1 Topic by gitaardocphil (edited by gitaardocphil 2007-07-23 18:06:40)

  • From: BELGIUM
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
  • Posts: 3,403

Topic: about open tunings

I own a nice collection of guitars, and sometimes I try them in open tuning. An open tuning like E or G, sounds very nice, because you can play one of your favourite chords, without placing your fingers.
Besides using an open tuning for slide, or bottleneck, I am ignorant about when a guitar player uses an open tuning, not using slide. Is it a way to play guitar in an easier approach, are there a lot of musicians using an open tuning, and what is the MOST USED OPEN TUNING.

SO PURPOSE of OPEN TUNING, WHEN IS IT USED and THE MOST FREQUENT OPEN TUNING.

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

gitaardocphil's Website

  • From: Orpington London
  • Registered: 2006-10-22
  • Posts: 390

Re: about open tunings

Odd that you should ask that question because I just bought a book called 101 must know blues licks

That contains quite a lot of open G and open D tunings

open G being muddy waters and John Lee hooker (and open D being Elmore James)   

one advantage is that you can get a nice sound with simple shapes by sliding them up and down the neck (but without the bottle neck slide)

another possible advantage is that you are playing in the key of G the open notes form a G chord. so you might play some notes up the neck and then some open notes.  the open notes are all in the key of G and all fit well with the G chord 

open D is also used coincidentally by Pearl Jam. altered tunings fairly common in grunge

open D tunings result from slacking off strings so you get plenty of bass

johncross21's Website

  • Registered: 2007-07-19
  • Posts: 11

Re: about open tunings

For anyone who's unsure what open tunings are, they are the tuning of the strings to notes that belong to a given major chord.
Open G is D G D G B D (the notes that belong to a G chord)
Open D is D A D F# A D (the notes that belong to a D chord)
Open A is E A C# A C# E (the notes that belong to an A chord)
Open E is E B E G# B E (the notes that belong to an E chord)

Any major chord can be played by moving a barre around the fretboard with these...

Check out my site: [url=http://www.guitaristhelp.net]Printable scale, chord, arpeggio, blank TAB and manuscript sheets for guitar and bass[/url]

Guitaristhelp's Website

  • From: BELGIUM
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
  • Posts: 3,403

Re: about open tunings

Thank John, and Guitaristhelp. I like to post a topic about how many members have also an instrument in their nick.
On some topic, I wrote, and I don't lie, even the fun factor included, that in reality I am a very actif lazy man. I studied a long time, and when it is really interesting, I know almost everything and very fast. I saw your definitions, and the way you write open G, open D ... there is one thing I regret: the fact I never studied music. But since I'm here on Chordie, a lot of things go really a lot more easy, and I learned more than in the past 25 years. As soon as they started talking about blues, and THE SCALES, I stopped my video or I closed my book. A little confession: I noticed, also here, that I was using already pentatonics, without knowing it. Since I am at home for the rest of my life, I have only 2 real friends, and 20 friends, I play every week with one of my 2 best friends. He is drummer, but also a guitar player, and he learned me to keep my rhythm we also play quit often blues, in different "keys", My question is do you have interesting tips, where you learn to play blues, knowing my character, a little bit lazy. More specific, I've always been like that, with a minimal effort getting the maximum results.

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

gitaardocphil's Website