Though it can seem counterintuitive fretting the sixth string to get what would be the open root in standard tuning, don’t forget the possibilities the open D can give elsewhere.

Open G (D G D G B D) was a favourite of slide player Duane Allman, and Keith Richards uses his own five-string version of the tuning, removing the lowest string from his guitar all together – a vital ...

The final step is to drop the G string down a semitone to F#. The open D tuning is great for blues and fingerstyle acoustic pieces.

Aren’t I a bit tied to D minor though? Well, in some ways, that’s the point. However, it’s actually surprisingly easy find D major, with that bluesy minor-to-major third accessed by hammering onto the ...