Guitar tuning

Major Thirds Tuning

C·E·G#·C·E·G#

Tonal centre No fixed centre — the neck repeats every four frets Also called CEG#CEG#, augmented tuning, M3 tuning Difficulty Hard — a full relearn, and it needs its own string set

Open on the Canvas → Explore chords in the app

Major Thirds tuning stacks the open strings a major third apart: C, E, G#, C, E, G# — an augmented triad, repeating in two octaves. Every interval between strings is the same, and because a major third is four frets, a chord or scale shape moved up one string is the same notes four frets lower. Every pitch on the neck is inside a four-fret reach.

The jazz guitarist Ralph Patt devised it around 1964, chasing a fretboard that made improvising easier — first drawn to it by Schoenberg, then by Coltrane and Ornette Coleman. Chords keep their shape when moved in any direction, and three frets cover all twelve notes, so there is far less to memorise. The catch: nothing transfers from standard, the string spacing wants a dedicated set, and the six strings span a narrower range than standard tuning.

How to tune to Major Thirds

From standard tuning:

6th (lowest) E → C (down a major third)
5th A → E (down a perfect fourth)
4th D → G# (down a tritone)
3rd G → C (down a perfect fifth)
2nd B → E (down a perfect fifth)
1st (highest) E → G# (down a minor sixth)

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 Major Thirds does well

One shape, moved anywhere. Uniform major-third intervals mean a chord or scale fingering is identical on every string, and diagonal moves keep the shape.
The whole neck in four frets. Any note you want is within a four-fret stretch of where your hand already is — big position shifts mostly disappear.
Augmented sounds for free. The open strings are an augmented triad, so whole-tone and augmented colours sit right under the fingers.
Less to memorise. Three frets contain all twelve notes and every shape repeats, which is why Patt found it faster for improvising.

Common chords in Major Thirds

Major-thirds shapes share nothing with standard ones, but they repeat perfectly across the neck. The grid shows the easiest voicing the engine finds for each chord; tap to browse the rest.

C 0 0 x 0 3 x 1 of 299 → Caug 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 of 661 → E x 0 0 x 0 3 1 of 299 → Em x 0 3 x 3 3 1 of 112 → Am x x 1 0 0 1 1 of 414 → F x 1 1 0 1 1 1 of 163 → G x 3 3 2 3 3 1 of 66 → Dm 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 of 93 →

Numbers read low string to high; 0 is open, × is muted.

A progression to try

A I–vi–IV–V in C, in major-thirds shapes:

C→Am→F→G

Songs in Major Thirds

Ralph Patt’s jazz recordings and comping work
Adopted by some seven- and eight-string players for its four-fret reach
Used for whole-tone and augmented writing

Players who use Major Thirds

Ralph Patt, who introduced it, and a small circle of jazz players and fretboard theorists since. It stays rare because of the relearn and the specialist strings, but its symmetry has a devoted following.

Open a Major Thirds canvas — a tuning module already set, wired to a starter progression, every shape recalculated for you.

Open on the Canvas → Explore chords in the app

Major Thirds tuning FAQ

What are the notes in Major Thirds tuning?

From lowest to highest: C, E, G#, C, E, G#. Each string is a major third — four semitones — above the one below it, so the open strings form an augmented triad repeating over two octaves.

Who invented Major Thirds tuning?

The jazz guitarist Ralph Patt, around 1963–64, looking for a tuning that made improvising and learning the fretboard easier. It is also called augmented tuning or M3 tuning.

Why is Major Thirds tuning easier to learn?

Because every interval between strings is the same, a chord or scale shape means the same thing everywhere, and three frets contain all twelve notes. There is far less to memorise than standard tuning’s irregular layout.

What are the downsides of Major Thirds tuning?

Nothing carries over from standard tuning, the string gauges need to be chosen for the tuning, and six strings a major third apart cover a smaller total range than standard — some players add a seventh or eighth string to get it back.

Can I use a capo in Major Thirds tuning?

Yes — a capo raises all six strings and keeps the major-third pattern, so every shape still works higher up. Open—Shape recalculates every voicing for the capo position.

Related tunings

DADGAD American Football (FACGCE) Nashville (high-strung) High Strung New Standard (Fripp) All Fourths All Fifths