Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

Drop D Tuning


zombywoof

Recommended Posts

As the years go by I play in open tunings less and less. Maybe I am just too lazy to retune. Don't know. But more and more I keep going back to Drop D tuning. Earlier today I tried to put together a mental list of those I play and came up with - the Airplane's "Embryonic Journey" (still a favorite which I have been playing more than 50 years now), the Stones "Factory Girl," Tommy Johnson's "Big Road Blues and "Canned Heat," Blind Blake's "Chump Man Blues," Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues," Robert Johnson's "Malted Milk Blues," and Brownie McGhee's "Sportin' Life Blues." What is in the back of my mind is to come up with enough to do an entire set in Drop D. Thing is I would want to limit the blues numbers to two or three. I have been toying with the idea of revisiting Dave Van Ronk's "Green, Green Rocky Road" which I never did get a good enough handle on to play outside of the house. I have also been thinking along the lines of the Beatles "Dear Prudence" or maybe Ry Cooder's version of "FDR in Trinidad" which I have also messed around with off and on but never got them to the point I would play them in front of real live people. One that I always wanted to take a crack at on guitar is a Texas waltz "Midnight on the Water." I used to play it on fiddle and mandolin and tuned the G strings down to D to get a drone going. So what works for you guys. What Drop D Barn Burners do you keep in your set list?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Harvest MoonLong Haired Country Boy4 and 20Treetop FlyerA few jason isbell tunes - flagship... speed trap townCant find my way homeWild mountain thymeHeart of Saturday Night

 

Bwahaha - the day ain't come when I am going to play Neil Young. I had already thought about "Can't Find My Way Home" and it is a possibility. Wild Mountain Thyme is a good one that I had not thought of. I am really only familiar with the Baez and Byrds versions. It would really fit in well at one of the places I play regularly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A lot.

In the first phase of my Gibson era, I found that the Martins were better suited for DD.

Those days are over and I'm dropping Gibsons all the time. And begin to manage the F-sharp on the bass-string in the D-chord and the G in Cmaj7.

 

Faves at the moment : Almost Cut My Hair - Bells of Rhymney - Only Living Boy in NY - Amelia

All time dropped D stars : Ambulance Blues - If I Was a Carpenter - Mister Tambourrrrine Man

 

A vintage DD-addict here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bwahaha - the day ain't come when I am going to play Neil Young. I had already thought about "Can't Find My Way Home" and it is a possibility. Wild Mountain Thyme is a good one that I had not thought of. I am really only familiar with the Baez and Byrds versions. It would really fit in well at one of the places I play regularly.

Does that mean "no" or "yes" Neil Young? (before I offer one up....)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also not doing much alt tunings- 'always seems to kill the flow when everyone must stop, decide if they want to retune, or wing it. Maybe for solo situations. Drop d is a fast enough change of pace, though. But if you Bwahaha'ed Sal's Neil suggestions, I'd best ask what point of the last century is your set list cutoff? [mellow]. In a jam setting, when the mood is right on a Saturday night, a drop D version of Steve Earle's Copperhead Road can be a good time. And you did ask what works for us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keep a couple of spare guitars, save retuning in a set...

 

Hey Zomb, did you forget Lonnie? Just about every tune he does is in DD - I learned 'There Is No Justice' in E just because [biggrin]:

 

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lonnie+johnson+there+is+no+justice

 

 

 

 

Uncle Ned, Don't Lose Your Head:

 

 

 

Lifesaver Blues:

 

 

 

Woke Up With The Blues In mY Fingers:

 

 

 

ETC.

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wild Mountain Thyme is a good one that I had not thought of. I am really only familiar with the Baez and Byrds versions. It would really fit in well at one of the places I play regularly.

 

Here's a really nice version of Wild Mountain Thyme you might be able to adapt. Some guy who hangs around here recorded it.

 

http://soundcloud.com/nitebeach/wild-mountain-thyme-march-2013

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keep a couple of spare guitars, save retuning in a set...

 

Hey Zomb, did you forget Lonnie? Just about every tune he does is in DD - I learned 'There Is No Justice' in E just because [biggrin]:

 

 

Me forget about Lonnie? Best there ever was or ever will be. Chet also did a bunch of tunes in Drop D. But there will be five or six folks up front of all skill levels playing. There will be a couple of guitars, a mandolin or two, a banjo, a fiddle, a standup bass, and such. But even "Embryonic Journey" is pushing it with this crowd. A perfect song for these gigs is something like Ry Cooder's "Billy the Kid." Simple enough to grasp in terms of chords and melody but it is something you can really cut loose on if you have a mind to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Drop D or open D ?

 

Factory girl isn’t drop D is it ? Open D surely

 

 

I have played that song in both Open D and Drop D. Not that hard to play in either. I go back and forth between tunings. So even though Tommy Johnson's "Big Road Blues" was written in Drop D I preferred playing it in Open D. I went back to Drop D because it is just easier only needing to retune one string. But if there is one thing I have had a tendency to mess around with it is tunings. It all depends on how I hear it in my head. So back in my coffee house days where I used to primarily back singers and work off their set list, I would occasionally twist things around and play tunes like the Beatles "Things We Said Today" in Open G minor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's a really nice version of Wild Mountain Thyme you might be able to adapt. Some guy who hangs around here recorded it.

 

http://soundcloud.com/nitebeach/wild-mountain-thyme-march-2013

 

Here's a reasonably good free arrangement-

http://www.free-scores.com/download-sheet-music.php?pdf=59788#

 

I first heard this song listening to James Taylor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mickey Newbury's "Why You Been Gone So Long?" is good in Dropped D, as is Freddie Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'." The latter is even better in double Dropped D.

 

Being the lazy sort, instead of retuning I use a Shubb mandolin capo at the second fret and leave the 6th string open, although Shubb (and other companies) make special capos for the purpose.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Souvenirs - John Prine

Rachel - Jim Ringer

Early Morning Rain - G. Lightfoot

Willie the Wandering Gypsy & Me - Billy Jo Shaver

Gotta Travel On - Paul Clayton

 

A few of the songs I play in dropped D. But I gotta admit, I often capo 5 at two and play them in "fake" dropped D.

 

 

I used to love going up to the Town Crier to see Jim Ringer especially when he was with Mary McCaslin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...