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  #1  
Old 11-27-2016, 11:14 AM
Narsil Narsil is offline
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Default Best open tuning (G or D) for learning slide blues?

Hi all. I am going to try to branch out my blues playing into slide. I notice a fair number of the "beginners" video lessons appear to start with open D, then go to open G. Any thoughts as to why this may be. Is open D somehow "simpler" ? If I read it correctly, the two video lessons I have on eye on ( Toby Walker & Tom Feldmann) seem to follow that pattern.

I definitely intend to explore both tunings. There's tons of great songs I'd love to try and learn in each. Not to mention slapping on a capo and then trying open A and open E.

Any thoughts or suggestions for a slide newbie are much appreciated !
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Old 11-27-2016, 01:17 PM
jomaynor jomaynor is offline
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I'm surprised to hear this, as I would have guessed that open E would have been the "start here first" tuning for these "learn how to play slide guitar" tutorials.

Regardless of which tuning you begin on, have fun!
And if you sing, identify the tuning that works best with your vocal range, too.
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Old 11-27-2016, 03:26 PM
Wyllys Wyllys is offline
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Each tuning offers its own possibilities. Whether one is better than the other depends totally on the tune and how you want to play it.
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Old 11-27-2016, 10:06 PM
Mycroft Mycroft is offline
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It may be that they are starting with their favorite tuning first, and nothing more nefarious. Open G is is probably actually a little simpler for a newbie, as you only need to retune 3 strings and so it is easier to keep track of strings. (and two of those are the E strings) And you can follow the G string to keep track of the full chord at each fret. Open D, on the other hand, offers more inversions at each fret.

Best is to start with whatever tuning the teacher is using first, as their lesson probably starts with that for building beginner techniques on.
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Old 11-27-2016, 11:28 PM
Narsil Narsil is offline
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Yes, I definitely wasn't intending to second guess these instructors. More like just trying to get my head around IF they had picked Vestapol over Spanish tuning to introduce to beginners, for some particular reason.

I imagine that a good instructor will get me where I need to be, regardless of the starting point. At least I hope.
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  #6  
Old 11-28-2016, 08:51 AM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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I'd say open D is best to start with, because you have three keynotes, including the outer two strings.
(Open E is normally chosen for electric, because the strings are lighter and can more easily take being tuned up.)

With open G, the keynotes are 5th and 3rd strings, which make some things slightly trickier (or less intuitive) to play. But having the top keynote on 5th fret 1st string provides effects that are trickier in open D or E.

Really there's little to choose between them IMO. Open G means downtuning 3 strings, open D means downtuning 4. (Open E and open A each mean uptuning 3.)

Son House and Robert Johnson mainly used open G. Elmore James mainly used open D. Muddy Waters used open G, but would also sometimes play single-note slide in EADGBE. Ry Cooder used open D and open G (and others).
Sometimes it will depend on the song, what key you (or someone else) can sing it in. (You can of course use a capo to play any open tuning in any key you like, but some keys will obviously need an impractically high capo position, and would be better in a different tuning.)

It's not quite true that your vocal range will suit one tuning more than another. It's about the range of the song. For any one song, the keynote can be anywhere in the range of its melody, so nobody has best keys for their voice which apply to every song. However, in blues, it is common for the keynote to be top and bottom of the song's range, so that's not a bad guide. If your voice is medium-high (or deep bass), you may find open D better. If it's medium-low, or very high, you may find open G better.
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Last edited by JonPR; 11-28-2016 at 08:57 AM.
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Old 11-28-2016, 02:31 PM
MC5C MC5C is offline
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I play slide in low G tuning, which is DGDGBD. Often I raise the low D to an E, which gives m7 chords with the root on the sixth string. You get your 1, 4, 5 chords in G as open, 5th fret, 7th fret, and 12th fret, you get your minor third chord on the third fret, and you have all the minor 7 chord options with the root on the sixth string. I actually find it quite difficult to play other than the blues in this tuning.
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Old 11-28-2016, 05:30 PM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MC5C View Post
I play slide in low G tuning, which is DGDGBD.
That's normal open G.
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Old 11-28-2016, 10:45 PM
Narsil Narsil is offline
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Thanks everyone.

Some great info here. I think JonPR may have answered my main question about why Open D seems more common for "Beginner" level lessons. However, it also confirms what I WANT to learn the most : Open G. LOL !

Oh well, guess I'll just have to tackle BOTH.
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  #10  
Old 11-29-2016, 12:37 AM
Wyllys Wyllys is offline
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It's a bit like choosing your key for a song according to your vocal range. Some songs will be easier to sing in G, some in C depending on where you're comfortable when using standard tuning. Choosing open G or open D is similar.

Both tunings have the "meat" of the tuning based on the basic "do-mi-sol" triad so some licks will be very similar, some more suitable to a particular tune in one or the other. Open D will give a heavier bass, though.

One nice variation on G tuning is [ d g d g c d ]. This "no third" tuning is like "sawmill" tuning for frailing banjo.
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Last edited by Wyllys; 11-29-2016 at 07:59 AM.
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  #11  
Old 11-29-2016, 07:57 AM
MC5C MC5C is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JonPR View Post
That's normal open G.
Not in the context of dobro, I guess, where you always have to specify low or high G tuning. High G is GBDGBD. You also have to specify "bottleneck" instead of slide, since they sometimes call their bars slides. It gets confusing, since my slide/bottleneck guitar is a dobro...
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  #12  
Old 12-03-2016, 05:46 AM
pegleghowell pegleghowell is offline
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Make an effort to use and learn in both tunings right from the start.It will serve You well.
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  #13  
Old 12-03-2016, 09:12 AM
Bikewer Bikewer is offline
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The late slide master Bob Brozeman recommended open G to start with... Said it was kind of a "natural" tuning that folks all over the world seem to have figured out independently....

However, I agree that you have to consider your vocal range if you're going to sing....
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Old 12-03-2016, 09:29 AM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MC5C View Post
Not in the context of dobro, I guess, where you always have to specify low or high G tuning. High G is GBDGBD.
Ah, gotcha.
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Old 12-03-2016, 12:36 PM
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From my personal experience there is an "easier" one. D is easier. The root is on the low string. With G the root is on the 5th string. You can play powerfully driving bass in G. Listen to some of Charlie Patton's G stuff if you doubt that.

But whichever you start with, you don't have to "learn everything twice". All your open D licks will work in Open G if you shift them down (towards your toes) one string. Really. It works the other way of course too. G riffs work towards your nose in D.

Now the last thing is, and this could just be me, it's easier to sound "Bluesy" in D, and easier to sound "Major Scale-y" G. It goes beyond the the bass root string. It just seems easier to play pretty chords for me in G. Again I won't argue with anyone who says "you're nuts!" on this last part. But it is for real in my playing,
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