hz or 442 Hz, depending on your preferences.
- Sensitivity Control: Fine-tune the tuner's sensitivity so it picks up only the sound of your guitar, even in noisy environments.
- Noise Gate: Set a volume threshold to filter out background noise and improve accuracy.
- Save Settings: Keep your preferred sensitivity and reference pitch for future tuning sessions.
- Visual Tuning Interface: Choose between a meter or a slider display, depending on your personal preference.
History of Open A Tuning for the Guitar
Open A belongs to the Delta and Chicago blues tradition, where open tunings were the normal way to play rather than an alternative to standard. Elmore James built his signature slide figure — the one that opens "Dust My Broom" — on this tuning, and it passed from him into most of the electric blues that followed.
Its relationship to Open G is part of the history. Players who learned in Open G could move to Open A for a brighter, more cutting sound without learning anything new, and many switched between the two depending on the singer and the room. Delta players often achieved the same result with a capo instead, which is why period recordings vary so much in pitch.
Usage of Open A Tuning
Open A is a slide guitar tuning first and foremost, used across blues, rock and roots music by players including Johnny Winter, Sonny Landreth and Derek Trucks. The barred-chord-at-any-fret property makes it possible to play melodically with a slide while still sounding full chords underneath.
It also works well for fingerstyle playing without a slide, where the two open A strings and the open E strings act as drones under a melody. If you want the same approach a whole tone lower and with less tension on the neck, our Open G tuner covers that tuning.
Understand our Open A guitar tuner's settings
The present Open A guitar tuner, provided to you by OnlineTuner.org, is designed to suit both novice and experienced musicians' needs. It offers an accurate, robust and versatile tuning experience that can be customized to your specific requirements. You can access each of these settings directly on our Open A guitar tuner, or by clicking on “Advanced settings”.
Set the A4 value of our Open A guitar tuner
One of the most crucial settings to consider when using our Open A guitar tuner is the adjustable frequency of the A4 note. This setting serves as the foundational pitch from which all other notes are calculated. While the default is set to the international standard of A=440 Hz, many musicians have strong preferences for alternative frequencies such as A=432 Hz or A=442 Hz. The ability to adjust this foundational pitch makes our Open A guitar tuner flexible enough to accommodate musicians who play in various tuning systems, whether historical temperaments or modern experimental tunings.
Set the sensitivity of our Open A guitar tuner
Another pivotal feature is the sensitivity setting, which can be altered to suit the specific environment or instrument in use. You control it through the detection algorithm's probability threshold, which determines how readily the tuner commits to a note. In Open A the 4th and 3rd strings are tuned up to notes that also appear as open strings elsewhere, so sympathetic ringing is common. A slightly stricter threshold stops the tuner reading a neighbouring string that is vibrating along with the one you actually picked; damping the others with your palm helps too.
Using our Open A guitar tuner in challenging environments
Further, the noise gate setting of our Open A guitar tuner stands as a strong ally for those tuning in acoustically challenging environments. Whether you are in a room with an air conditioner humming in the background or in a rehearsal space with other musicians, the noise gate lets you set a threshold below which sounds are ignored. This ensures that only the sound of your instrument is picked up and analyzed, increasing the tuner’s accuracy.
Meter tuner vs Slider tuner
This last setting is simply a matter of taste, but you can choose whether you prefer our Meter tuner or our Slider tuner. To alternate between one and the other, just click the "Display the slider tuner" switch on our Open A guitar tuner.
All our online guitar tuners
Different songs call for different tunings. Below you will find every free online tuner we offer for this instrument, from standard tuning to alternative options such as drop, open and half-step tunings. Each tuner runs directly in your browser and listens through your microphone. There is nothing to install and nothing to pay. Choose the tuning you need and start playing in seconds.
