The Watering Hole

Tuned my strat to open G.  Suddenly, it's way frigging easy to play all those Stones songs.  Funny how a simple change of perspective can open up the intrument...

I love open tunings, you can get some really cool open riffs going on that really ring out

Open G is pretty cool too because of the way the bottom 4 strings (d-g-d-g) work.  You can doa  slick riff on the higher D-G, then repeat it an octave down, instantly.  For being the main Rolling Stones tuning, it's actually way thick, deep, and dark.

charger — Aug 02, 2010Funny how a simple change of perspective can open up the intrument...

True. I'm betting you also grabbed a slide while it's tuned up that way?

Charger,

I used to play tons of Zeppelin.  It would drive me crazy that I could learn all the songs quickly then get to the acoustic song and it seemed simple but I couldn't figure out how to play it.  I absolutely LOVE The Rain Song.  I think it's one of the best slow songs ever.  Never could figure out how to play it.  About two years ago, the guy I sold my Classic 30 too (owns a software company across the hall) brings me the music to The Rain Song.  At the top was the tuning.  I tuned my Taylor to that tuning, and suddenly I could follow right along with the music.  

I want to a Taylor seminar with Artie Traum a couple years ago and he was demo'ing the DADGAD tuning.  I only messed with it for a few weeks but it was amazing how many of the older songs I always thought were weird to play, were suddenly VERY easy to play.  

I haven't messed with alternate tunings much, but they immediately open up new worlds.  

I used to play a lot of stuff with open tunings, I forget most of it, but when I was into my acoustic guitar in the 1970's, I used to use lots of them.

I always liked open E for messing with a slide.  Never got good at slide though.

I'm keeping it in open G.  I love it.  It just screams "Keef!"

Funny thing is I am such an Exile on Mainstreet junkie.  I listen to that album at least once a week.  And I've never been able to play half the shit on it.  Suddenly I can play all those tunes I never got.  Even the piano intro to "Loving Cup" is totally perfect in open G on guitar.  Awesome.

This is funny shit.  I've had this song idea in my head and been bouncing it around for days and I just couldn't find it and when I got home today I started turning pegs to get the notes where I needed them to be.  

Guess what....I'm in open G.  That's some funny shit.

It is funny.  I remember some metal riffs that I couldn't play  a few years ago (back when we were all at Line 6) because the rhythm part was too fast!  I could not figure out how the guy could play the low two notes of a barre chord, and move that fast. Obviously this bothered me as I don't like people playing faster than me!   ;D     DUH!  When the guy (Dr. Phil in fact) said to drop the low E a whole step then you are playing those two notes with one finger instead of two.  I don't know why I didn't think of that but immediately I could play them faster than the song and the song was suddenly EASY.  

I think one reason I never messed with alternate tunings on electric was because all of my trem guitars were floating trem and it screwed everything up when you started changing the tuning.  Now most of them are pegged so you can do it easily.  Have to give it a whirl some time.  

Funny thing is.....I've been using open and alternate tunings for 20 years or so now, but up until that point I really resisted it as it just seemed like cheating to me.  Not sure why that bothered me really because it's just another way of playing but it took me some time to feel comfortable with my own playing to know that I wasn't really cheating at all, just different.  Here's a little rain song I knocked off last year some time with alternate tuning.

and here's another go at it, this time using normal tuning....just doesn't sound anywhere near as good

open tunings are pretty awesome.

I like DGDGBD and DADGAD... but CACGCE is probably my favorite.

ex: I'll sit around and screw around with things like this for hours (too many hours)

Jon — Aug 04, 2010 Here's a little rain song I knocked off last year some time with alternate tuning.

That's darned nice Jon  :)- must have a go at that myself sometime!

Jon — Aug 04, 2010and here's another go at it, this time using normal tuning....just doesn't sound anywhere near as good

You know I liked both of them Jon nice playing on both. For the uninitiated no big difference with either. Both were well done.

ironsheep — Aug 05, 2010open tunings are pretty awesome.

I like DGDGBD and DADGAD... but CACGCE is probably my favorite.

ex: I'll sit around and screw around with things like this for hours (too many hours)

Smokingly nice Sheep. very nice touch.

One of my favorites is CGCGCE.  It makes playing exotic shit really fucking easy.