Julia Jacklin's open tuning on Pool Party lets her voice float free.

Yes, the tuning changes everything about how she delivers that song.

She plays it in an open D tuning (or something close to it—D A D F# A D). That low D drone on the bottom string gives the guitar this rumbling, almost hypnotic foundation. It sits low in the register, which pushes her voice up and out. She’s not fighting to be heard over the guitar; she’s soaring above it. The contrast makes her vocal feel fragile and exposed, but also powerful because it has all this space.

Open tunings also free up her hands