Guitar Tunings

[john]

Hey

Do you have a favourite guitar tuning? I used to us DADGAD a fair bit, but have recently began experimenting with tunings again.

If you can, please recommend any tunings, and songs/pieces to go with them.

Cheers

John

[tgrover]

open g is a nice one.

DGDGBD

[Nick]

Do you have a favourite guitar tuning? I used to us DADGAD a fair bit, but have recently began experimenting with tunings again.

Open C (CGCGCE) or C9 (CGCGCD) are both current favourites as I really like Dougie Maclean's music and he tends to use these (and CGCGCEb). There's a song I just need to finish which is in open C which I'll post here soon

Still use DADGAD for some things - instrumental things I have written and songs like Blackwaterside, Somewhere Along the Road and Sally Wheatley

Use open D for a number of Joni Mitchell songs (who was 63 yesterday!) like Big Yellow Taxi, Chelsea Morning and Both Sides Now and play A Case of You in EADAAE (and play Carey on an old nylon strung acoustic with 4 strings tuned to DDAA to ape a dulcimer which usually makes people smile)

Not sure that drop D (DADGBE) or double drop D (DADGBD) count but use them for lots of things

Play Honky Tonk Women in Open G

Vincent Black Lightning I play in CGDGBE

Weirdest tuning I have come across is Steven Stills tuning on Suite Judy Blue Eyes and 4+20 which is C#C#C#C#G#C#

And sometimes EADGBE!

There's a good dozen

Edited November 8, 2006 by Nick

[john]

Hey

Steven Stills does some excellent open tuned pieces. Saying that my favourite CSN track in an open tuning is still Guinevere.

Some good recommendations in there Nick. Funnily enough I never learned to play Blackwater side.

Cheers

John

[Nick]

Funnily enough I never learned to play Blackwater side.

This is something I tabbed from memory a while back in DADGAD. The following is a very rough approximation of something like the main theme and beginning of the tune (as played by Led Zeppelin - ripped off from Bert Jansch and Annie Briggs without credit as per normal for them - I believe the words Trad and Led Zeppelin are interchangeable) there are probably lots of extra notes thrown in and open strings hit during it but the bones are there I think

D---0-------------------------------|---------------------0---------------|

A-----------------------------------|------------------0------------------| THIS

G---0H2P0------0--------------------|-X 3 TIMES-----2---------------------| THEME REPEATS

D----------4------0-----------------|-------------------------------------| OFTEN IN THE

A--------------2--------------------|-------------------------------------| TUNE

D--------------------3(bend up)-----|------------0 (add after 3rd time)---|

APPROXIMATION OF TUNE

D---0---2---4---4---4--4--5-4H5P4S2P0---------0--------0-----0----0-0---0--

A-----------0---0---0----------------------0-----------3-----3----3-3---3--

G---------------------------------------0--------------0-----0----0-0---0--

D-------------------------0------------------------------------------------

A---0---4---5---5---5------------------------------3------3-----3----3-----

D-----------------------------------0--------------------------------------

D--------0------0-----0-------0----|

A--------2------2-----2-------2----|

G--------0------0-----0-------0----| RETURN TO

D----------------------------------| THEME FROM BEGINNING

A-----2-----2------2------2--------|

D----------------------------------|

Edited November 8, 2006 by Nick

[john]

Hey Nick

Thanks! I'll give this a try tomorrow

Cheers

John

[Nick]

Joni Mitchell has always been a favourite of mine and there is a wonderful resource at Joni Mitchell Discussion list which has 160 transcriptions of her songs in 89! different tunings.

Should keep you going for a while and give a few good ideas.

One of the people there (Howard something) transcribes things very well and has a load of other music on the web which is usually very good

I also mentioned above that I am a big Dougie Maclean fan. There is a site called the wee guitar site here which has some info about playing in open C and has a particularly good forum where the guy will send a file with some of his tunes. I found it useful to get me started playing in open C as it sparked off a load of ideas playing through his tunes. There is a song he sings called 'Ready for the Storm'; just knowing that the tuning was CGCGCEb was really helpful as the playing of it then became obvious because it justs flows - whereas in other tunings it doesn't so obviously. I guess at the end of the day that is the raison d'etre behind alternative tunings ie that they let you do different things easily (as well as having a reasonably distinctive sound).

I also have a couple of pdfs - one of DADGAD chord shapes and one of chord shapes for playing in 'modal' C (CGCGCD). They are obvious to work out but if you are interested I can mail them to you

On the other hand I had an interesting correspondence with a nice guitar/mandolin player called John McGann who lives on the east coast of the States. He wrote a tune which is a favourite I play with some friends called Canyon Moonrise (you can find the music and chords at his site and there is some very sane information about improvising and playing). I commented to him that the guitar playing sounded very DADGADish and he said that he found DADGAD ok but limiting and preferred to try and create chord voicings in a normal tuning which gave the benefits of that 'open' sound but without the limitations of the tuning. If you have a play through the chords which he suggests you'll see what I mean. And it's a great tune also! It was an interesting exchange though as it was at a time when I was experimenting with alternative tunings and it was an interesting balance. I recommend his album if you like that sort of music BTW he's an excellent player (and a fan of, in his words, Allan Holdsworth "the greatest living Yorkshireman"!) and writes some fine tunes. Once played Canyon with 5 fiddle players, a melodeon player, whistles and various guitarist and people bashing things and it's great fun to do - and the writer approved when I sent him a copy.

Edited November 8, 2006 by Nick

[john]

Hey Nick

thanks a lot. Lots of useful pointers. The first time I really experimented with open tuning was to learn a few Robert Jonstone tracks. Then a few Stephen Stills. Since then I have focused on lots of open sounding chords in standard tuning, but I felt another foray into open tunings would be good. Not so much for slide, but to really experiment with some different voicings.

Cheers

John