#1
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Alternate tunings
The most I've dabbles into alternate tunings has been drop D.
With my finger still unable to play my acoustic guitars, I'm back to spending time with my lap steel. The issue with the steel though is the tunings. C6 is common along with E9. Right now my steel is tuned to open G. However, steel players often talk about various methods of the same generic tuning. "Low G" and "High G" are different ways to tune to the same generic tuning. The technicalities of these various tunings are beyond my experience. I can play in any tuning by looking at tabs, but that can only take me so far. What's the accepted way to learn playing alternate tunings using notation? Looking at standard tuning for my acoustics, it makes sense. One note follows the other chromatically from open sixth string to up the neck on the first string. Tuned in fourths (mostly) I can follow the flow of the notes on the page with the note positions on the neck. How do you begin to learn alternate tunings while reading notation? Is there a common method for learning, say, open G, E9, C6, etc? Or, is this just simple rote memorization for each tuning? Are there any good (free) on line resources for this sort of approach? |
#2
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Quote:
There are some online generators that will show you all the notes for various tunings, so that might help a little.
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Music: Spotify, Bandcamp Videos: You Tube Channel Books: Hymns for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), Christmas Carols for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), A DADGAD Christmas, Alternate Tunings book Online Course: Alternate Tunings for Fingerstyle Guitar |
#3
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I suspect that if I had this as a one off task I would do a transcription into tab. If I planned to do a lot of pieces in the same tuning I might try direct reading but I imagine it would be difficult. The last piece I arranged was for four guitars. I did the arrangement in notation but read from tab when learning and recording it. It was easier.
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#4
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Thanks. Yeah, lap steel seems to be kind of a different bird. Two sets of triads to form the open chord and then, in something like C6, there is one string which serves as the "6". So far it messes with my brain. Then, to make matters worse, most steel tabs read more like Stephan Grossman's early tabs and you're squinting at the chart trying to decide which string should actually be played.
Boogers! Thanks for the help though. |