powerpopper Posted January 1, 2009 Share Posted January 1, 2009 Sorry, don't know if this is too off-topic. If it is, my apologies. I have not played in open tunings (like, ever) but I'm curious to know what open tuning Jackson Browne is using on this fine version of this fine song: Jackson Browne - "In the Shape of a Heart" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIlojcd3Pzk Again, my most humble apologies if this is against forum rules for any reason. Thanks, pp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 i think it's E, but not sure. i forgot about that tune. thanks for reminding me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brians356 Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Well, it definitely has drop D on bottom, probably DADF#AD but still watching video for clues ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brians356 Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 It's Open D [DADF#AD] and the guitar is a 12-fret Gibson, possibly a '30s Roy Smeck with shaved neck, but it could be a recent Custom Shop product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brians356 Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 I urge y'all to visit this 2006 "Guitar Player" Jackson Browne interview, in which he describes his Roy Smeck guitars: http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/jackson-browne/jan-06/16594 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 i have one of my j45s in open D. tried to play along and it was all wrong. ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brians356 Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Well, where were you putting your fingers? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elantric Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 This may help for where are the chords? in Alternate Tunings http://www.gibson.com/en%2Dus/Lifestyle/Features/dark%2Dfire%2Dopen%2Dtunings/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Well' date=' where were you putting your fingers? :) [/quote'] i was following him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brians356 Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Hmmm, pretty tough to see what he's doing. Of course the camera director is never a guitar player and is more interested in close-ups of the sound hole. Tell us about your '07 Roy Smeck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerpopper Posted January 2, 2009 Author Share Posted January 2, 2009 From the article he says, "By contrast I have a Gibson CF-100 that has a very narrow neck, 14 frets, and a small body and that’s an amazing guitar. I tune that one to open Eb for my songs “In the Shape of a Heart” and “I’m Alive.”" So I wonder if it's an open Eb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brians356 Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 No, it's not Eb. Pull out your pitch pipe or tuning fork or what have you. In fact, it's sounding in C#, but I don't trust the video playing over the internet. I suspect it might actually have been played in D. Also, he talks a lot in that interview (and in another article I found) about how each guitar wants to be played in a different tuning. He indeed plays his CF-100 in Eb, but unfortunately this video shows him playing "Heart" (several years later) on a Roy Smeck, one of which he says he tunes "a full step below standard" (i.e. D) but he also says he has a guitar on stage in C# so perhaps he is playing that tune in C# as it sounds on my audio stream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerpopper Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 No' date=' it's not Eb. Pull out your pitch pipe or tuning fork or what have you. In fact, it's sounding in [i']C#[/i], but I don't trust the video playing over the internet. I suspect it might actually have been played in D. Also, he talks a lot in that interview (and in another article I found) about how each guitar wants to be played in a different tuning. He indeed plays his CF-100 in Eb, but unfortunately this video shows him playing "Heart" (several years later) on a Roy Smeck, one of which he says he tunes "a full step below standard" (i.e. D) but he also says he has a guitar on stage in C# so perhaps he is playing that tune in C# as it sounds on my audio stream. Thanks, Brian. I will check it out a bit further but thanks for putting me on the right track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerpopper Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 For what it's worth, I ran down a guy here in LA who has the inside track on this and he had this to say about the video (mystery solved? perhaps): "That Jackson Browne tune is in Open D tuning, lowered a 1/2 step to sound D flat. He's generally fingering only the bottom 3 strings and letting strings 1 and 2 and sometimes 3 to ring in a drone style. You can get close to this style in Standard tuning, by playing in the Key of E Major allowing the 1st and 2nd strings to ring open, and using a "power chord" fingering on strings 3-6. (Try an A bar chord at the 5th fret, but don't bar strings 1 and 2; allow them to ring open.)" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brians356 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Problem with that explanation is the YouTube video is in C#, or 1/2 step lower than D. If you review this thread I first opined it was Open D, but checking it against a calibrated source (tuning fork) it was C#. Anyone can verify that themselves in 10 seconds. However, as I also stated then, it is possible (but unlikely) that he played it in D but then either the recording or the Internet feed have been slowed down slightly for some reason. But it is sounding in C#. Plus, in the Guitar Player interview I later cited, Browne said flatly that he keeps a guitar onstage in Open C#. :o/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWilson Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Isn't C# The same as D flat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOESTONE Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 To Quote Jackson Brown ["I have a Gibson CF-100 that has a very narrow neck, 14 frets, and a small body and that’s an amazing guitar. I tune that one to open Eb for my songs “In the Shape of a Heart” and “I’m Alive.”] The whole article: http://www.keyboardmag.com/article/jackson-browne/jan-06/16594 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brians356 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Oops, I missed that one word "flat". Ears are fine, eyes - no good. So the guy in LA and I agree, it is in C#/Db. But his explanation is overly complex. "Open D, tuned 1/2 step lower"? LOL How about just "Open C#" or "Open D flat"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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