questions about open d tuning

[eishiba]

So I have been getting into open d tuning and was wondering if its possible to strum the same songs you know that you learned in standard tuning and use the open d tuning chords and still play the song?

[baseball]

Sure?

You just need to see if you LIKE the voicing of the Chord. Sometimes, even if the D is 'in key' it just sounds muddy in the bass.... It also has something to do with the guitar..some D-tune better than others

I find if I am gonna do that, I tune the D a little flat so when I fret it it doesn't go sharp.... to me, sharp sounds really uccch, but you can always just squeeze harder if your flat!

[Athens]

I’m not sure if I understand your question, but, yes you can play just about anything in open tunings. You just need to learn some different chord formations.

If it’s a simple song you can just barre, for instance a I, IV, V song would mean open for the root and barring the 5th and 7th frets for IV and V.

Joni Mitchell used a lot of open and other tunings. You might want to look at some tabs for her songs.

Hope that helps.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

The quick answer is 'yes but it'll sound different'.

[RussellHawaii]

Originally Posted by eishiba

So I have been getting into open d tuning and was wondering if its possible to strum the same songs you know that you learned in standard tuning and use the open d tuning chords and still play the song?

Yes, you can. You just need to learn the chords needed for the song, in Open D.
The 3 major chords will be simple as noted. (That is, if the song you’re learning is in D or a close key. If not, you start to lose the advantages of open tuning.)
Minor chords and odd chords will need a little more work. But it’s totally doable.
But once you find G, and D7, and other chords the song needs in their Open D positions, you’re off and running. There are plenty charts available for open tuning chords.
Good luck!

[Monty Christo]

Short answer is yes, but some songs work better than others. You'll likely end up making partial chords or incorporating some out-of-chord drone notes, because the fingering of some chords is easier when you leave some strings open, unless you barre across them all, which I find limiting. This can be intentionally done to great effect, but it will make the chords and the song sound different and sometimes "wrong," especially if the open strings clash with the fretted notes. Choosing a different key often helps.

I currently have two guitars tuned to open D, but I generally don't try to make cover songs sound like the originals. It's a great tuning for instrumental fingerstyle.

[kellyb]

I do it a lot, but in Open C, but my songs don't rely on terribly complex chords. If your standard tuning song does, it may not be possible to make the reaches (and chords) you need to carry the tune. You can find really inspiring new chord shapes (and sounds) in Open tunings though...very much worth experimenting!

[IanDB]

I occasionally have used open D and/or open G. However, I use alternative modal tunings much more frequently.

So, in the case of D, I would use either DADGAD or CGCFCD, the latter capoed up two frets. These alternative tunings do not have a third which means that it is very easy to switch from major to minor. As an alternative to open G I would use either CGDGCD or DGDGCD for the same reasons.

Note that all of these tunings feature root fifth root intervals. These approaches are adopted and used my players such as Martin Simpson very frequently, to great effect.

Cheers,

Ian

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by eishiba

So I have been getting into open d tuning and was wondering if its possible to strum the same songs you know that you learned in standard tuning and use the open d tuning chords and still play the song?

Yes, but why would you?

Songs that are actually in D major already might well sound better, and be easier (at least in part).

Songs in other keys will be harder to play - unless you use a capo so you can still use the D chord shapes. E.g., for any song in E, you'd probably want to put a capo on 2 and pretend you're in D. For a song in G, you could probably work it out in open D tuning, but a capo on 5 would make it easier.
Or you just transpose the song to D, raising or lowering its key. (Which is going to depend on whether you are singing it or not.)

IOW, the main reasons for any alternative tuning are (a) to play a song which uses that tuning, or (b) to write one in that tuning! I.e. alternative tunings do have great sounds, but normally only work best in one key - or two if you're lucky (or clever).

Sometimes, a song in EADGBE can be re-arranged in open D (or some other tuning), especially if that is going to give you easier (or better sounding) chords in the key you want to sing it in.

In short, this is a question that only you can answer, because we don't know what songs you might want to play! You just have to look up (or work out) their chords in open D and try them.