Help with chord shapes in drop D tuning.

[Bluenose]

Originally Posted by Andyrondack

I don"t think that conventional chord theory is going to get the OP where she wants to be Essentially Tom Petty has created a traditional sounding modal folk song and the accompaniment reflects that . If you just convert conventional triads from standard into a different tuning you still get a modern conventionally harmonised sound.

Your're probably right, I should have listened to the song in question before I started dispensing sage advice but maybe someone out there in the 'metaverse'
got something from my ramblings.

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by Bluenose

Your're probably right, I should have listened to the song in question before I started dispensing sage advice but maybe someone out there in the 'metaverse'
got something from my ramblings.

It's an easy misunderstanding. Guitarists are trained to believe that they are supposed to put chords to tunes, it took me a long time to understand that some music harks back to an older time before chords became popular.
For the vast majority of songs your post would be quite correct.

[turtlejimmy]

Originally Posted by Bluenose

Your're probably right, I should have listened to the song in question before I started dispensing sage advice but maybe someone out there in the 'metaverse'
got something from my ramblings.

It's all good. I appreciate all the feedback and I got something from every post. I think this one is just going to be difficult with a flat pick ..... The version above isn't really working for me. Again, I don't get how you can pull that off with a flat pick. Also, I appreciate the last poster's comment about guitarists being chord oriented, and this tune is really more about individual notes, and bass runs. It's good. It makes me think about things differently, expands my ideas about how to get things done.

I'll keep working on it.



Turtle

[Andyrondack]

The modal song your trying to play has an accompaniment based on a drone, the guitar is being used like an old time Appalachian dulcimer.

[turtlejimmy]

Love the drone ... That's a big part of the appeal of this song. I've got a "Strum and Sing" songbook coming in the mail that includes Wildflowers and All The Rest. I'm not giving up on this one easily.



Turtle

[Andyrondack]

I love all that drony modal stuff too, I think the big Highland Bagpipes gave drones a bad reputation but there's a kind of archaic seeming quality to the sound, even in a modern folk song such as this one.