Open G tuning chords: 5 shapes you need to know

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Loved by the likes of Joni Mitchell and Keith Richards, open G makes a good tuning for bottleneck blues, and these chords are essential voicings for exploring its musical potential

Photo of ROLLING STONES and Keith RICHARDS, with the Rolling Stones, performing live onstage, playing Fender Telecaster guitar.
(Image credit: Graham Wiltshire/Redferns/Getty Images)

Open G tuning is an alternate tuning favored by Keith Richards and requires the guitar to be tuned to D-G-D-G-B-D. To retune into open G from standard tuning, drop the sixth, fifth and first strings down a tone.

The open strings form a G chord, but, where open D tuning has its root note in the bass, here in open G, the low string is a D.

It’s still a note in the G chord (G-B-D), but it means you’ll often find chords and riffs phrased around an open fifth-string root. The tuning is common in many styles including Hawaiian ‘slack key’ and bottleneck blues.

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Here are five chord shapes you need to learn in open G tuning.

1. G5

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With its G-G-G-D-D arrangement of notes, this first chord is near impossible to play in standard tuning.

2. C/G

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This chord offers a way to create boogie riffs by moving between an open-string G chord and this C/G fingering.

3. D

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It’s well worth having a fingering for the V chord (D) of the key of G up your sleeve.

4. C#maddb9

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This minor version the major shape includes a lush sounding b9th interval.

5. Aadd11

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This chord sounds great, and the dissonance between the major 3rd (C#) and 11th (D) adds color.

Jon Bishop
Jon Bishop

Jon Bishop is a UK-based guitarist and freelance musician, and a longtime contributor to Guitar Techniques and Total Guitar. He's a graduate of the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford and is touring and recording guitarist for British rock 'n' roll royalty Shakin’ Stevens.