Bonamassa...how does he do it???

[Tlknghd]

Ok...so, I figured this is a Bonamassa song even I could cover...none of that lightening fast shredding...just chords and strumming.
Easy enough, right?
Not so fast.
After many hours I still haven 't figured it out.
Looks and sounds like an open "B"...but the fingerings...wtf????
So, here it is folks surely there is a genius here who can explain exactly what he's doing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ecPzBoippc

[DukeBerryman]

It's open something. If I had to guess what open tuning he would use I would guess G. I fool around with open G - I don't know what I'm doing - but it's fun to create bass lines using the 5th and 6th strings right around where he is.

PS: Cool song

[JonPR]

Yes, definitely open B, in what I think is this tuning:

B
F#
D#
B
F#
B

That's open D three half-steps down.

The shapes he's using seem to be these:

B --(0)--0--
F#--(0)--0--
D#--1---3--
B ---2---4--
F#--3---5--
B --(x)-(0 or x)-

That's essentially A and B triads, although optional open strings make the first chord Aadd9, A6, or even some kind of Bsus chord. He sometimes hammers on to 2nd fret 4th string on the first chord.

He also uses 3rd and 5th fret of the 6th string now and then for bluesy bass pull-offs back to the low B.

And - naturally - a lot of plain open B chords and fret muting!

[Howard Emerson]

Vastapol tuning down to B.

I-V-I-IIImaj-V-I

If you've ever played in open D tuning, this is the same intervals, but starting at B.

I keep my National Resolectric tuned to Vastapol C, and Joe is a half step lower.

HE

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

Vastapol tuning down to B.

I-V-I-IIImaj-V-I

If you've ever played in open D tuning, this is the same intervals, but starting at B.

Yep - thanks for confirmation!

[Tlknghd]

Man alive...you guys are great...this has been a huge help.
I was close earlier with the open B tuning....but while I had the string tuned for an open B...the strings were not in same sequence as Joe has his...consequently my confusion over the shape.
You guys were a huge help.
Thanks!

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by DukeBerryman

It's open something. If I had to guess what open tuning he would use I would guess G. I fool around with open G - I don't know what I'm doing - but it's fun to create bass lines using the 5th and 6th strings right around where he is.

PS: Cool song

At the very beginning he strums all the strings from low to high, and it has a very strong 1 & 5 sound, which gives a strong indication of an 'E' chord formation There are 3 roots, 2 fifths & 1 major 3rd, whether it's in open tuning, or playing an E chord in standard tuning.

If he were in open G you would hear a strong 5 & 3. There are 2 roots, 3 5ths and 1 major 3rd, but the top note, being a 5, rings very prominently.

None of this has to do with string to string balance, by the way.

HE

[DukeBerryman]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

At the very beginning he strums all the strings from low to high, and it has a very strong 1 & 5 sound, which gives a strong indication of an 'E' chord formation There are 3 roots, 2 fifths & 1 major 3rd, whether it's in open tuning, or playing an E chord in standard tuning.

If he were in open G you would hear a strong 5 & 3. There are 2 roots, 3 5ths and 1 major 3rd, but the top note, being a 5, rings very prominently.

None of this has to do with string to string balance, by the way.

HE

Cool - so you choose your open tuning depending on how many roots, 3rds, and 5ths you want. Maybe one tuning emphasizes the 1 and 5, while another emphasizes the 3 and 5. I use open G (and F) because I'm learning slack key. The alternating bass lines bounce between the 1 and 5.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by DukeBerryman

Cool - so you choose your open tuning depending on how many roots, 3rds, and 5ths you want.

Partly, yes.
Or in the case of DADGAD, whether you want 3rds at all! (so you can play in either D major or D minor, or most other D modes)

Some open tunings don't form simple chords at all, they just make good resonances, and enable interesting chord shapes.

Although I guess maybe we should distinguish between "open" tunings - which make a chord - and "alternative" tunings, which may not...

Originally Posted by DukeBerryman

The alternating bass lines bounce between the 1 and 5.

Yes, that's a big part of most open tunings. Certainly it sounds best - even when just strumming - to have roots and 5ths on the bottom strings, because they underpin the harmony. You rarely get 3rds low in open tunings, because they tend to sound muddy.

[DukeBerryman]

The BEBEBE tuning seems to be one of these "alternative" tunings. Not sure I'll ever use it.

But I get the idea of having the root and/or 5ths on the bottom strings - thanks for the explanation. Kinda makes me want to try to make my own open tuning.

The OP mentioned that Bonamassa might have moved around some of the strings. So, it seems like there is some flexibility there.

I suppose I could swap some strings around with an open G tuning. I know Keith Richards got rid of his 6th string entirely! His 5th string becomes the root.

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by DukeBerryman

Cool - so you choose your open tuning depending on how many roots, 3rds, and 5ths you want. Maybe one tuning emphasizes the 1 and 5, while another emphasizes the 3 and 5. I use open G (and F) because I'm learning slack key. The alternating bass lines bounce between the 1 and 5.

No. That is never a consideration, and I never think of tunings in that fashion when writing or arranging.

I mentioned all those things as a way of explaining how to audibly discern what tuning Joe was using, and why those tunings sound like they do.

I have played exclusively in open tunings for so long I've forgotten how long that is. I write all my own material, and the LAST thing I ever want is for a song to sound like it is in open tuning, a la Joni Mitchell et al.

I hope you are somehow in touch with Fran Guidry, who frequents AGF quite a bit. He not only knows the history of slack-key, but he knows the players personally, and walks the walk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8mvPIWBys0

HE
http://howardemerson.com/music2.html

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by DukeBerryman

The BEBEBE tuning seems to be one of these "alternative" tunings. Not sure I'll ever use it.

One of Nick Drake's, yes? Not seen anyone else use it...

Originally Posted by DukeBerryman

The OP mentioned that Bonamassa might have moved around some of the strings. So, it seems like there is some flexibility there.

You can use a standard set, although not too light. I have 11s on my acoustic, and it worked OK in Bonamassa's open B, but floppier than ideal.

Originally Posted by DukeBerryman

I suppose I could swap some strings around with an open G tuning. I know Keith Richards got rid of his 6th string entirely! His 5th string becomes the root.

Yes - the 6th string being the 5th of the chord, no use to him as a rock strummer in a band. Just one more string to get in the way .
For fingerpickers it would be different; that low 5th could be handy in alternating bass patterns on G, as well as being the root of a D chord.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

No. That is never a consideration, and I never think of tunings in that fashion when writing or arranging.

Me neither, but it was an interesting thought, IMO.

I don't invent my own tunings, but if I did, that might well be a consideration.

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

I have played exclusively in open tunings for so long I've forgotten how long that is. I write all my own material, and the LAST thing I ever want is for a song to sound like it is in open tuning, a la Joni Mitchell et al.

YMMV .
Many people would be happy to sound like Joni Mitchell, or at least make the most of those resonances than many alternative tunings provide. (eg, John Martyn.)

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by JonPR

Me neither, but it was an interesting thought, IMO.

I don't invent my own tunings, but if I did, that might well be a consideration.
YMMV .
Many people would be happy to sound like Joni Mitchell, or at least make the most of those resonances than many alternative tunings provide. (eg, John Martyn.)

Hey Jon,
I love Joni Mitchell's music. She pretty much made that sound her own, and the majority of people who tried to go down the same path sounded like Joniwannabes.

My point is this: Do you control the tuning, or does it control you?

The majority of people who sit down to play in open tuning reek of that tuning, and they can't help it because they don't know how to think outside the box......and it's not easy!

40 years, or so, ago, a friend named Bruce Kirschner taught me how to play a medley of Spanish Harlem/Jamaica Farewell in open C (C-G-C-G-C-E).

It took me untold attempts to get a semi-grasp of it, at least outside of those 2 songs. Some time around 2002 the door opened a crack, and I wrote 2 pieces that I was very pleased with.

"...and why not?" http://www.howardemerson.com/music/tale-to-tell/13.mp3

"The Bells of Tina's Kitchen" http://www.howardemerson.com/music/tale-to-tell/04.mp3

But nothing to speak of since then, but I've never been known for being prolific.

As a drummer once opined: It don't come easy.

HE

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

Hey Jon,
I love Joni Mitchell's music. She pretty much made that sound her own, and the majority of people who tried to go down the same path sounded like Joniwannabes.

My point is this: Do you control the tuning, or does it control you?

Can't say I've given it much thought personally. I actually like the sound of opening tunings for their own sake, and while I wouldn't say they "control" me, I like to go where they suggest.
That's the point of an open tuning, IMO: it suggests a special kind of application (otherwise you'd tune it differently). It's designed to make certain sounds, chords, melodies or arrangements easier than in standard, as well as offer a kind of resonance you don't get in standard.

I obviously don't pretend to have your expertise or experience with them. In alternative-tuning-land I'm a tourist, not a native. I just like the occasional vacation away from EADGBE.