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Old 03-20-2011, 11:13 AM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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Location: Chugiak, Alaska
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There are a couple of different Open G tunings that get used - one has both the E strings dropped to D, and the A string dropped to G. There's another one that is higher pitched, where the open strings of the guitar are tuned to the chord notes you get when you play a first position G chord.

So, low to high that would be: G, B, D, G, B, G.

Admittedly, that's a much less common tuning than the lower Open G tuning. But I have run into it on occasion.

Anyway, most of the hands-on practical experience I have with country music is really more along the lines of bluegrass and country-rock, and among bluegrass players, anyway, the most common use of an open G tuning is on a Dobro or other resonator guitar.

The band Poco used to use a lot of open-tuned guitars, and I'm pretty certain "You'd Better Think Twice" is in the lower Open G tuning. If you look for that song, try to find the live album version of it: the studio version is fairly tame and lame, but they got wild on it when they played it live.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller
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