#1
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Most used alternate tuning? From blues to rock?
Is it open G, Drop D, DAGDAD, DADGAD?
Reason I ask is that I have been messing around with DAGDAD, and I find it to be simple to make "musical sounds" and melodies. I by NO MEANS am Laurence Joubert, but I can make pleasant noise, if you will. What are the alternate tunings that have the most examples of classic pop and rock music? |
#2
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DADGAD was pretty popular with Jimmy Page (Over the Hills and Far Away), Keith Richards played a lot of open G (5 string) and Neil used open E, as did George Thurogood.
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#3
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Open G has been used by many, especially slide players like Lowell George, Bonnie Rait, etc.
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"Vintage taste, reissue budget" |
#4
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Open G seems to be pretty popular with blues guys.
Jorma Kaukonen (Hot Tuna) uses it a lot. Water Song is open G.
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Just an old drum playing guitarist now. |
#5
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Drop D is probably the most used.
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#6
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Open G -- just ask Keef!
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#7
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Drop D is what I play in most of the time. While I was playing at a banjo camp (go figure) last summer, I was approached by a woman who was learning guitar and noticed I played in a non-standard tuning. She asked me about it, and over the lunch hour, I showed her a progression of tunings that I have found useful:
1. Drop the low E string to D and you have dropped D tuning, with that sonorous low D note. Anything in the key of D sounds wonderful here, but I've played in other keys in this tuning, such as C. 2. Drop the high E string to D and you have "double-D" tuning (DADGBD). If you know Kate Rusby, this is her preferred tuning. Many of her songs can be played in this tuning (like "Jolly Plowboys" or "Sir Eglamore"). I do a version of Joni Mitchell's "Urge for Going" in this tuning that people seem to like. 3. Drop the B string down to A and you have DADGAD. Endless possibilities here. Another way to achieve something similar is to use standard tuning and a "cut capo" that only covers 3 strings, in this case the A, D and G strings. This gives you a tuning of EBEABE, which is DADGAD but "tuned up" 2 frets. Another advantage of this way of doing things is that you can fret notes behind the capo on the low E, B, and high E strings for some cool variations. You can also reverse the cut capo on the D, G and B strings, which gives you an effective tuning of EBF#AC#E, and I haven't explored that possibility nearly enough. 4. Drop the G string down to F# and you're in open D tuning. Many possibilities here also, especially with a slide. 5. Drop the G (now F#) string down to F and you have DADFAD, which is open Dm tuning. VERY dark and scary-sounding. The bluesman Skip James used this tuning a lot. The delightful thing about this progression of tunings is that you only have to tune one string differently each time to achieve your result. |
#8
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Quote:
Don't forget DADF#AD which is Open D, and DADFAD which is Open D-minor tuning. The alternate tuned D tuning group is one of the most complete. If one starts with Dropped D, and works out the kinks and new fingerings, then just drops the 1st string to D you have Double Dropped D which doesn't take a lot of adjustment. Then after a period of adjusting to double Dropped D, all it takes tune to DADGAD, or DADF#AD , or DADFAD is to retune a single string. A huge aid to me was David Wilcox's DVD titled: The Guitar of David Wilcox-Secrets of Open Tunings and Song Accompaniment It was filmed in the mid 1990s, and transferred to digital around 2005, and the DVD still sells for $30 on Amazon. I've introduced many a student who was getting into alternate tunings to it. He promises three alternate tunings, and meanders through several more, with a ton of advice. It's not a lesson DVD, but it really is good to learn if you are a "Monkey see - Monkey do" player. Also, our forum's own Doug Young has a DADGAD resource titled Understanding DADGAD: for Fingerstyle Guitar, and another titled Fiddle Tunes in DADGAD: Playing and Arranging Reels, Jigs and Airs for Fingerstyle Guitar, which can be found on Amazon. And lastly Al Petteway (probably one of the most proficient players in, and teachers of, DADGAD) has Blues Guitar Arrangements in DADGAD Tuning, and Appalachian Fingerstyle Guitar in DADGAD Tuning, and Al Petteway - Celtic Blues and Beyond. The last one has tutorials by Al on how to play the passages of the songs, as well as the videos of the songs themselves on that album. I own and have enjoyed other DVDs by several others, but these were the ones which affected my ability to not only play in DADGAD, but to understand what I was doing when playing in alternate tunings. David Wilcox's DVD taught me the similarities and differences between them, and spurred me to start porting some of my original tunes to other tunings, even using an Esus cut capo to port some of my DADGAD and CGCGCD songs live so I didn't have to retune the guitar on the fly when playing live. I have seen David play live three times, and attended two of his Workshops on alternate tunings. If you sing and play, then he's one of the guys who has mastered alternate tuning, and clever singing. Hope you enjoy exploring the tunings. Each of the DVDs I listed will cost you about the price of a single guitar lesson, which is very in-expensive in terms of learning tools from masters. |