Tess's World

My Thoughts on String Selection and tuning for 3 String Cigar Box Guitars

If you purchase a standard pack of 6 string for a guitar either acoustic or electric and irrespective of the weight of the strings, ie. Medium or ultra lights etc. They would normally be turned in the follow way

String No.	Tuning
6th	E
5th	A
4th	D
3rd	G
2nd	B
1st	E

There are many options that you can choose including your string selection and how each of the strings are tuned. In the table below I have listed some options. Something to note is that in every example I have selected string/tuning options that result in an "OPEN" chord, that is, you can play a chord by simply baring across all three strings. Perfect for playing with a slide, but, just as playable with your fingers if your have a feted guitar neck.


Using the 6th(E),5th(A) and 4th(D) Strings

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Chord	Arrangement	String Tuning	Note
Open A	5th, Root, 3rd	E,A,C#
Open D	Root, 5th, Octave	D,A,D	1
Open E	Root, 5th, Octave	E,B,E	1

Using the 5th(A),4th(D) and 3rd(G) Strings

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Chord	Arrangement	String Tuning	Notes
Open A	Root,5th, Octave	A,E,A	1
Open A6	Root, 5th, 7th	A,E,F#	Hawaiian
Open A7	Root, 5th, 8TH	A,E,G	Magic Jazz
Open C	3rd, Root, 5th	G,C,E
Open D	5th, Root, 3rd	A,D,F#
Open F	Root, 5th, Octave	F,C,F	1
Open G	Root, 5th, Octave	G,D,G	1

Using the 4th(D),3rd(G) and 2nd(B) Strings

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Chord	Arrangement	String Tuning	Notes
Open C	Root, 5th, 3rd	C,G,E
Open D	Root, 3rd, 5th	D,F#,A
Open F	5th, Root, 3rd	C,F,A
Open G	5th, Root, 3rd	D,G,B

Using the 3rd(G), 2nd(B) and 1st(E) Strings

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Chord	Arrangement	String Tuning	Notes
Open A	Root, 3rd, 5th	A,C#,E
Open G	Root, 3rd, 5th	G,B,D

Notes Explained:
1. These are strictly not chords when played bared across the fret, as they do not contain a root note, a 3rd and a 5th. Instead they only contain a root and a 5th so are considered "Power Chords"