Alternate Tunings for the Creative Guitarist

Open E

Ready to tune to Open E?

20 Minutes
3 Sections

Created in partnership with

Used by countless artists over the years, Open E is an excellent tuning that allows guitarists to approach their instruments with fresh shapes and sounds. In this installment of the Alternate Tunings for the Creative Guitarist series, students will explore Open E, through videos, activities, assets, and discussions.

Additionally, this free course features a transcription of the Allman Brothers' classic guitar piece, "Little Martha," along with a performance by LA musician, Elyadeen Anbar.


Elyadeen Anbar

Guitarist, Composer, Educator

Guitarist, writer, teacher, composer, proto-shaman. Proud Los Angeleno, native of the planet earth. Pending acceptance to wizardry school.

More About Elyadeen
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alternate tunings
open e
songwriting
guitar
performance
inspiration and creativity
elyadeen anbar

Course Outline

  1. Section 1

    Open E Introduction

  2. Section 2

    Open E Exploration

  3. Section 3

    Open E Activity

MORE INFORMATION

Who is this course for?

This course is for those of you who share our desire to explore the guitar's huge range of tuning capabilities. Unlike the piano, which must be tuned by an expert who comes with their very own supply of fancy tools and carefully-cultivated expertise, the guitar can be tuned through a relatively safe and simple process. If you're feeling stuck in a rut with your guitar playing, open tunings are the perfect way to inspire some new thinking and new creativity!

What are the requirements?

There are no course requirements, but you'll need a guitar to follow along on, a tuner (you can always use an online tool like this one from Fender), and you should be comfortable playing basic chords already in standard tuning. You don't need to take any of the courses in order, but if you're enjoying learning Open E, you might want to check out our courses on Open D, Open G, and DADGAD.

How long does it take?

The material in this course takes about 20 minutes, but as with any learning, the more time you can commit to practicing the concepts you learn, the stronger a player you'll be.

What will I get out of it?

By the end of this course, you will learn about Open E tuning, discover some chord shapes that you can use with it, practice some simple techniques, and take on a final challenge to play a piece of music using Open E.

If you run into any issues or have any questions, just shoot an email over to [email protected] and we'll make sure you're taken care of.