Guitar tuning
American Football Tuning
F·A·C·G·C·E
This is the tuning behind American Football’s first record — and, before that, Cap’n Jazz. From standard you raise the 6th string a semitone to F, drop the 4th string a whole step to C, and raise the 2nd string a semitone to C. The open strings, F, A, C, G, C, E, ring as an Fmaj9: a warm, unresolved chord that sounds finished before you fret anything.
That built-in chord is the whole point. Let the open strings drone, move one or two fingers around them, and you get the interlocking, bell-like guitar parts of “Never Meant” and most of Midwest emo since. The doubled C strings and the open G give the tuning its shimmer; the shapes stay simple because the tuning is doing the harmony.
How to tune to American Football
From standard tuning:
- 6th (lowest) E → F (up a semitone)
- 5th A — unchanged
- 4th D → C (down a whole step)
- 3rd G — unchanged
- 2nd B → C (up a semitone)
- 1st (highest) E — unchanged
Open—Shape’s tuner listens for one string at a time and tells you which string it is and how far off — including in alternate tunings like this one.
What American Football does well
- A finished chord, open. The open strings are Fmaj9 — strum them and you already have the sound; everything else is decoration.
- Drone-and-move parts. Hold the open strings ringing and shift one or two fingers for the overlapping, arpeggiated lines the style is built on.
- Bell-like doubled notes. Two C strings and the open high E give repeated pitches at different octaves — the tuning’s signature chime.
- Simple shapes go a long way. Because the tuning carries the extensions, plain two- and three-finger shapes sound rich.
Common chords in American Football
The tuning already spells a 9th chord, so many shapes need only a finger or two. The grid shows the easiest voicing the engine finds for each; tap to browse the rest.
Numbers read low string to high; 0 is open, × is muted.
A progression to try
An F–Am–Dm–C, ringing over the open strings:
Songs in American Football
- Never Meant — American Football
- Much of American Football’s self-titled record
- Cap’n Jazz — where Mike Kinsella first heard the tuning
- Widely used across Midwest emo and math rock
Where you’ll hear it
American Football — Mike Kinsella and Steve Holmes, who wrote “Never Meant” in it — picked it up from Victor Villarreal of Cap’n Jazz. It has since become close to a default for Midwest emo and a lot of math rock.
Open a American Football canvas — a tuning module already set, wired to a starter progression, every shape recalculated for you.