Alternative tuning guide

[jaxson50]

http://sethares.engr.wisc.edu/alternatetunings/alltunings.pdf

[RowdyMoon]

Nice..some great info here..going to have to print this up in the morning.

[tazzboy]

This is the book that I use http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/alternate-tunings-mark-hanson/1113578319?ean=9780936799148

[Bender 4 Life]

many thanks Jaxson !!

saved ! and soon to be printed out for some study & test driving......

I played a VG-Strat @ GC once, for about 3 hours....absolutely amazed by the alternate tunings available at the twist of a knob (the guitar modeling was great too) but was short on cash & got a Sheraton II instead.

 

it may be time for a look at either a used VG or one of the most recent generations of VG this coming Sept.

[daveinspain]

Saved for future reference... Excellent, Thank you!!

[CindyC]

Great information! I was going to ask where open E was but then saw it as open D transposed up two, very interesting.

 

I have a question for you guys about open E tuning, I run into this with songs like You Can't Always Get What You Want and other Stones songs.

 

I understand that it puts considerable stress on the guitar so I would not plan on using it on a vintage instrument only a newer guitar. The song will take me some time to get down so I'm wondering should I take it out of E tuning as soon as I'm finished working on it each time as I've been doing or is it ok to leave like that for say a day or two?

[Izzy]

Great information! I was going to ask where open E was but then saw it as open D transposed up two, very interesting.

 

I have a question for you guys about open E tuning, I run into this with songs like You Can't Always Get What You Want and other Stones songs.

 

I understand that it puts considerable stress on the guitar so I would not plan on using it on a vintage instrument only a newer guitar. The song will take me some time to get down so I'm wondering should I take it out of E tuning as soon as I'm finished working on it each time as I've been doing or is it ok to leave like that for say a day or two?

 

Do you have to work on it in standard the E? What I mean is, could you maybe start off with a lower tunning like E flat and then turn the E flat into E tuning? I may not know what I'm taklign about...but in theory I see it working, you'd just use it to learn the song then back to standard E tuning to play it as intended.

[surfpup]

You won't hurt your guitar with open E. I use open Eb usually for slide work, since all my other guitars are tuned half step flat, but I've tuned up to open E quite often. Like Izzy said, if you're worried about it use E when playing along with a recording - then switch to Eb whilst playing alone. Better yet - since the song you mention is capoed, tune to Open Eb and move the capo up half a step.

[surfpup]

I have a question for you guys about open E tuning, I run into this with songs like You Can't Always Get What You Want and other Stones songs.

 

BTW, those Stones songs are best in open G anyway - which is a slack key tuning.

[CindyC]

Do you have to work on it in standard the E? What I mean is, could you maybe start off with a lower tunning like E flat and then turn the E flat into E tuning? I may not know what I'm taklign about...but in theory I see it working, you'd just use it to learn the song then back to standard E tuning to play it as intended.

 

Izzy, that sounds like a great idea! It never occurred to me that I could do that, I've got so much learning to do! This tuning guide is going to be very helpful to me. I'm going to see how it sounds. Thanks a lot for the suggestion.

 

 

You won't hurt your guitar with open E. I use open Eb usually for slide work, since all my other guitars are tuned half step flat, but I've tuned up to open E quite often. Like Izzy said, if you're worried about it use E when playing along with a recording - then switch to Eb whilst playing alone. Better yet - since the song you mention is capoed, tune to Open Eb and move the capo up half a step.

 

Hey Surfpup, Thanks for answering, I was going on something I read that the guitar would be under more stress and it wasn't good to keep it tuned that way. I was pretty nervous the first time I tuned to it. lol I could just imaging my guitar busting open in the process. Good to know it's ok!

 

I'm working from the Hot Rocks music book by Alfred publishing and it calls for it in open E w/capo on 8th fret. I've seen it in Open G as well w/capo on the 5th fret. I've read it was recorded in open E but since then Keith has played it in open G. I really like the way it sounds in open E best.

[surfpup]

... it calls for it in open E w/capo on 8th fret. I've seen it in Open G as well w/capo on the 5th fret. I've read it was recorded in open E but since then Keith has played it in open G. I really like the way it sounds in open E best.

 

So tune to open Eb and capo at 9. Won't make a difference either way.

[quapman]

Fantastic reference there Jaxon.. thanks for posting that.

pdf saved.

 

 

But what the H is EBGDAE? lol,, I have always called it EADGBE. lol

 

Hell if I even only ever use a few of them it's great to have on hand.

Thanks man.

[jaxson50]

Exploring alternative tunings have opened my mind to new ideas and approaches to playing. The standard tuning remains my favorite, or I should say, my standard but other turnings give you, the artist, a much more colorful palette to add to you bag of goodies.There have been discussions lately about the use of scales the best way to learn scales, etc.My advice is to read..get the principles embedded in your mind, understand the fret board and the way things go together, then play. I have had a few teachers over the years, the best teacher I had emphasized to me that if you learn every cord between the nut and the forth fret you have every cord you will ever need. Learn the cord shapes...then learn positions. Then apply scales to every cord position. That should be your practice and warm up exercise, strum a cord, play the scales that fit with that cord, change position of the cord shape, play the scale that fits that position, and continue. Break every song you play down to that routine. Learn every song slowly, play it at slow speed, after you have fit the scales, and practice it at slow speed until you have muscle memory for that progression, speed it up, make it simple, keep it that way. Learning alternative tunings the same way will give you a greater arsenal that you can use.

[quapman]

Exploring alternative tunings have opened my mind to new ideas and approaches to playing. The standard tuning remains my favorite, or I should say, my standard but other turnings give you, the artist, a much more colorful palette to add to you bag of goodies.There have been discussions lately about the use of scales the best way to learn scales, etc.My advice is to read..get the principles embedded in your mind, understand the fret board and the way things go together, then play. I have had a few teachers over the years, the best teacher I had emphasized to me that if you learn every cord between the nut and the forth fret you have every cord you will ever need. Learn the cord shapes...then learn positions. Then apply scales to every cord position. That should be your practice and warm up exercise, strum a cord, play the scales that fit with that cord, change position of the cord shape, play the scale that fits that position, and continue. Break every song you play down to that routine. Learn every song slowly, play it at slow speed, after you have fit the scales, and practice it at slow speed until you have muscle memory for that progression, speed it up, make it simple, keep it that way. Learning alternative tunings the same way will give you a greater arsenal that you can use.

 

 

This is about the best advice I have heard on here.

It pretty much echos what my teacher has been saying. And I am happy to say that a couple weeks ago I have shifted my focus to chords.

But the way you describe it is daunting and you have exposed the tip of the knowledge iceberg..

 

Thanks for messing with my small lazy brain... lol

[pippy]

Great info there Jaxson! Thanks.

 

I started to be amazed by 'odd' tunings after watching a broadcast of Joni Mitchell back around about the turn of the eighties.

I had been a fan for a while and thought I could learn a few tricks but simply couldn't understand how on earth she had her various instruments tuned.

Recently I came across this about playing her style on the Wiki site;

 

"While some of Mitchell's most popular songs were written on piano, almost every song she composed on the guitar uses an open, or non-standard, tuning; she has written songs in some 50 tunings, playing what she has called "Joni's weird chords." The use of alternative tunings allows guitarists to produce accompaniment with more varied and wide-ranging textures.

 

Mitchell's longtime archivist, the San Francisco-based Joel Bernstein maintains a detailed list of all her tunings, and has assisted her to relearn the tunings for several older songs."

 

^P.