[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Dulci

I know, you were right. Two fingers moving around the other open strings. It just helps me to think about it with some structure. He breaks it down on his DVD into a couple patterns, Then goes through the seven chords of the scale. Easy to work on improvising your own arrangements. I guess that's the fascination with these open tunings.

Hi Dulci...

Emmylou Harris was playing parallel 6ths on the song, and they are not limited to Open tunings. The chords come as a biproduct of inserting the right open strings to form the chords.

And any parallel intervals (3rds, 6ths, and 10ths being most common) only have two patterns on that particular pair of strings. One pattern will be one fret further apart than the other, depending on which strings you are on. 3rds, 6ths and 10ths are the interval the notes are separated by.

Here is a diagram of Parallel scales in key of G that will work in standard tuning and key of G. They can be extrapolated to other keys...feel free to download and use it if it helps...the numbers are the finger you use to play the intervals. One finger is just riding up the string, and the other finger alternates when moving from the CLOSE to the OPEN position.




The root position is circled on these. Once you are on the root position to play the scale sequence, you simply switch to the other position and work away from the root position in pairs.

To play an ascending scale run, if the root position is the CLOSE one, Play the Root then switch to the OPEN one for two notes, then the close for two, then the open for two and you are back at the root position an octave higher.

Once you get these type runs organized you are well on your way to expanding simple melodies into chord melody runs. Runs do not have to begin with the root position (Emmylou's opening run did not start with the root position).

Here is an example I put up on my site for students in 2008 which is mostly comprised of solo passages, and parallel 3rds, 6ths, and 10ths.

Oh, I'm playing in Dropped D, in the key of D, so all the parallel runs are in the key of D scale runs.

Water Is Wide - CLiCK

My intent in posting this is so you can figure out your own runs in any key, and not just limit yourself to the ones in Open G, Open D etc.

Hope this adds to the discussion, and helps you organize a bit more...