Quote:
Originally Posted by JonPR
Not at the beginning - Hey Joe, Purple Haze and Wind Cries Mary are all in standard - but he was the guy who made it fashionable, from around Voodoo Chile on.
The idea that it makes it easier for the voice only applies if (a) you are losing your upper register as you get older (and we all do!), or (b) if specific songs you want to sing are too high and you don't want to transpose the chords.
But both those only make sense if the difference required is only a half-step! In both cases, it's much more common for the difference to be a lot more than that. A half-step down is hardly going to help at all. IOW, if you are doing it for that reason alone, you are probably fooling yourself.
A much more practical reason is the ability to be able to bend strings more easily without fitting thinner strings. A half-step can make quite a lot of difference there. You can keep the tone of heavier strings, but make them more playable.
With acoustic guitar there is a more subtle reason to do with the resonance of the instrument. Downtuning does make the guitar sound a little different, and might bring out some resonances you don't get in EADBGE. But again, a half-step is not going to make a whole lot of difference. Not as much as alternative tunings anyway.
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I turn 65 tomorrow and can't sing half the songs as high as I did when I was the lead singer in a garage band in my early 20's. For me a half a step lower makes all the difference. Been told I may be able to get it back via vocal exercises. Not so sure but I guess it's worth a try. Nothing to lose.