#1
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Altered / drop tunings suggestions?
Hi all,
I have been experimenting with altered tunings somewhat, and am curious to hear of tuning suggestions. I do have interest in DADGAD, and thanks to members mention, have Doug Young's book. I do realize that there are constraints to work around string gauges, and am hoping to stay with stock gauges rather than building custom orders from Stringjoy. I discovered one tuning used by Ben Howard, for example, CGCGGC, which sounds stripped down yet harmonic... Thanks for sharing, a.h. |
#2
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I have explored all sorts of alternate tunings and never strung with anything but factory sets of strings. For CGCGCD I buy one weight heavier, and on short scale guitars, beyond Dropped D…the same. The exception is my Bashkin OM - fanned fret - Myrtlewood/Italian Spruce. I don't even need to change string weights, because the low strings are all long-scale. I started students with Dropped D, the Double Dropped D, then we tuned the 2nd string to "A" for DADGAD. Then we explored Open D (D-A-D-F#-A-D), open D minor (D-A-D-D-A-D) then Open G (D-G-D-G-B-D) and Open G minor (D-G-D-G-Bb-D). We did the open tunings as both strumming, and slide. Open tunings (strings tuned to a chord) are great strumming keys, and moderately good fingerstyle keys. That's just a kind of logical path I took students down who already had a solid understanding of standard tuning, and they were proficient with three note inversions and barre chords. |
#3
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Grab this FREE book. It has everything you need...
https://sethares.engr.wisc.edu/alter...alltunings.pdf Tony |
#4
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Perhaps learn to play some altered tuning tunes you like a lot. If you want to noodle around in some different tunings to see if you come up with an original tune you might start with a modal tuning (DADGAD most common one) and some open tunings (say open C or open G).
Problem with a repertoire in a few different tunings is a lot of retuning the guitar from tune to tune. That can get to be a little much to keep that repertoire intact.
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Made to one with pride and love To be that we hold so dear A voice from heavens above |
#5
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I'm regularly in DADGAD, CGDGAD AND CGDGCD (Orkney tuning). If I'm playing something that's dropped D I will tune the guitar to CGCFAD and capo if I feel like it.
Another tuning that is nice is DADF#AD. My only problem that I have run into using these tunings is that most of the time the arrangements rely on simple 2 and 3 note chords without a lot of barres so my fretting hand has gone down hill a bit. Now I'm re-learning a few tunes that have barres and I'm like a newbie
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Barry Sad Moments {Marianne Vedral cover}: My SoundCloud page Some steel strings, some nylon. |
#6
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In addition to the ones mentioned, I also have enjoyed DGDGBE tuning and have composed in that for some time now.
If you feel you'll enjoy CGCGCD ( with capo or not), Al Petteway's "Broken Mist" is done in this tuning. I believe he has an instruction on the Dream Guitars web site that might assist with learning it. Also he's got at least one UTube track on that song as well. That tune opened up a lot of doors for me with my own creations. Enjoy! Fred
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1993 Bourgeois JOM 1967 Martin D12-20 2007 Vines Artisan 2014 Doerr Legacy 2013 Bamburg FSC- 2002 Flammang 000 12 fret 2000 McCollum Grand Auditorium ______________________________ Soundcloud Spotify Mike McKee/Fred Bartlett Spotify playlist |
#7
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Quote:
Last edited by Andyrondack; 09-04-2021 at 03:34 AM. |
#8
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Been playing around with DACGCE- it's the tune used in for of my favourite fingerstyle pieces (see below); it has a beautiful, almost haunting open sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-3GVc22gXQ |
#9
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Quote:
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Barry Sad Moments {Marianne Vedral cover}: My SoundCloud page Some steel strings, some nylon. |
#10
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I play almost always solo stuff in alternate tunings.
DADGAD you know — more versatile than people think. CGCGCD (C sus 4) — a great tuning for traditional stuff but also some up-tempo blusier stuff. CGCFCD (C sus 2 sus 9) Only one tone dropped (3rd G to F) but for me a flatter an more neutral sounding tuning _ pretty easy to move from DADGAD to this. DGDGCD (Gsus 4) More harmonically interesting to me than Open G — s a variant you tune bottom string down to C. Using them live I can pretty quickly change tunings if I have the set list planned.
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------ AJ Lucas Pavilion Sweep fan fret Santa Cruz OM/E (European Pre War) Martin J40 |
#11
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I dabble with one occasionally I was actually at this symposium
Here is the song he mentions
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Enjoy the Journey.... Kev... KevWind at Soundcloud KevWind at YouYube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...EZxkPKyieOTgRD System : Studio system Avid Carbon interface , PT Ultimate 2023.12 -Mid 2020 iMac 27" 3.8GHz 8-core i7 10th Gen ,, Ventura 13.2.1 Mobile MBP M1 Pro , PT Ultimate 2023.12 Ventura 12.2.1 |
#12
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AGF: Always coming through
Everyone who has responded:
Thank you for sharing your insights. My strings are getting a workout from shifting tuning to try some of these out. At the moment, I'm trying out the CGCGCD tuning shared on Al Petteway's 'Broken Mist' for a while to see what sparks. I like that the tuning can be shifted major or minor very easily, and the suspension inherent in the string intervals. All of your responses are very much appreciated! -a.h. |
#13
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If you want a real rabbit-hole of alternative tunings, no one beats Joni Mitchell:
https://jonimitchell.com/music/tuningpatterns.cfm These Martin Carthy videos are worth watching too:
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"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen. |
#14
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Something else you can try with CGCGCD tuning is getting the sound of classical Indian music. A lot of the lot music is played ascending and descending on the first string as well as other strings, and the bass strings work nicely to give a drone effect.
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#15
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A tuning I thought I "discovered" CGDGBE (droping the low E to C, A string to G) is one I still use from time to time.
Turns out, it was a known and used alt tuning I just hadn't heard of. Nice low tones from the bass strings, and by moving which of the bass strings you strike as the root or lowest note, you have some easy choices in the keys of (or off the forms of, if you are capoing) C and G like one has in E and A in standard.
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----------------------------------- Creator of The Parlando Project Guitars: 20th Century Seagull S6-12, S6 Folk, Seagull M6; '00 Guild JF30-12, '01 Martin 00-15, '16 Martin 000-17, '07 Parkwood PW510, Epiphone Biscuit resonator, Merlin Dulcimer, and various electric guitars, basses.... |
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altered tuning, drop tuning |
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