• How do I tune my guitar?
• How do I tune down a half step?
• How do I tune my guitar to get an open or altered tuning?
• What is standard tuning?
• What is alternate tuning?
• What is open tuning?
• What are some typical open tunings?
• What are some typical alternate tunings?
• How do I tune a 12 string guitar?
• What are some good alternate tunings for a 12 string guitar?
• How do I tune a tenor guitar?
• Is there anything that can make tuning a guitar easier?
• What if my tuner doesn’t have C on it?
• How do I tune my guitar using harmonics?
• How does bridge tuning work?
• Why can’t I make my Floyd Rose system work?
• How do I self-tune or make a bad ear a good ear?
• Does a blues guitarist tune their guitar differently?
• How do I get in tune with CDs?
• Why tune other than standard?
• What is the real tuning used in the song Blackbird?
• What is open D tuning?
• What is C sharp tuning?
• How do I tune to CGCFAD?

How do I tune my guitar?

Tuning a guitar is the single most important concept for a beginner to learn. At the same time it can often an early stumbling block. If your guitar is not in tune, you will never sound good. Rather than having your friends tune your guitar for you, you should learn how to do it for yourself.

There are several ways you can tune a guitar: by ear, with an electronic tuner, using another instrument such as a piano or a pitch fork. Most beginners will find it easiest to start with an electronic tuner. Don’t worry, tuning by ear is a skill that comes with time.

For step by step instructions on tuning a guitar you should read The First Time Ever I Tuned My Axe by Graham Merry. Another set of instructions can be found in How to Tune A Guitar.

It is also possible to tune your guitar using harmonic tuning.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to How to tune a guitar and select edit to make improvements.

How do I tune down a half step?

If you have a chromatic tuner this can be easy. A half a step down is having every note “half a step” down – a half step is an interval and to the guitar it’s a one-fret distance. So, E becomes Eb and so forth.

From the low E to the high E it goes:

Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb

An easy way to tune down to half a step is to place a capo on the first fret and tune up to standard pitch, then, take off the capo and you’ll have half a step tuning.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Tuning down half a step and select edit to make improvements.
How do I tune my guitar to get an open or altered tuning?
A couple rules of thumb:

1. Try to tune downward whenever possible. Too much stress on the strings is not good for the guitar or the strings (or you, for that matter). If you do tune up to a note, try not to go higher than three half steps.
2. Use a capo. It’s much easier on your guitar to tune to Open D and then put a capo on the second fret to get your Open E. Ditto with Open G to get Open A. If you listen to the Rolling Stones’ Happy, you’ll find it’s in the key of B. Richards uses Open G tuning with a capo on the fourth fret.
3. Remember that nothing is set in stone. But having said that, I will add that it is preferable to have your two lowest notes be the root and the fifth of your chord.

You can get a reference pitch by using another guitar that is in tune, a piano, a tuning fork, an electronic tuner or your computer. The easiest way to retune your guitar is to use a keyboard (which is hopefully in tune to start with). Most electronic tuners will allow you to tune to specific notes as well.

You can find more information on re-tuning your guitar in the article Open Tuning – Part I.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Retuning a guitar and select edit to make improvements.

What is standard tuning?

What we guitarists consider “standard tuning” has been around pretty much since the fifth and sixth strings were added to the instrument in the late 1700’s. And, artists being artists, “non-standard” or “alternate” tunings have existed for just about as long. For the sake of our discussions, we will divide guitar tunings into three categories – standard, open, and alternate.

Standard tuning is what we were taught from day one (low to high or 6th string to 1st): E A D G B E

For more information on tunings see the article Open Tuning – Part 1.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Standard tuning and select edit to make improvements.

What is alternate tuning?

An alternate tuning is any tuning that is neither standard nor open. Any tunings that have the same intervals between each string are a kind of standard tuning, such as:

STANDARD
E A D G B E

Alternate #1
Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb

Alternate #2
D G C F A D

Alternate #3
Db Gb B E Ab Db

Alternate #4
C F Bb Eb G C

Those of you who play a lot of Nirvana, as well as other 90’s groups, will recognize these as “low tunings”. While they are indeed, by our definition, alternate tunings, they are simply transposed standard tunings. All the intervals between the strings are the same as they are in standard tuning. “Alternate #1″ is tuned a half step lower than standard, “#2″ a whole step lower and so on.

For more on altered tunings check out the article On The Tuning Awry.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Alternate tuning and select edit to make improvements.

What is open tuning?

Open tuning is when we tune the guitar in such a fashion that results in our getting a major (or minor) chord when we strum the open strings.

You will find more on open tunings in Open Tuning – Part I and Open Tuning – Part II.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Open tuning and select edit to make improvements.

What are some typical open tunings?

Open tunings have been making a “comeback” of sorts lately, but they have always been a staple of serious musicians. Many fledgling guitarists are unaware that artists such as Keith Richards, Dave Mason, Richie Havens, Leo Kottke and Mark Knopfler have been using various forms of open tuning for years. Slide guitar players often tend to utilize open tuning; it suits their particular playing styles quite well.

Here are some basic open tunings:

STANDARD
E A D G B E

OPEN C
C G C G C E

OPEN C Minor
C G C G C Eb

OPEN D
D A D F# A D

OPEN D Minor
D A D F A D

OPEN F (used by Jimmy Page in Bron Y Aur)
C F C F A F

OPEN G
D G D G B D

OPEN G Minor
D G D G Bb D

OPEN G Seventh
D G D G B F

You will find more about open tunings in the article Open Tuning – Part 1.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Open tuning examples and select edit to make improvements.

What are some typical alternate tunings?

We’ve put together a list of different alternate tunings. This is by no means a definitive list of all the possibilities. We haven’t included any formal names on these tunings, but have made some notes about a few of them.

• E A D G B E – standard
• E B D G A D
• E E E E B E – Stephen Stills uses this in Carry On and Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. The fifth string is tuned to the sixth while the third and fourth strings are tuned to the E an octave above that (and an octave below the first string)
• E B E G A D
• E A D G C F
• E B B G B D – Ani DiFranco uses this in Not a Pretty Girl. Again both the fourth and fifth strings are tuned to same note
• E A D G# B E
• E A D F# B E
• E A D G B D
• D A D G B E – Drop D
• D A D G B D – Double Drop D
• D A D D A D
• D A D E A D – Not used by Jerry Garcia (at least as far as I know) (sorry, I couldn’t resist)
• D G D G A D
• D G D G B E
• D G D F# B D – yes, technically open Gmaj7
• C A D G B E
• C G D G B E
• C G D G C D – one of my favorites
• C G D G B D
• C G C G B E
• C G C G C D
• C G D G A D

It’s safe to say you could spend quite a bit of time looking into this. Find out more in the article On The Tuning Awry.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Alternate tuning examples and select edit to make improvements.

How do I tune a 12 string guitar?

Tuning a 12 string guitar is a little more complicated than tuning a regular six string as there are twice as many strings to think about. There is the question of how to number the strings as well as tuning down in order to lesson the tension on the neck of the guitar.

For step by step instructions on tuning a 12 string guitar you should read How do I tune a 12 string guitar? You might also want to check out What are some good alternate tunings for a 12 string guitar?

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Tuning a 12 String Guitar and select edit to make improvements.

What are some good alternate tunings for a 12 string guitar?

Any alternate tuning that you’d use on a six-string guitar can also be used on a twelve string. Open G and D and DADGAD are especially nice as well as any that highlight finger picking patterns, such as CGDCGD.

If interested in tunings where the octave strings are not tuned in octaves, this can be done, but is extremely tricky to execute. This answer gets a little involved, so check out What are some good alternate tunings for a 12 string guitar?

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Alternate tunings for twelve string guitar and select edit to begin making improvements.

How do I tune a tenor guitar?

Traditionally, tenor guitars were tuned like tenor banjos, that is, in fifths like a mandolin. From low to high: C G D A.

Like many things, you can have all sorts of different tunings. Celtic (Irish) musicians favor G D A E tuning (and that makes me wonder that the reason there are six tuning pegs is so that you can use different sets of strings…). Ani DiFranco uses all sorts of alternately tuned tenor guitar in her songs.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to tenor guitar and select edit to make improvements.

Is there anything that can make tuning a guitar easier?

The easiest way to get into tune and stay there is buy an electronic tuner. These small and inexpensive devices can save you a lot of trouble, especially in live situations and noisy environments. While an electronic tuner is a great addition to your guitar case, you should not rely on them exclusively. Do not neglect learning the skill of tuning for yourself as it is great for developing your ear. See our lessons on ear training for more on that.

There are two types of electronic tuners. One is a quartz tuner and the other is a chromatic tuner. The quartz tuner can usually only tell you the notes for each of the strings on your guitar and displays its reading using a needle that sways back and forth. Because it uses a sensitive needle to read the tone, you might have to replace it after dropping it only once. A chromatic tuner on the other hand can withstand being dropped a few times as it has no moving parts. Chromatic tuners often include all notes including sharps and flats and usually allow you to calibrate them to some degree. They usually include input and output ports so you can plug in your guitar and tune it in spite of any noise around you.

For more on using an electronic tuner you should read The First Time Ever I Tuned My Axe by Graham Merry. More on the use of tuners can be found in How to Tune A Guitar.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to tuning tips and select edit to make improvements.

What if my tuner doesn’t have C on it?

This depends on which string you want to tune to C.

If it’s the sixth string (low E), then you want to tune it down two whole steps. The easiest way to check if you’re okay is to test it against the A(fifth)string. If you’re correctly tuned, then when you press the NINTH fret of the sixth string, you’ll get the A note (same as open fifth string).

If you’re going by a tuner. Just hold at the second fret and tune to a D. I usually go back and make sure the 2nd fret is precisely a D, the 4th is an E, etc. Tuning down your strings tends to make them slip out of tune more frequently.

How do I tune my guitar using harmonics?

This is essentially the same as tuning by what we’ll call the “normal” method (tuning the A string to the 5th fret of the E string, etc.). The difference is that you use the harmonic notes to tune between the strings. The easiest places to produce harmonics on your guitar are at the 12th, 7th and 5th frets. The thing that you may not know is exactly which notes are produced by harmonics.

This is not any more difficult than the “normal” tuning method. A lot of people use this method because you can let the harmonics ring while you tune the string. You can use both methods – the “normal” way to get in the general neighborhood and then harmonics to fine tune.

For a step by step guide to tuning using harmonics you should read: How do I tune my guitar using harmonics?

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to harmonic tuning and select edit to make improvements.

How does bridge tuning work?

Different guitars bridge tune in different ways. Essentially, it comes down to this. On on end of the bridge (usually the side furthest from the neck) there should be a set of very small screws. These screws adjust where the string sits on the bridge. By turning these you are adjusting the intonation of the guitar. Some newer guitars use these in conjunction with a “nut-lock” which is a device that, in effect, clamps down the nut end of the strings to prevent them from moving.

You should adjust the screw in the smallest of increments, testing it frequently. You know that your intonation is off if the harmonic on the twelfth fret DOES NOT MATCH the open string. Usually they are not very far off, but if they are it affects the string up and down the fretboard. In other words, you sound like you’re in tune when you tune it normally, but then it sounds out of tune when you play full chords.

Two things to note: First, after you’ve fixed the string in question, it is imperative to check the other strings EVEN IF YOU DID NOT ADJUST THEM. Messing around with the intonation of one string almost always affects the other strings, even in a small way. It doesn’t hurt to check, especially if your guitar has a “floating bridge” (one that uses or can use a tremolo bar). This domino effect, by the way, is why it is never a good idea to toy around with alternate tunings on most electric guitars – you shoot the intonation to hell and then you spend hours getting things back into shape.

Second, this takes time and patience. Even people who do it a lot try to set aside time for this task when they can give it their undivided attention. If you’ve never tried it before it is bound to be frustrating. If you can’t hear or make out what you’re doing, then it is probably best to just bring it in to a music store and let someone do it for you.

And that’s another thing. It may not be a problem that you can fix. A slightly warped neck can also give you fits and no amount of tinkering with the bridge tuning will fix that. If you suspect you have such a problem, again bring it to someone at a shop. Save yourself the aggravation.

Anyway, I hope this helps. Without knowing the type of guitar involved this is about as good as advice as I can give you.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Bridge tuning and select edit to make improvements.

Why can’t I make my Floyd Rose system work?

Have you connected the tremolo arm to the bridge?

The Floyd rose is a tremolo bridge, and basically acts as a movable bridge – both up and down. What makes the floyd rose system independent is that it can lock the string both at the bridge and the nut. When you connect the tremolo arm to the bridge, you can push/pull it down/up in order to shift the pitch either up or down. You can push and pull on a Floyd rose system and still get the same result, but the tremolo arm makes moving the bridge up/down much easier.

You can also find more information in the article Tuning A Floyd Rose (or other similar floating bridge).

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to tremolo bridge and select edit to make improvements.

How do I self-tune or make a bad ear a good ear?

There are two things you can try. Instead of 5th fret of six string to open of fifth, try 12th fret of sixth to 7th fret of fifth, etc. It’s the same notes, but one octave higher. This should be easier for you to distinguish.

Another thing you could try is tuning by harmonics. Sometimes people who normally consider themselves “tone deaf” are still able to hear the higher pitches of harmonics. If you do this on an electric guitar with the volume up a tad higher than normal you can actually feel it more than hear it.

You can learn how to tune using harmonics by reading the harmonic tuning lesson.

Does a blues guitarist tune their guitar differently?

There can be a lot of reasons why your chords from the TAB sheet don’t sound the same. It can be something as simple as the TAB being wrong (this does happen – more than people think!) or that the TAB is written in a different key than the one in which song is actually played. Or that the recording of the song has been altered (sped up or slowed down) so that it is not really in tune with the real world.

It can also be a matter of the blues’ artist’s guitar being tuned differently. This is especially true if it is a slide guitarist – they tend to use open tunings (DGDGBD, DADF#AD, EBEG#BE, etc).

But more often than not it is a matter of voicing and chord embellishment than anything else. Say a blues song is in the key of A. Well, the TAB will usually list the chords as A, D and E. But the guitarist may chose other, “embellished” chords (that is, chords with the same basic triads but with added notes for flavor). Instead of an A, he may play an A7 and then add to the confusion by playing it with this voicing:

E – open
B – 10th fret
G – 12th fret
D – 11th fret
A – 12th fret
E – don’t play

And then when he gets to the D, he may play a D7 or, better yet, a D9:

E – 5th fret
B – 5th fret
G – 5th fret
D – 4th fret
A – 5th fret
E – don’t play

Unless your TAB is specific about the exact chord and chord voicing you can see that there are all sorts of different reasons why you will not sound exactly the same.

But that’s cool, too – this is what learning is all about.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Blues tunings and select edit to make improvements.

How do I get in tune with CDs?

We covered this question a little in the trilogy about ear training (specifically the third part Solving The Puzzle) but it bears repeating.

The first thing you have to do is to have your guitar in tune, period. And tuned to standard tuning. To do this you need a keyboard or an electronic tuner. Now for the most part this should allow you to play along with your CDs. There are, of course, a few exceptions to this:

1. The song is in a different key than you’re used to or than it is TABBED out or notated in. For example, Three Marlenas by the Wallflowers is often written out in the key of D. But on the CD it is in Eb which is a half step up. The simple solution is to play a capo on the first fret and play in D. I usually try to find out what key a song is in before I worry about playing along with it. Again, in the column Solving The Puzzle, I go over the procedure of finding the key to a song.
2. The guitars have been tuned differently. If you’re trying to play along with Pearl Jam or Korn or any of the bands these days that use guitars tuned down a half-step or a step or even more, then you’re going to have to make a decision to either do so yourself of to play in a different manner than that which is TABBED. For instance, if you wanted to play along with a Nirvana CD, it would be a good idea to have a guitar tuned down one step (low to high: D, G, C, F, A, D) for those songs which use low tuning.If you have determined that a song is in Eb, D, or Db, then you might want to listen to the chord voicings used in order to decide whether or not to lower your tuning. Or you could learn to play in these keys – it’ll make you a better guitarist in the long run.
3. The recording has been sped up or slowed down. This does happen, especially with some of the older recordings. The Beatles and Bob Dylan, for instance, did this a lot. If you find that you cannot find the key of a song then the chances are that this is the case. What you have to do is to get close. Say you listen to Across the Universe on the Let It Be album and you find that the song is higher than C but not quite at C#. Then play ONE NOTE ON AN OPEN STRING that is part of the chord (in this case the high E string or G string will do) until it is in tune with the song. To check it – you should then be able to noodle around on the one string and sound fine but you definitely sound off on the other strings. Once you have this one string in tune you will have to manually tune the other strings to it (and I’m assuming you know how to do this) and then you will be in tune to play this one particular song.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Getting in tune with CDs and select edit to make improvements.

Why tune other than standard?

For as long as there’s been the guitar, there’s been different ways of tuning it. What we think of as “standard” tuning has evolved over time. Our modern guitar came from the lute and lutes were tuned to fifths instead of fourths (I’m not the greatest historian, so please don’t take me to task).

Anyway, nowadays people use alternate tunings for all sorts of reasons. The most obvious ones are open tunings. This is tuning your guitar in such a way that you get a major or minor chord when you strum the open strings. We cover this in our open tuning columns on the Guitar Columns page, as well as in the Easy Songs for Beginners’ Lesson Happy and in the Intermediates’ Lesson Simple Twist of Fate.

Other alternate tunings are as numerous as one’s imagination. As to “why” one might use them, this can range from having a bass note that might not otherwise be available (Drop D, for instance, where the low E is tuned down to D) to creating a fingering arpeggio that would be physically impossible in standard tuning (such as David Crosby’s Guinevere). You can check out some of these ideas in our “Alternate tuning” articles on the Guitar Columns page – On The Tuning Awry, Cover Story and Alternate Writing Styles. The latter article discussed the use of alternate tuning as a way to get around writer’s block.

You might also want to check out the column A Celtic Air which discusses the use of DADGAD tuning in Celtic guitar playing.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Tuning other than standard and select edit to make improvements.

What is the real tuning used in the song Blackbird?

There’s a lot of debate about this and I just don’t know. I’ve tried playing it with open G and the fingering is just really too hard. But after you wrote I thought about it some more and I have an idea. Since the guitar is tuned pretty close to open G anyway and since the chords, okay the fingerings, are done primarily on the second and fifth strings, why not tune the first string down to D, that is, EADGBD tuning? This way you can play it throughout the whole song much as you do the open D (fourth) string. I’ve tried this and it does work. Again, you can hear that it’s not the same but it does give more ringing strings and a nice overall tone.

You can try out the song in standard tuning in the Guitar Noise easy song lesson Blackbird.

What is open D tuning?

When you strum the guitar without fretting any notes it will give you a D major chord.

Let’s do the open D tuning. First we take our standard tuning (low to high):

E A D G B E

and then we look at where we want to go:

D A D F# A D

You can see that the 5th and 4th strings (A & D) are going to stay the same. If you have an electronic tuner, this is going to be a breeze. Simply tune both the E strings (1st and 6th) to the D setting, just like you would your D string. If you don’t have an electronic tuner, then you tune both strings to the open D string, only an octave higher on the first string (this is the same as the 3rd fret on the B string)and an octave lower on the sixth string (when tuned correctly, your A string will now match the 7th fret of the sixth string instead of the 5th fret like it normally does).

To get the A on the second string, you can again go by the A setting on an electronic tuner, or use the octave of the open A string. This should now match the 2nd fret of the G string (instead of the 4th fret).

The F# is the only tricky one, and even that’s not too hard. You want to tune this string to the 4th fret of the D (fourth) string (instead of the 5th fret).

You should now be in open D tuning. When you strum the guitar without fretting any notes it will give you a D major chord.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to open tuning examples and select edit to make improvements.

What is C sharp tuning?

C# tuning (so that when you strum the strings without fretting anything you get a C# major chord) and yes, there is such a thing.

Most people think of it as Db tuning (I think because “flat” = “down” or lower in our minds) but since Db is the same note as C# it is the same tuning.

Anyway you look at it, it’s a step-and-a-half lower than standard tuning, meaning it would look like this:

STANDARD:
E A D G B E

Open C#:
C# F# B E G# C#

The easiest way to get there (assuming you don’t have an electronic tuner) would be to tune your 6th string down a step and a half. This would now be in tune with your open A string when you play the 8th fret of the 6th string (instead of the 5th). Once you have this string in tune you just tune it the regular way.

If you do have an electronic tuner that only works on the standard setting, then just tune the 3rd and 4th strings to their appropriate notes (B and E respectively) and then work your way to the outer strings. This will involve working “backwards” on the 5th and 6th strings, but it’s not that hard.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to alternate tuning examples and select edit to make improvements.

How do I tune to CGCFAD?

Believe it or not, this is simply a standard “Drop D” tuning. But after you get a drop D tuning, then every single string is tuned down an additional step. If you were to play your standard D chord in this CGCFAD tuning (across all six strings), you would be playing a C major chord.

Of course, just telling you to tune to drop D (simply tune your low E string down to D)and then tuning each and every string down an additional whole step is probably not that helpful, so you might want to try it this way:

1. Make sure your guitar is tuned correctly to start with.
2. Tune the A (5th) string down to G by matching the open 5th string to the third fret of the 6h string (instead of the fifth fret like you normally do).
3. Once you’ve tuned the 5th string to G, you can then go and tune the strings above it in the normal manner (matching the 4th string to the fifth fret of the 5th string, etc). Essentially what you have done is to tune the first five strings down one whole step. Your guitar will now be tuned EGCFAD.
4. Finally tune the low E (6th) string down to C. Your can do this either by matching it an octave lower than the 4th string (now tuned to C) or by matching the twelfth fret harmonic on the 6th string to the open 4th string.

By the way, if you’re interested in various alternate tunings and how to go about using them, then check out the article On The Tuning Awry.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to alternate tuning examples and select edit to make improvements.

So let’s get started. You can, of course, use a tuner, but I’d like to walk you though how to do it manually. This may seem silly, but it does help to (a) work on your ear training and (b) make you familiar with the notes involved in this tuning.

To get our guitars into Open C tuning, first tune your 6th string (low E) down a whole step to D and then tune string 5 and 4 down using the fifth fret as your matching note as you would in standard tuning (giving you G and C on the 5th and 6th strings, respectively). We now have a C note to use as a reference for everything else. You can then drop the 6th string down again another whole step to C. The 3rd string, G, stays the same, as does the 1st (high E) string. And now comes the scary bit. Tune the 2nd string up a half step to C. As a general rule, guitarists avoid tuning up whenever possible, but this is the exception that proves the rule! It helps that it’s only a half step and that it’s the only string of the six that is raised.

And there you have it – Open C! Here are your basic scales to get your fingers round to start getting comfortable with the tuning:

C Major Scale

C Minor Pentatonic
I have made the above scale shapes to have as many open strings as possible. I won’t write out lots of variations as one of the keys to getting comfortable in a new tuning, I think, to mess around with scales and chords and find some different things that you enjoy doing and that sound good to your ears. It’s also a lot of fun. You might want to check out the article, Here There Be Monsters, which nicely details how to go about putting together a “fretboard map” for any given tuning.

If we think about some chords now, a good way to use an open tuning is to let the top strings ring out and just move a shape around the bottom (this is called suspended harmony) for example:

The point of these chords is not that they are really cool chord names but that if you used these chords instead of the basic chords in a song in the key of ‘C’ then it would sound really good

If you wanted to use simply chords in first position then these are the chords in C:

We could of course go on for thousands of chords, but that would take up too much space (in this article at least!), so take the chord ideas I have given you here and experiment with adding 7ths and 9ths or whatever else it is your ear tells you to make! Different chords appeal to all of us and you’ll probably find a whole bunch you like.

I am guessing, though, that however interesting you have found this article so far, you wouldn’t mind learning a little more than playing some chords and a minor pentatonic scale (we hardly need more encouragement to use that scale!). So let’s dig a little deeper into the nature of Open C tuning and some of the many reasons people use it:

• It has a massive range, all the way from the C on the 6th string to the high E. this makes it satisfying to play by itself
• Repeating patterns on all the strings mean it is very versatile
• In the key of C every open string is a strong note as they are all from a C major triad. This allows fast playing and some cool tricks

Many, many guitar players use Open C. For the purposes of this article, we are going to look at the ways that John Butler employs this tuning. And if you don’t know John Butler, then search for a video of him playing an instrumental called Ocean. It is a really beautiful piece of music and it’s in, you guessed it, Open C.

On Ocean, John uses a capo on the 4th fret, which means he’s actually in E even though he’s playing in Open C. This particular track is a very varied instrumental in its technique and we are going to be playing through a track (not a note for note transcription) that has similar techniques involved and will give us an idea of the kind of possibilities open to us.

The notes that have a ‘T’ above them are tapped notes (this means you use your right hand to play these notes). There are lots of articles and sources about tapping around, so I wont go into the intricacies here. Because your right hand is being employed with tapping then we have to play all the other notes with hammer-ons and pull-offs. Again, there are lots of resources around if you need to brush up on this. This piece and style of playing does tire your left arm muscles very quickly, so take lots of regular breaks! But most of all, enjoy!

About the Author

Born in Poole in Dorset UK, Benjamin Lucas didn’t pick the guitar up until he was sixteen. But then he started catching up with fervour. After only a month or so playing he started performing in church (the fear of going wrong in front of over a hundred people certainly inspired his practise), eventually taking on the role of music coordinator. After a couple of years, Ben studied guitar at BIMM (Brighton Institute Of Modern Music), where he really got his chops together and learnt theory. Ben still leads the music at church and also serves part time as youth worker there. He currently plays in two bands: Benjamin and Punch The DJ. He also has solo material at www.myspace.com/benjaminlucasband.Ben teaches guitar both privately and at a music school.

But I suspect that you’re more interested in tunings where the octave strings of the twelve-string guitar are not tuned in octaves, but rather to something else. This is certainly something that can be done, but is extremely tricky to execute. Say that you tune your non-unison strings, the low E(sixth), A, D and G strings in fifths instead of octaves. So, high to low, you’re strings would be tuned like this:

1. E
2. E (same as string #1)
3. B
4. B (same as string #2)
5. G
6. D (one fifth higher than string #5 – same tone as 3rd fret, 2nd string)
7. D
8. A(one fifth higher than string #7 – same tone as 2nd fret, 5th string)
9. A
10. E (one fifth higher than string #9 – same tone as 2nd fret, 7th string)
11. E
12. B (one fifth higher than string #11 – same tone as 2nd fret,9th string)

Now unless you plan on only playing singe strings, you’ve got a lot to look out for. Playing an Em chord, for instance, would lead to the following Em9 voicing:

1. E
2. E
3. B
4. B
5. G
6. D
7. E
8. B
9. B
10. F#
11. E
12. B

While this will sound really nice, it may not be the sound that you’re looking for. Things get even more interesting you go through the various chords you know. Take E major:

1. E
2. E
3. B
4. B
5. G#
6. D#
7. E
8. B
9. B
10. F#
11. E
12. B

Now unless you’re really adept at string muting, you’ve got an E maj9 on your hands here. Again, this may not be bad if that’s the sound you want, but it’s the sound you’re stuck with unless you’re very careful.

Now imagine if you were to tune to, let’s say thirds. Your Em chord now has the following notes:

1. E
2. E
3. B
4. B
5. G
6. B
7. E
8. G#
9. B
10. D#
11. E
12. G#

You can see that this is going to be very dissonant. And this is a simple chord! Ultimately you’d have to make a different tuning for each set of strings and even that would become so complicated that you’d have to wonder if it were worth it.

A lot of the signature sound of the twelve- string comes from the paired strings being struck together. Tuning these strings as octaves makes this easy as pie. What will help you get a lot of interesting sounds is not necessarily learning new tunings as much as learning new and interesting ways to form the chords you know. Might I suggest starting with an article like Multiple Personality Disorder, which you can find right here on our site?

By the way, a warm welcome to the ranks of twelve-string guitar players! I think you’re going to find your new instrument to be a challenge, yet very rewarding when it comes to expressing yourself musically.

If you’re interested in tuning a 12 string to standard, don’t miss How do I tune a 12 string guitar?

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Alternate tunings for twelve string guitar and select edit to begin making improvements.

Have you ever considered partial capoing?

This is an economical alternative to dealing with alternative tunings. With open tunings, you change the PITCH of the strings. With partial capoing, you change the LENGTH of one or more strings to achieve tuning-like effects, and that rich, full, ringing sound we mentioned earlier.

The easiest way to get into partial capoing is to buy some cheap capos and file them down so that some strings are clamped and others ring open. Or, if this sounds like a lot of work, and you don’t want to carry around a bagful of capos for all your different “tunings,” the Third Hand Capo Co. makes a slick little gadget called, appropriately enough, the Third Hand Capo. Shubb and Kyser, among others, also make partial capos, but none are as versatile as the Third Hand, in my opinion.

The Third Hand Capo Co. was started in Nashville in 1979 by fingerstyle guitar virtuoso Harvey Reid and his partner, Jeff Hickey. I’ve got two of these little beauties myself, and the possibilities for finding tuning-like effects are limited only by your imagination. If you want the math, the folks at Third Hand say there are 756 ways to put their capo on a 12-fret neck, and over 40,000 musically different ways to put TWO capos on your guitar– and that’s just in standard tuning. If you alter your tuning to start with, the possibilities become endless. For the sake of this article, however, we’ll leave our guitar in standard tuning. That’s the beauty of it; you can get all these incredible open-tuned sounds without touching a machine head!

The Third Hand Capo is a lot like a standard Russell-style 12-string guitar capo with two elastic straps. Instead of a solid rubber capo bar, however, there are six separate rubber eccentric cams. Rotate the cam down toward the fretboard, and the flat spot of the cam clamps the string. Rotate it up and away from the fingerboard, the strings ring open. You can clamp any combination of strings to get an open-tuned sound without retuning your guitar! As an added bonus, you don’t change chord and scale patterns the way you do when use an actual altered tuning because you’re essentially still in standard tuning.

A perfect example of this is a capo configuration called Dropped “E.” Place the partial capo at the second fret. Clamp strings 1 through 5, but rotate the cam over the sixth string upward so that the string rings open. If you wanted to spell out the “tuning” your guitar is in from bass to treble, it is EBEAC#F#. This is essentially the humble Dropped “D” tuning, but raised a step. Play a standard first-position D chord. The bass string has that nice, booming, ringing sound a la Dropped “D;” it’s just a full step higher. And you didn’t have to touch the tuning peg.

Now comes the sweet part. When you go to play a “G” chord in “real” Dropped “D,” you have to slide your hand so you fret the 6th and 5th strings on the 5th fret, and the 1st (high “E”) string on the third fret. Not impossible, but awkward. Why work so hard? With a partial capo in the Dropped “E” configuration, you just play your normal 1st position “G” chord. Piece of cake!

You can also configure the capo to a Double Dropped “E.” With the capo still on the second fret, rotate the cam over the first string up and away from the fingerboard, leaving the string ringing open. With the top and bottom strings open and the rest of them clamped, you get a dangerous, ringing, droning sound. This is an analog to the tuning that Neil Young uses on Cinnamon Girl, among others, only a step higher. If you play solo, this tuning effect can make you sound like a full band. I use it often to play songs in the key of G to get a nice, full sound. To do this, I put a partial capo (still configured to Double Dropped “E”) on the fifth fret and a standard capo on the third fret. Now I’m playing in the key of “G” while using “D” fingerings. This works really well on the Eagles’ Take It Easy and Mellencamp’s Pink Houses. As an example, play the chords below using this setup:

Standard capo on third fret, partial capo allowing top and bottom strings to ring on fifth fret. Chord names relative to the partial capo. (Notes in parentheses indicate the “tuning” your guitar is in at the 5th fret using the partial capo/standard capo combination).

(By the way, don’t hold me to these chord names. These are what they are sometimes called in standard tuning. I just call them this so I can keep track of them and know what to play. You can call them Joe, Fred and Mary if you like! The important thing is that you know where to place your fingers to get the sound you want).

Play this sequence twice in a nice, up/down rhythmic fashion, and you should have something that sounds supsiciously like the intro to one of the Eagles’ greatest hits, the aforementioned Take It Easy. Now, you can play this song in “G” quite easily. It’s not very difficult. I’ve just always liked the way this intro rings with a partial capo. It sounds dead-on to the record. People immediately know what you’re playing; it’s a “signature” hook. Over the course of a night, when you’re playing 30 to 40 songs, it’s nice to inject a little variety. It keeps it interesting for your audience–and you.

This is just one application. We’ve still got 755 to go! This was baby stuff.

The easiest way to really get started is to “tune” your guitar to an open chord. Let’s use a standard 1st position “A” chord. Put the partial capo on the 2nd fret, clamp the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th srings, and let the rest ring open. When you strum your guitar, you’ll get an “A” chord sound without fretting any strings. Now you can play around with various chord shapes above the capo to get some really nasty sounds! You’ll find that most normal 1st position chords will work in these “tunings,” particularly on even-numbered frets. They may sound different from what you’re used to hearing when you play them, but they do work. You’ll also find that you can get some absolutely beautiful sounds with one- or two-fingered chord voicings all up and down the neck. And a barre chord or a closed-position scale played above the capo will fret and sound normal. If you need to adjust the key of the song higher to fit your vocal range (or to play along with a CD or another picker), simply move the partial capo up the neck, remembering to put a standard capo two frets below the partial one once you move up from the second fret.

My favorite configuration at the moment is what’s called “Esus tuning,” or as I dubbed it, “DADGAD without tears.” With the partial capo again at the 2nd fret, clamp strings 3, 4, and 5 and let 1, 2, and 6 ring open. If you’ll check, you’ll see that your guitar’s “tuning” in this configuration reads EBEABE from the 6th string to the 1st– which is simply DADGAD transposed up a whole step. If you’re so disposed, this is great for Celtic and fiddle tunes. I use it to play Gordon Lightfoot’s Sundown using one- and two-fingered chord shapes. Lightfoot barres strings 3, 4, and 5 at the 2nd fret (relative to the capo) to play those nice droning chords. Why not let the partial capo do the work for you?

You can also play a lot of three chord, I-IV-V songs in the key of “E” with only one-finger formations. It’s also a great way for kids to start learning guitar painlessly.

Using partial capoing requires some trial and error to see what works, and what doesn’t– but then, so does using alternate tunings. However, I can tell you from experience that you’ll find something cool just about anywhere you grab the fretboard. When you find a progression that works, write it down so you don’t forget it. If you’re a songwriter, you may find that partial capoing will jumpstart the creative process. I wrote four new songs within a few days of receiving my Third Hand capos. At the risk of sounding like a salesman for the Third Hand Capo Co., you really should check out their website at www.thirdhandcapo.com. If you choose to get one or more of their capos, you’ll find that they include detailed instructions to get you started in the wonderful world of partial capoing. They also have several books available, but they will be the first to tell you that they’re still finding new things after years of using the capo.

Whichever road you decide to take– either the Third Hand or your own homemade partial capos– you’ll find a lifetime of musical challenges (and enjoyment) to investigate. There is a little work involved, but it’s fun. And believe me, it’s well worth it. If you’d like to contact me with any questions or comments, I can be reached at oneguyoneguitar@hotmail.com.

Happy exploring!

Korg GA-30 Guitar Tuner

Korg CA-30 Chromatic Tuner

There are really 2 types of tuner on the market for the guitarist – the “guitar tuner” and the “chromatic tuner”. The difference between them only really becomes apparent when you try to change to a non-standard tuning (e.g. DADGAD). The guitar tuner is designed to pick up the six notes of a guitar in standard tuning (EADGBE) and works well doing this, but has difficulty in allowing an alternate tuning, because it doesn’t recognise anything other than EADGBE. Some, such as the Korg GA-30 allow you to modify the standard pitches by up to 5 semitones higher and lower, which does let you use alternate tunings. Much more comfortable to use, however, is the chromatic tuner, which will recognise any note and tell you how sharp or flat you are tuned – you can use any alternate tuning with no problem. What a tuner cannot do is to tell you which octave the note is in and here is the basis for much confusion – try to tune an octave too high and your strings will snap, an octave too low and they will flap around like a clothes line.

For this method of tuning, the tone generator, which will produce a continuous tone at 440Hz, is important. 440Hz is the international standard frequency of Concert A, which is found at the 5th fret of the high e string.

Why the rider “open tune” in the first paragraph? The reason for this is that whilst a guitar may be fine when the open strings are in tune, it may not be when fretted notes are played. This is due to the way that the frets are laid out – it’s to do with “equal temperament”, which I won’t go into here and relates to the intonation of the guitar.

Now that we’ve got the technology out of the way, let’s get down to tuning the guitar. What state the tuning is in is irrelevant – this method will bring your guitar into standard tuning and in the correct octave!

So, first things first – check you know how to operate the tuner! Not difficult, but it does save time when tuning, if you don’t have to keep flicking through the (albeit 2 page) instruction manual. Now connect your guitar to the tuner or, if you have an acoustic, bring it close so that the inbuilt microphone can pick up the sound from you guitar.

The first step is to get one string near to being in tune – not only the right pitch but in the right octave. So, switch on the Concert A tone. Fret the high e string (the thinnest one) at the 5th fret. Now tune the guitar to the generated tone – the first string at the 5th fret should sound (at least close to) the same note as Concert A. Once you have this, you can turn off the tone and the tuner, for the moment.

You now need to bring the other 5 strings close to being in tune, by following this method:

Tune the B string (second thinnest and second from bottom) at the 5th fret to the open high e string.
Tune the G string (third from the bottom) at the 4th fret to the open B string
Tune the D string (fourth from bottom) at the 5th fret to the open G string
Tune the A string ( next to thickest string) at the 5th fret to the open D string
Tune the low E string (thickest and topmost string) at the 5th fret to the open A string.

At this point, it is wise to understand the effects of a non-locking tremelo/vibrato/whammy bar. The mechanism is held in equalibrium by springs, how many depending upon the gauge of the strings. Springs being springs, they stretch with tension and strings being strings, they don’t (we’ll come back to this later). As you add tension to the string, by turning the tuner, you do two things – you add to the total tension on the springs, causing them to stretch slightly and reduce some of the tension on the other strings. So, when you tune one string up, you are automatically tuning the other strings down. You will have to take this into account when fine tuning. There are locking vibratos, like the Floyd-Rose, but tuning them is explained well on the Floyd-Rose website.

The guitar should only need fine tuning now, so set the tuner up again and we’ll start with the low E (or 6th string – the fattest). When played, it should register E on the tuner and you should only have the “in-tune” LED lit. If not, the tuner will tell you what is needed. In general, tuners show whether the string is tuned flat or sharp by red (and maybe also yellow) LEDs arrayed n the minus (flat) and plus (sharp) sides of “tune”. It may also have an “analogue” meter with “moving” arm. In addition, the chromatic tuner will give you the actual note which is nearest to the one played. Indications on the minus side mean that the string is tuned flat and needs to be tightened slightly. On the plus side, the string is too tight and needs to be slackened slightly. As you turn the tuning knob, you will see the result reflected on the display of the tuner – take things nice and easy, fine tuning can be turning the knob as little as1-2 degrees. Due to the way physics works, the strings will need to be plucked regularly to keep an sound strong enough for the tuner to pick up. If you have a hard-tail (no vibrato), you can tune the string accurately. If you have a floating bridge (i.e. non-locking vibrato), it is best to tune about 10 cents sharp (+10 on the dial or a couple of LEDs on the sharp side).

Now repeat this on each of the other strings. If you have a hard-tail, tune each string accurately. If you have a floating bridge, reduce the sharpness on the 5th and 4th strings down to +5 and zero sharpness on the thinnest 3 strings. You will now have to start with the low E again and tune, this time just a couple of cents sharp, same with the A and D strings – the thinnest 3 strings (G, B, high e) should be more or less correct. Repeat again, tuning each string accurately, until all are in correct tune. Sorry, but with floating bridges this step is just down to getting closer and closer with each cycle through the strings.

If the strings are new, you will find that they stretch over a period of about 12 hours and you will have to retune. There are methods people use to reduce this, but I find that if I change strings when I’m not going to be playing any more that day, they have fully stretched by the time I come to pick up the guitar again and I just need to retune the once.

Your guitar should now be in open tune. We can check the intonation quite easily – your tuner can recognise a note but not it’s octave, which is OK for this step, even with a “guitar tuner”. Assuming the string is properly tuned open, fretting the 12th fret should give you the same note albeit one octave higher. Check each string – if they all give exactly the same note as the open string, all is well. If they differ, the guitar will need to be intonated. Most electric guitars are quite easy to intonate. Acoustics, on the other hand, are not so easy. As a beginner, I would recommend taking the guitar (irrelevant of type) into a guitar tech and have him do it. Ask him if you can watch how he does it, so that, when you feel confident enough, you can do it yourself.

As you get more experienced, you will find that you can rough tune without needing to start off using the Concert A tone.

Tip: Make use of a change of strings to clean up your guitar, particularly the parts, which are difficult to reach with strings on (e.g. fretboard)

Happy Tuning.

If you ever look at tab from tab databases, people often use a tuning they state as “one step down from drop D.” Drop D tuning is taking the thickest string and tuning it down one step. An easy way to do this is make the 7th fret of the thick string sound the same as the second thickest plucked open. You just tuned your guitar in Drop D. Drop D is popular in Metal. But to get to Drop C, you need to bring all the strings down one step. Now you are in Drop C.

From:

E A D G B E — Standard

To:

D A D G B E – Drop D

To:

C G C F A D — Drop-C

Drop C and Drop D tunings help make power chords easier. Traditional power chords require you split your fingers by two frets, which is extremely hard for small people like me. Tuning into Drop C or Drop D will allow you to play power chords on the biggest three strings by playing the same fret on all three strings.

In the Drop tunings you can take that Metal or Rock song that you couldn’t play fast enough and speed it up, since it’s easy to change power chords.

System of a Down is one of the easiest bands to learn in drop C. Their second album, Toxicity, was their first huge success, with three songs good enough for the radio. The title track, Toxicity, is the easiest to play (in my eyes). It may seem fast at first, but that’s because the songs on the album are perfected and sped up. You can find Toxicity in almost all tab databases. Just make sure the tab is in Drop C tuning (sometimes authors of tab say 1 step down of Drop D).

D|-----------------------------------------------
A|-----------------------------------------------
F|-----------------------------------------------
C|-0--------------------------8--8-8-8--7--7-7-7-
G|-0---------32020------------8--8-8-8--7--7-7-7-
C|-0---------32020------------8--8-8-8--7--7-7-7-

The easiest way to learn any new tuning is to play around. Try playing different notes. Play old songs you knew in this tuning by listening and finding the notes. This can sometimes end up making that song easier to play, which may be why some bands play in Drop C a lot.

So all of you rockers, or just regular guitarists, try drop C tuning. It makes lots of popular songs easy to play, and makes beautiful chords that are easy to play, since barring is used much in Drop C. Until next time, bye.

About the Author

Evan Duffey is a guitarist from New York who enjoys playing rock and roll and metal. He has a Samick Electric Guitar and learned to play through Guitar Noise. Besides playing the guitar, he enjoys playing video games and outdoor recreation. Evan is friends with many guitar players who help him write articles and teach him to play better. He plans to write many articles for Guitar Noise.

So you can see that if you sound the harmonic at the 5th fret of the low E string, it should be the same as the harmonic at the 7th fret of the A string. Likewise, to tune the D string you would match the harmonic at the 5th fret of the A string to the one at the 7th fret of the D string. The reason a lot of people tune this way is because the harmonics, when properly struck, will ring for a fairly long time, usually allowing you to tune it before it stops echoing. Also, you can use one hand to sound both harmonics simultaneously.

A few things to watch for:

First, you still have to get at least one string in tune to an outside source first. Otherwise you will be in tune to yourself but not necessarily the other people with whom you’re playing.

Second, the B string still requires special attention. People approach this in many ways but I think the easiest it to match the open B string (no harmonic) to the harmonic at the 7th fret of the low E (6th) string. They are the same note and it will be pretty easy to tell if they’re not. Other people prefer to match the open high E (1st string) to the harmonic at the low E (6th) string and then work backwards to get the B. Some people just do it the “normal” way.

Third, if your guitar’s intonation is very off, this won’t work. You will go through all this to get in tune and then cringe in disbelief when you strike any first position chord. It’s pretty rare for a guitar to be off by that much but it has been known to happen.

This is not any more difficult than the “normal” tuning method. A lot of people use this method because you can let the harmonics ring while you tune the string. You can use both methods – the “normal” way to get in the general neighborhood and then harmonics to fine tune.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to harmonic tuning and select edit to make improvements.

The first two sets of strings, the high E (1a and 1b) and the B strings (2aand 2b), are unison pairs. When struck, they sound the same note and this is the same note as on the first and second string of a normal guitar. So let’s add them to our chart:

And now the fun begins. The next four pairs of strings are tuned in octaves.This means that, although they are the same note in name – like the “do’s” in”do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do” – they will be two different notes. String”3a,” we already know is the same as the G string on regular guitar. String”3b” is tuned to the G note that its an octave higher. The simplest way to think about it, if you’re a linear person, is to think that it’s the note at the twelfth fret of the G string. But it’s just as easy to find these notes in first position.The G an octave higher than the open third string is at the third fret of the first string. Let’s go on and find the rest of the notes:

These six “b” strings give the twelve-string guitar its fullness of sound.Whenever you play a string, you are playing an additional note.

For a complete lesson on using a 12 string guitar see the article Double Your Pleasure – A Guide to the Twelve-String Guitar.

This answer can be edited and improved by you on the Guitar Noise Wiki. Go to Tuning a 12 string guitar and select edit to make improvements.

I get questions by email like the following all the time:

I have just bought a cheap acoustic guitar from a pawn shop because I have little or no money. I don’t know much about playing the guitar. How do I tune this thing? Are there any pages to help me out?

While I consider the task of tuning a guitar one of the most basic things for a guitarist to learn, explaining it so a complete beginner can understand is difficult. So I am forever rewriting this particular lesson in an effort to simplify things.

What you should know right away is that tuning a guitar is the single most important concept for a beginning guitarist to learn. At the same time it is often their first stumbling block. If your guitar is not in tune, you will never sound good. Rather than having your friends tune your guitar for you all the time you should learn how to do it for yourself.

This lesson contains instructions for a beginner to tune a 6 string guitar to standard tuning. For more experienced players, there is a lot of detailed information compiled on the Guitar Tuning page. There you will find lessons on 12 string guitars, open tunings, alternate tunings, harmonics and more.

To begin there are some important things to keep in mind when tuning your guitar:

• You should get into the habit of tuning your guitar every time you pick it up.
• Always “tune up.” You want to increase the tension of the string until it reaches the desired tone. If you go too far, loosen the string tension and tune up again.
• The goal of tuning is to put your strings in tune with each other. In “standard tuning” your strings should be tuned to the following notes (low-to-high): EADGBe.

The easiest way to get into tune and stay there is buy an electronic tuner. These small and inexpensive devices can save you a lot of trouble. While an electronic tuner is a great addition to your guitar case, they come in really handy in live situations and noisy environments, you should not rely on them exclusively. Do not neglect learning the skill of tuning for yourself as it is great for developing your ear.

The First Step

The first thing you need to do when tuning your guitar is get a reference pitch. You should start with the low E string, also known as the sixth string. You can get a reference pitch by using another guitar that is in tune, a piano, a tuning fork, an electronic tuner or even a midi file on your computer.

Your goal is to tune your sixth string to sound exactly like the low E sound. To do this, play the pitch, then slowly adjust the tuning peg of your sixth string until the pitch of your guitar sounds exactly like the file. Remember to tune up by increasing the string tension. If you tune too far give the string a lot of slack and start the process again. It is best if you eliminate all other noise from your area. That means turn off radios and anything else that may distract your ears. Once your sixth string is tuned to E you are ready to tune the other strings.

Next you are going to tune the fifth string A. To do that you must match the tone of the 6th string with the tone of the 5th. This is done by playing the same note on each string, one after the other. Place your the index or middle finger of your left hand just behind the 5th fret of the 6th string. Using your right hand play the 6th string at the 5th fret. Immediately after play the 5th string open – that is, no fingers on any fret. Listen to the two tones. As the two notes are still ringing use your right hand to adjust the 5th string’s tuning peg. Remember to tune up. Once both strings sound exactly the same your fifth string is in tune.

You are going to do the same to tune the 4th and 3rd strings. Once the 5th string sounds good, fret it at the 5th fret, and play the 4th string open. Adjust the 4th string’s tuning peg to match the notes. Keep going to tune the 3rd string: fret the 4th string on the 5th fret, and play the 3rd string open, and match the notes. When it comes time to tune the 2nd string, you have to fret the 3rd string on the 4th fret (not the 5th), and play the second string open, and adjust the 2nd string’s tuning peg. Tune the first string by fretting the 2nd string at the 5th fret, and play the first string open. Match the two tones, and you’re done.

If you are really new to playing music you may have problems hearing if the sounds actually match. New guitarists tend to break a lot strings by tuning too far because they just don’t know. There are ways to avoid this.

As mentioned earlier, the best way to make tuning really easy and painless is to buy an electronic tuner. Guitar Noise recommends the MU30 – Chromatic Tuner/Metronome by Ibanez. The metronome feature makes this particular tuner an essential piece of inexpensive equipment.

Sometimes people who believe they are tone deaf can tune a lot easier using a harmonic tuning method. If you want to learn how to tune your guitar using harmonics see our lesson Harmonic Tuning.

Some other places you can find a reference pitch include:

• After the early morning BBC2 Open University transmission the test card with the young girl and blackboard has a 440Hz “A” tone. Useful tuning reference, providing you wake up in time.
• The French telephone dial-tone is also at 440Hz.
• You can dial up 440Hz to tune your violin in Vienna, Austria.

If you want to learn how to tune a 12 string guitar see the answer to the FAQ What if my guitar has 12 strings?

When I bought my B.C. Rich, it came equipped with a Floyd Rose bridge. A whole different kind of animal. Of course, the Floyd Rose, or any of the more expensive floating bridges, has a locking nut at the top of the guitar to keep the whole thing tuned.

The advantage of this is that no matter how much you use your tremolo, it still stays in tune. On average, I need to tune the B.C. Rich once every five days or so. This is due only to the fact that the strings extend through use. Then, when I retune it, I only need to use the fine tuning keys. Once I lock the nut, I don’t have to unlock it until it’s time to change strings.

But how do you tune it? When I bought the guitar, I tried and tried and couldn’t get the damn thing to work. I ended up putting a few wooden blocks inside the bridge unit to keep it from moving and not using the locking the nut. Which meant I had to tune the guitar several times a day.

I asked a supposed expert who fixed guitars. He told me to use wooden block to keep the unit from moving, to tune the guitar, lock the nut and take off the wooden blocks. Then he said it would go out of tune the first time I used it. Seemed complicated. I’m sure glad I didn’t ask him to do any work on the guitar. If you ever hear this kind of advice, place both hands on your ears and… run like hell!

Once you know how, you realize it’s a very simple process. I’ll start off by explaining how to do it from scratch, but if you take good care of your guitar, you won’t need to go through all these steps the next time.

Strings

You should know first of all that you can’t use just any strings with a floating bridge. I particularly like Ernie Ball Slinky strings. They allow you to do all sorts of effects and they just have a good feel to them. Unfortunately, they’re no good with a floating bridge. Because of their elasticity, they can’t keep the bridge in position. Therefore, use these strings only on guitars with fixed bridges.

Also of note, if you change brands, you normally won’t have to reset the whole bridge, but if you change gauges (for example, go from ultra-light strings to light), you will have to reset the whole thing. This is because the different gauges place a different strain on the bridge unit. As the bridge must be parallel to the body of the guitar, going from ultra-light to light strings will mean less tension and the unit’s springs will have too much slack in them. Something to consider.

Resetting the Unit (time: 1 to 2 hours, depending on experience)

First things first, as you’ll be playing around the body of the guitar and so as not to harm the finish or get stuck on some of the hardware, remove all jewellery from hands and wrists: watches, rings, bracelets.

Tune the guitar with the old strings still on. Once this is done, look sideways at the bridge. It’s supposed to be parallel to the body of the guitar. If it’s leaning forward, then the springs aren’t tight enough. If it’s leaning backwards, the springs are too tight.

Screwing the Springs

If the springs are too loose, start by loosening your strings so as not to break them when you add tension. If you’ve never done this or if your changing string gauge, unscrew the plastic plate at the back of the guitar which is behind the bridge. It should normally be a rather big, rectangular plate. Notice how many springs are there. There should be two to four. The less springs, the more flexibility. Mine has only two and I don’t need to apply much pressure on the bridge to get it moving. It’s great to cure you of the bad habit of resting your hand on the bridge.

Start by looking at the springs. They will be connected to a bar and it’s this bar that screws into the body of the guitar. This bar should be completely parallel to the side of the hole. Both springs must have the same tension in them. If not, start by loosening the one that’s screwed in tightest until it’s parallel.

Remember that even if the unit is made of steel, it’s still delicate. Tighten (or loosen) the strings gently. Quarter turns only! Tighten (or loosen) one screw a quarter turn, then do the same to the other. Tighten (or loosen) until the tremolo unit is parallel to the body. Then, retune the guitar using, again, the tuning pegs. Recheck the bridge. Again, if it’s not parallel to the body, readjust the springs. Continue doing this until the guitar is tuned and the bridge is parallel to the body of the guitar.

Changing the Strings

Now is the time to change the strings. If you do so before adjusting the bridge, you’ll have to spend many hours going by trial and error trying to adjust the bridge. And you’ll most likely break a string or two. Unlock the nut. You do not need to completely remove each block. At the bridge: loosen all the fine tuning screws. Once you’re ready to use these, you won’t need to loosen these screws, only tighten them. So loosen them all the way.

Completely at the back of the bridge and parallel to the body of the guitar, will be six (or seven if your guitar has seven strings) long screws which require an Allen wrench to loosen and tighten. Before you touch these, loosen the strings using the tuning pegs as you would normally do. Then, using the right sized Allen wrench, unscrew the long screws. These will move little plates which will free the ends of the strings. Take note that you should change strings one at a time or else you’ll end up placing too much strain on the unit and the strings when restringing.

Notice the end of the string which was blocked this way. It does not have a ball at the end, nor is it the end of the string that you can cut off. What you do is you take your new string and, using some cutters, cut off the ball end before the place where the wire around the ball end starts twining with the spring.

Use this cut-off end to place into the bridge block and tighten the screw. Be careful. Although the screw must be tightly in place don’t over-tighten it. These screws are, of course, replaceable, but no use wearing them out for no reason. And if you strip the inside of it, you’ll find it’s not too pleasant to remove it with a pair of pliers without harming the finish of the guitar. As with any other piece of the guitar, if it’s an expensive guitar which you intend to bring to the vintage stage, keep any parts you’ve replaced, you’ll need all the original parts, even if they’re worn for reselling it to a collector.

Regular Tuning

This is what you’ll need to do the next times. Unless you change string gauges, you shouldn’t have to readjust the bridge springs.

Once the guitar is perfectly tuned, lock the nut at the end of the neck. If you strum the strings, you’ll notice that it’s now untuned. Don’t worry, this is normal. Retune it, using the fine-tuning pins located on the bridge. The small E string is the one which will need the most tuning. Always tune starting with the smallest string and work your way up. Once you’ve finished go back and retune the first, second, etc. The first time you do this, you’ll probably have to tune it about five times. This is normal. Once all the strings are tuned, you’re ready to play. The first couple of days, you’ll have to tune it several times, this is just because the strings are new and they’re expanding.

By the time the fine-tuning screws are all the way in, don’t bother retuning from the pegs, it’ll more than likely be time to change the strings.

This file is the author’s own work. It is his song – lyrics, music and all. It is copyrighted and intended for private study, scholarship or research. It is also meant to be played, so please feel free to do so. Play it for your friends, family, kids, loved ones, pets, plants or perfect strangers. Just one favor – give credit where credit is due. If someone asks, “Hey! Who wrote that?” please don’t refer to me as “I dunno, some guy who writes on the internet.” Be polite and tell them “Mr. I dunno, some guy who writes on the internet.”

Okay, let’s get a tad more serious. Can you remember the very first column I wrote, way back when? (Breaking Out of the Box – November 12, 1999) It really does seem like ages ago, instead of just five months, doesn’t it? We we’re discussing ways of revitalizing your music-mindset. Everybody gets stuck in a rut at some point but, for whatever reasons, writers seem to make the biggest deal about it. You never hear of a guitarist suffering from “strummer’s amnesia” or of a bassist under the spell of the “bottom end blahs.” Do you? But everyone knows about “writer’s block,” don’t they? Do you know why? Because writers think the world revolves around them and when the world stops they want everyone to know about it. They’ll even write crazy disclaimers in an effort to make you notice how clever they think they are.

Okay, let’s get a wee bit more serious. Songwriters fall prey to writer’s block quite easily. It’s the nature of the beast. As you’re already well aware, there are only so many chords and notes out there with which to work. But as bad as writer’s block may be, it is much, much worse to be suffering from what I call “song sameness.” This is when a writer just keeps rewriting the same song over and over and over and over and over again. The same chord progression, same tempo, same stylistic touches, the whole works. Even when (especially when) it’s an obvious attempt to recapture an earlier sound (“ka-CHING”), it’s truly sad to listen to.

Alternate tunings can be used both as a writing tool and as a method to combat writing problems. What we’re going to do today is walk through what (for me) is a typical writing process, magically condensed into the space of a single column (kind of like time lapse photography). Not surprisingly, this will involve touching upon quite a number of subjects that we’ve covered in the past five months (as well as some we have not), so do feel free to wander all around and about.

Painting A Picture Puzzle

Having read A-J Charron’s articles on song writing and inspiration, or just from writing yourself, you know that different people write in different ways (heck, often one person will write in different ways). As a rule, I usually fall into that group of songwriters that finishes the music first. At any given time I may have up to five or more music arrangements that I like a lot and for which I fully intend to (some day…) write appropriate lyrics. Part of the reason that I write this way is due to my relationship with words. I tend to over-edit things (to put it mildly…).

But part of the reason I write this way is because of my relationship with music. It’s rare for me to learn a new riff or hear an interesting chord progression and not think “There’s a song in there someplace.” Not necessarily a whole song, usually just a part of one. A puzzle piece, if you will. Often putting together a song resembles nothing as much as assembling a picture puzzle. Some things fit perfectly, somethings need to be set aside and used later. You might swear that you’ve got a matching piece until you do find that one that connects in the exact way.

When I wrote with a band in mind, it often started as “we could use a song that sounds like…” So you’d come up with your “Beatles’” pop song, your “Psychedelic Furs’” rock song and so on. Usually after you got the rough draft down, the song would start to take a life of its own as each band member added a special touch. This is a naturally occurring evolution in the life of songs (and songwriters).

But on occasion, as I’ve noted, things dry up. Progressions sound tired. Or you get tired of shifting through the same patterns. One time when I has having a bad spell, I happened to read an interview with Adrian Belew in, I believe (it was a loooooong time ago), Musician Magazine. If you don’t the name, that’s okay. Mr. Belew has made quite a livelihood hanging out in the shadows. He’s played back up for Zappa, Bowie and Talking Heads (circa 1980). He was in the 80’s and 90’s line-ups of King Crimson and he’s done a lot of solo stuff. If you want to hear an “inventive” guitarist, he’s a good, unassuming player to start with. Anyway, in the interview I read, he was asked how he battled writer’s block and he answered that he’d often retune one string of his guitar to a different note. This would require him to reexamine how to make chords and to listen to how the differently voiced chords would flow into each other and basically start from square one as a player and as a writer.

That advice has stuck with me a long time. Nowadays when I learn a new tuning I make it a point to come up with at least two different songs of my own for that tuning. To me, it’s a logical thing to do because I now have two more reasons to practice a particular tuning. And if the songs turn out well, then, when I perform, I can play three or four songs (in a different tuning) in a row without having to stop to retune my guitar (or switch guitars). Another thing I do on occasion it to end a set with a couple of alternately tuned songs and then begin the next set with a few more songs in the same tuning. It’s just a matter of planning ahead.

One day early last fall, I heard a song by Willy Porter called Angry Words. Being unfamiliar with any of his stuff, I looked in the TAB archives to try to find out more about him (occasionally I will find out that an artist has done other songs that I do know – I just don’t know that I know. You know?). The only thing listed for him was a song entitled Trees Have Soul. Well, how can you resist a title like that? So I took a look and found that it was written in an alternate tuning I hadn’t seen before. And of course, that was enough to make me go and change the old six-string around in a heartbeat. Here’s the tuning:

To get this tuning, it’s best to start by re-tuning the B (2nd) string to C. Simply match the second string to the fifth fret of the G string instead of the fourth like you usually do. Then tune the 1st string to D either by using the open D (4th) string as an octave or by matching to the second fret of the newly tuned 2nd string. Finally get the 5th and 6th strings by matching to the appropriate octave (3rd and 2nd strings respectively). Your three lowest strings should now match by the seventh frets instead of the normal fifth frets.

Now you may not believe that I actually sit down and just explore a tuning but I do. I spent the better part of a weekend toying around with this one. I just loved it. Why? Well, for starters, it’s great for finger picking. There are no intervals of thirds in it so it’s friendly to major and minor chords and the “odd” intervals make for good passing tones. What do I mean by “odd intervals?” If we look at the tuning as the basis of making chords, then we have three choices with which we can start: C, G and D. To make a C major chord, we need a C, an E and a G (I, III, V). We have two of the three.

The D is the odd interval here. In the key of C, the D is the second (or the ninth if you prefer) which is a perfect passing tone for motifs. And having the D (on the first string) right on top of the C (the second string) makes for good tension. In fact, simply picking the first three strings (open) makes a pretty good arpeggio in whatever order you decide to play them.

I hadn’t written a song in the key of C for a while I decided to work in that key. The first thing I needed to do was find my C chords. Since I was pretty taken with the G, C and D motif of the open first, second and third strings and since I also found myself enjoying the low C on the sixth string, I really only had to concentrate on the notes found on the fourth and fifth strings. Here’s my first “map” which really does reflect how much those open strings fascinated me:

It really didn’t take too long to find my C chords (which are actually C (add 9) chords because of my open first string). I’m sure you’ve got them by now, too:

Continuing with my exploration of this particular alternate tuning, I went on and found other chords that are (traditionally) often used in C major. Some I liked and some I liked a lot. I often think that songwriting is a lot like painting – using various chords and chord voicings as colors that will evoke some kind of emotional response. Finding where the chords are in a new tuning is like opening a huge box of crayons for the first time.

I played around for quite a while in this tuning and I was certain of a few things. First, I was in a bit of a mellow mood and secondly, I was in a mindset to do something fairly straightforward and simple. “Simple” is the wrong word. “Simple sounding” is better. Oh, and one other thing – I’d been finding myself finger picking the strings in a 3 / 4 or 6 / 8 timing. This simple picking pattern seemed to be working well (shown here with one of my C chords):

I happen to like waltzes, so I had no problem with this. The open strings and the timing give the whole piece a very dreamlike feel and I was more than happy to follow along in its wake.

Keeping “simple” in mind, I tried out a traditional I – IV – V – I progression. And it’s good to point out here that even a “traditional” chord progression, no matter how familiar, is usually transformed into something more mysterious when heard through an alternate tuning. Yet it still has a haunting sense of “home.” It’s comforting and intriguing at the same time.

While I tested out chord patterns I also began to hum along, seeking out viable melody lines. Often instead of humming I’d sing nonsense words – la’s and ooh’s and such. Believe it or not, sometimes certain sounds, or even syllables, often become pieces of the puzzle. I had been pretty happy with the C – F – G – C pattern but as a melody emerged, a different problem arose. To contrast the arpeggios, I found that a slower, drawn out melody worked quite well, but now the guitar accompaniment seemed too static. Since I was playing four measures of each chord, I tried to come up with a different voicing for the chord for the third and fourth measures. This improved matters immensely. One attempt at a G7 (using the G string for a change) yielded an interesting guitar line so I threw that in as a “turnaround” between the first two verses.

By this time I was pretty enthralled with what I was doing. The tuning, the chords, the picking pattern were all incredibly soothing to me. The music brought peace and relaxation. I thought, “It’s like a lullaby” and that made me laugh because I’d never ever thought of writing a lullaby before. But hey, why not now? So I started to sing a lullaby, using the stalest lines I could think of: “Hush little baby, don’t you cry…” And it just snapped into place. Sometimes the damnedest things just happen. If nothing else, I now had a working title: Lullaby.

So with two verses and the start of some real lyrics, things weren’t going too badly. Since going with traditional progressions was working pretty well, I decided to throw in a bridge and to start it off with a C7 (replacing the turnaround) going into an F. Then, since I’ve always enjoyed throwing in a minor or two, I shifted from F to F minor. Should I mention how much easier it was to play an F minor (or an F minor variation) in this tuning? Or an F, for that matter? I know I’m pounding the point home but it’s important – chords I might have shied away from in standard tuning (usually because of the fingering) became my best friends in this new one. It really can open your eyes to things.

Continuing with the bridge, I resolved the F minor to C and repeated the cycle. This time, though, I went from the F minor to G in order to bring it back to the final verse. But again, when I began “singing” to what I had, I found that the bridge seemed to float up to the verse, so I modified my final G to a G – Dm7- G in order to build a rising melody line. It’s worth noting that I debated for a while whether to use the Dm7 or a D7 before settling on the former. I again employed the “turnaround” I’d used earlier between the verses to serve as a signal for the start of the final verse. I figured I was home free.

But at the end of the last verse, I wasn’t satisfied. It needed a real ending, not one of these “fade out” sort of deals. So I played around some more and came up with a guitar line fairly similar to the turnaround but based on Fm (my new best friend) instead of G7.

This definitely worked out well in bringing the song to a satisfying conclusion. Pleased, I stopped tinkering with the music and began to work in earnest on the lyrics. There does come a point when you have to say, “Enough. It’s fine.” Usually when I find myself trying yet another change and then realizing it was better off the way it was to start with I know it’s time to quit.

Bands (and solo performers) approach covers in many ways. Some strive to render a perfect, straight from the album clone (around here there are many bands that make a living this way; they are called “tribute” bands and we really won’t get into this now…). Some may change the instrumentation a bit… put in a guitar solo instead of a keyboard solo or something along that line. And still others will come up with wild interpretations of old familiar tunes. I vividly remember one group with whom we shared a bill in 1980. I think they called themselves “Plan 9″ and they did all out punk version of Leaving On A Jet Plane. Another local band at the time called the Peer Group also had a memorable cover. They would start playing Just What I Needed by the Cars. The instrumentation was perfect. Everybody in the audience would get excited because they all knew and liked the song. But then the lead singer would step up to the microphone and belt out in his best Ric Ocasek voice:

Oh I
I’ll tell you something
I hope you’ll understand
When I
Say that something
I want to hold your hand…

The first time I heard this I was spellbound. It was so unexpected and so well done.

And so funny…

Covers chosen by solo guitarists can be even more interesting. Again there are people who are much more concerned about reproducing picture perfect carbon copy riffs and solos. And then there are guitarists who play songs you would never dreamed possible for a single acoustic guitar to cover. It’s all in one’s imagination. Some people just hear a song and say, “Hey, I could do a version of that!” Or, “Wouldn’t it be cool to do this song that way?”

There is an art to arranging songs, whether taking a simple folk song and playing it as a full band or coming up with a way to perform a big scale production number on a single acoustic guitar. Today we’re going to look at how to use alternate tuning as a tool for you to use in song arrangement. And since that means using someone else’s songs, let’s get the formalities out of the way, shall we?

These files are the author’s own work and represents his interpretation of the song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.

As usual, let’s start out with something simple (as well as something that we all hopefully know). Here’s the first verse of Rain by the Beatles:

Okay, a quick note… according to a friend of mine who owns the The Beatles… Complete Scores, which is a book of (surprise) the complete scores (musical transcriptions for every instrument used in a particular piece) of every song the Beatles ever recorded. The rhythm guitar used on the record is tuned to a variation of open G. We’re still going to use something different since we don’t have a band to back us up (this time anyway…).

Last time out (On The Tuning Awry)I showed you with a number of “Drop D” tunings. We’re going to give one of them a real workout today. Specifically, we’ll use this tuning:

(And, to avoid confusion, it’s really not called “rain tuning.” We’re simply using this tuning in a song called Rain.) To get this tuning you simply tune your first string from E to D. You can do this either by using the open D string as an octave or by tuning first string to the third fret of the B string (instead of the fifth fret).

We’re going to work a bit backwards here, so bear with me. I want to first show you how it works and then we’ll backtrack and go over the why. Okay? First, as always, we’ll need to figure out what our new chord fingers are. That’s not too hard. We have only three chords to play (all right, four if you count C9) and we’ve only changed one string so it’s not too difficult to figure out. Here’s our charts:

You see that I included a second version of the G as well as a second version of the D. Yes, there’s a reason for this. Yes, we’ll get to it soon. For now, though, let’s just play. Wherever you see a C or C9 in the song, use our C (add 9). You can use either D variation (here I use D (no3) first and then the Dsus). You can either strum this straight or use a picking pattern to make some cool arpeggios. Here’s a fairly simple pattern:

When we get to the “Raaaaaaaain……..I don’t mind” part, do a straight strum using the second G (G var1) followed by the C (add 9) and then return to the picking pattern when you get to the G (use the original one). Not too shabby, eh?

The reason why this works can be found in the song itself. The melody constantly hovers around the D note regardless of the chords being played. By stressing this note with the open first string of your guitar you create a lot of tension and resolution between your voice and the guitar’s voice. In other words, you’re carrying the harmonies with your accompaniment. This is especially true in the “Raaaaaaaain……..I don’t mind” part when you’re singing the E note in the melody while the guitar is holding the D and C notes at the top. When you finally bring it back to the G (“I don’t mind”), there is a real feeling of resolution to the chord progression. Another thing I particularly like about this is using the D (no 3rd) to increase the tension between the C (add 9) and the G.

Here’s an incredibly well written piece from Open Tunings Part 1, which should give us a convenient starting place:

What we guitarists consider “standard tuning” has been around pretty much since the fifth and sixth strings were added to the instrument in the late 1700’s. And, artists being artists, “non-standard” or alternate tunings have existed for just about as long. For the sake of our discussions, we will divide guitar tunings into three categories … standard, open, and alternate.

Standard tuning is what we were taught from day one (low to high or 6th string to 1st):

E A D G B E

Open tuning is when we tune the guitar in such a fashion that results in our getting a major (or minor) chord when we strum the open strings.

Alternate tuning is when the guitar is tuned in a way that results in neither standard nor open tuning. And, yes, that’s going to cover a lotof things.

Today we’re going to cover the basics of alternate tunings … the whys and hows. We’ll also look at a couple of specific examples. Next time out we’ll branch out in another direction, which is how to use an alternate tuning to “reinvent” a song. This will include a brief introduction of the subject of the arrangement of songs (which we’ll dig deeply into later this spring). Finally, to complete (for the moment, anyway) our “alternate tuning arc,” I want to show you how to use it as a songwriting tool. And, yes, this will include writing a song. I’ll show you, step by step, what went into something I wrote last fall.

And, in case you’re wondering, I’m telling you all this now so that I (hopefully) won’t be tempted to deviate from the game plan on one of my now infamous digressions!

Like this one (also from my first open tunings column):

IMPORTANT NOTE !!!!!!!

Open and alternate tunings should not be attempted on electric guitars with “floating” bridges. This is disastrous to the guitar’s intonation (the guitar will sound in tune when you play it open, but it will stop being in tune with itself). Many of today’s newer guitars, especially those with locks on the nut and “fine tuning” pegs on the bridge tend to suffer from this. If your electric guitar does not have a whammy bar, like a Les Paul or SG style guitar, or has a whammy bar that bends the tone only in one direction, you should be fine.

Otherwise you are setting yourself up for hours of endless frustration. Like most guitar techniques, it’s always preferable to become proficient on an acoustic before you start wailing away on an electric. It’s best for your guitar to pick one tuning and stay with it for a while. Don’t switch after every song. If you plan on working with a particular open tuning, then set your guitar and explore it thoroughly, and don’t forget to take notes.

Or this one (pick a column, any column):

These files are the author’s own work and represents his interpretation of the song. They are intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.

And I bet you thought I’d forget it this time, didn’t you? Onward!

Déjà vu

I cannot tell you which was the first alternately tuned song I ever heard; I have learned that quite a few songs I knew when I was young (er) actually used various alternate tunings. I can, however, tell you exactly when I knew that there had to be something funny going on. It was two-and-a-half minutes after I opened a songbook containing music from the first Crosby, Stills and Nash album as well as the first Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young album. I had been having a real hard time figuring out Guinnevere, which was a song I really liked. This was long before TAB was in vogue, so the majority of music books were piano transcriptions with guitar chord block diagrams placed over them. Try as I might, I could not reconcile the piano part (the actual notes being played) with the guitar chords (figured, of course, for standard tuning). I figured that my hands were simply not able to do the playing expected of them and satisfied myself with playing the easier pieces.

I know better now.

By our definition, an alternate tuning is any tuning that is neither standard nor open. What I’d like to do, with your permission of course, is to quickly rid ourselves of a burdensome subcategory, namely any tunings that have the same intervals betweeb each string as standard tuning. What I mean by this are tunings such as this:

Those of you who play a lot of Nirvana, as well as other 90’s groups, will recognize these as “low tunings”. While they are indeed, by our definition, alternate tunings, they are simply transposed standard tunings. All the intervals between the strings are the same as they are in standard tuning. “Alternate #1″ is tuned a half step lower than standard, “#2″ a whole step lower and so on. You can find these and many others (some of which we will cover more extensively) on Guitar Noise’s tunings page. Why do people do this? A lot of the time it is to accommodate their voices. I also suspect, though, that some guitarists secretly wish they were bassists and just keep tuning their guitars down yet another half step. Then again, I know some people who do this out of fear of busting their strings.

To get any of these low tunings is fairly simple. For instance, if you wanted to do “Alternate #3″ you would just tune your sixth string down a step and a half. This new tuning would mean that you would now be in tune with your A string when you press the eighth fret (instead of the usual fifth). Once you have the low string at the proper pitch you simply tune your guitar as usual. Conversely (and in my opinion a little easier, you could just tune your first string to Db (same as the second fret on the B string) and then tune backwards (from the high string down) as you normally would.

You’ll also see on the tunings page some alternate tunings that are standard tunings tuned up a half or whole step. Personally, I don’t know why anyone would do this. It seems to be quicker and much less of a hassle to slap a capo on the first fret than to tune each string up a half step. I’m kind of lazy that way, I guess.

It’s also worth pointing out that I have not given any names to these tunings. Most alternate tunings do not have names. Some do. And of course some have many names (just in case you weren’t confused enough). So if you tell someone that you’re playing a song in “alternate tuning #4″ he or she will probably inch further away from you until he or she feels somewhat safer. Just a friendly warning.

Dropping (And Droning) Ds

One tuning that does have a name is the “drop D” tuning. Here it is:

Confused? I hope so. If I were to tell you, “in order to get ‘drop D’ tuning, just tune your E string down to D,” what would you do? Which E string would you tune, the first or the sixth? Why not both? This is why names of tunings get very confusing very fast. For the record, the first tuning (D A D G B E) is considered to be “drop D” while the third tuning is usually called “double drop D.” I have heard many names for the middle one, some of which are not suitable to be printed.

Why would you use a drop D tuning? Well, just play your standard D chord (remember, now you can strum all six strings) and listen to full it sounds with the low D in the bass. Pretty nice, huh? It’s also useful in the fact that your three bass strings are now D, A and D … I, V and I in your D scales. This gives you a powerful alternating bass line right at your fingertips. Playing the chords one usually finds in the key of D isn’t much of a problem at all. A or A7 is still the same (just don’t hit your sixth string) and Em, as well as Em7 is a breeze. G is the only one you really will have to think about.

In the TAB files, you can find a number of songs that utilize the drop D tuning such as Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain, Neil Young’s Ohio as well as Dear Prudence by the Beatles and All Apologies by Nirvana (in the latter case the guitar is already tuned down a half step (as in “Alternate #1″) so I guess you could call it drop Db tuning, if you prefer). I’m going to show you it in regular drop D. All you purists can tune everything down a half step from there. Here goes:

In All Apologies, even thought the TAB does not indicate to do so, I tend to strike the open sixth string every beat so that the low D (Db whatever) serves as a drone under the rest of the riff. A “drone,” according to my Webster’s New World Dictionary is “a droning sound.” Now isn’t that helpful? Wait, it’s also a verb! To drone, then, is “to make a continuous humming sound.” Slightly more useful, I guess. Musically, droning is the continual playing of a note (or notes) while the rest of the song plays over it (or under it if it’s a high note … while we associate droning with lower bass tones it could just as easily be higher). It’s a nice effect for any musician to be familiar with, whether she or he is a rhythm guitarist, lead guitarist, bassist, or songwriter.

The use of fourths or fifths as a droning sound is as old as the hills. When I think of two note droning, bagpipes always come to mind. But stringed instuments have used this effect for ages as well. Every culture has a three-stringed instrument in its history, from the gimbri to the balalaika to the Cretan lyre to the Appalachian dulcimer (not to be confused with the hammered dulcimer) (and yes, the Appalachian dulcimer actually has four strings but it still operates in the same principal). They are all played with two open strings ringing freely while a third string is playing a melody line. Many folk songs in most Western cultures are steeped in this style of play.

This is why quite a number of guitars fall in love with what is known as DADGAD tuning. No, it’s not John Wayne swearing at someone, it’s simply how the guitar is tuned. Watch:

As you see, it’s practically an open D tuning. The only difference is that instead of the F# on the third string we keep the original G string tuning. To achieve this tuning on your guitar simply tune the first and sixth strings so they are, respectively, an octave above below the D string. Then tune your second string so that it is an octave above the A string. Voila! This is used a lot by groups that specialize in Celtic music. Not only do your have your D – A fifths at both the high and low strings, but you also keep the D – G fourth (or G – D fifth if you’re inclined to look at it that way) in the middle for an added drone when you’re playing a G chord.

Sarah McLachlan is fond of using a variation of this tuning in the low E remains the same while the rest of the strings are tuned a la DADGAD, like this:

In Building A Mystery, she uses this tuning and puts a capo on the seventh fret so that even though she’s playing E minor shaped chords, the song is actually in B minor. If you lookup any of the TABs in the archive, they do indeed put the song in B minor and while the end result, chord wise is the same, listen to the difference you get when you play it like this:

Here the droning effect is on the higher strings. Let’s look at the actual notes in the chord voicings that we’re using (and remember that with a capo on the seventh fret, the guitar is actually tuned BEADEA) (now isn’t that a cool name…). Here are the fingerings:

And here are the actual notes from the sixth string to the first (again, taking the capo into account):

You can see that, with the exception of the D, the lower four strings contain the I, III and V of each of their respective chords. The D also contains the B, which is its VI … in fact most tabs list the chord as a D6.

An incredibly interesting sidebar to note here (yeah, I know … yet another digression) is that the Bm and the D (or D6 if you will) contain the exact same notes. But the entire tonality of the chord is changed by which note is in the bass. Can you hear this? Try it out! This is why things like chord voicings are often as important as the chord itself.

Okay, back again. If you look carefully at the make up of the chords, you’ll notice that each one has notes that are not part of its normal make up. A and E in the Bm and the G. B and E in the D and D in the A. Yet all of these notes do not greatly detract from the chord itself. In fact in some cases they seem to enhance it. The D in the A chord serves as a suspended fourth, something with which we are somewhat familiar (see the column Multiple Personality Disorder). These notes are yet more examples of passing tones. Because they are part of the natural scales of these chords our ears do not find them very dissonant as long as we do not put undue emphasis on them. In fact, if you were to play the notes as an arpeggio instead of a straight strum, you’d find it almost captivating. Which, in an incredibly roundabout way, leads us to possibly the most important reason why many guitarists use alternate tunings.

Hypnotic Patterns

Another musical convention that’s been around pretty much from the get-go is the use of a repeated group of notes (or motif) to establish a rhythmic or melodic pattern for a piece. Often the set of notes will be such that they are capable of being played over several chord changes without being dissonant, much in the way that first and second strings were able to do this in Building a Mystery. While this is a fairly easy thing to do on a piano, it is not always feasible on a guitar. The repeated notes may require wretched fingerings and, ideally, open strings give a much nicer tone to this effect. But after you’ve exhausted the possibilities in standard tuning, where is there to go?

It is with this in mind that many alternate tunings are created. Let’s look at a specific example. David Crosby uses the following tuning in his song Déjà vu as well as the aforementioned Guinnevere:

Okay, we could easily argue that this is an open tuning instead of an alternate tuning, since we get an E11 chord when we strike the open strings. Of course, we could also argue that “standard” tuning is just A9(add4) open tuning, too. You can always come up with a chord name for something if you want to. So rather than being annoying for the sake of being annoying, let’s agree that this is an alternate tuning so that we can listen to what David Crosby did with it in Guinnevere. Here is the main strumming pattern of the song (and additional practice for your finger picking):

Appropriately mysterious and enchanting, isn’t it? Now let’s again look at how we can change to whole tone of the tuning simply by changing our chord voicings. Here is the main picking pattern of a song I wrote called Always. In this notation the down-stemmed note should be played with the thumb while the notes with the up-stems can be played with whatever fingers you’re using these days:

You can hear that the mood of this piece is much more whimsical even though we’re still using the first three open strings in much the same way that we did in Guinnevere. This is why you should take the time to explore and map out each different tuning you try, much in the same manner we did in the second open tuning column Here There Be Monsters.

Just For You

I’ve put together a list of different alternate tunings, some of which we’ve covered, some we haven’t but will and some I have found interesting. This is by no means a definitive list of all the possibilities. I mean if you take your guitar and one day decide to play with the first string tuned to Eb, then you’ve got an alternate tuning. It really is all that simple to do. The tricky part comes when you try to do something with your tuning. And we’ll be going over some of those things in the next two columns. Remember, I have not put any formal names on these tunings, but I have made some notes about a few of them.

• E A D G B E - standard
• E B D G A D
• E E E E B E - Stephen Stills uses this in Carry On and Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. The fifth string is tuned to the sixth while the third and fourth strings are tuned to the E an octave above that (and an octave below the first string)
• E B E G A D
• E A D G C F
• E B B G B D - Ani DiFranco uses this in Not a Pretty Girl. Again both the fourth and fifth strings are tuned to same note
• E A D G# B E
• E A D F# B E
• E A D G B D
• D A D G B E - Drop D
• D A D G B D - Double Drop D
• D A D D A D
• D A D E A D - Not used by Jerry Garcia (at least as far as I know) (sorry, I couldn’t resist)
• D G D G A D
• D G D G B E
• D G D F# B D - yes, technically open Gmaj7
• C A D G B E
• C G D G B E
• C G D G C D - one of my favorites
• C G D G B D
• C G C G B E
• C G C G C D
• C G D G A D

It’s safe to say you could spend quite a bit of time looking into this.

As always, please feel free to drop me a line at dhodgeguitar@aol.com with any questions, concerns, comments, corrections or requests. Or leave a note on the Guitar Forums. And speaking of pages, have you checked out the rest of Guitar Noise lately? I don’t know how Paul finds the time to do all this work but I think we can all agree that we’re certainly glad that he does. Check it out and I’ll see you next week unless I get the sudden urge to run off to the Himalayas again…

But I digress…

The point in bringing this up is to stress the importance of writing things down. Those of you who have been reading these columns know I tend to chant “write things down” over and over like a mantra. “Write things down.” A terrific example of the usefulness of this advice is when you are messing about with open and alternate tunings.

Perhaps it’s easier for you to remember the really olden days, back when you were just starting to learn the guitar. It may or may not have been difficult to memorize the standard chord fingerings, but you undoubtedly had access to chord charts of one sort or another. Imagine if you had to start from scratch each time you picked up the guitar! Well, unless you have books or charts for open or alternate tunings, that’s precisely what will happen. If you have the foresight to make yourself a map you won’t find yourself wrestling monsters each time you change tuning. Even though they may seem mysterious and foreboding, open and alternate tunings are fun. “Map making” is not hard; it takes but a moment of your time and, most importantly, will help you to develop your theory skills. Really. Here’s how:

The Lay Of The Land

For the sake of simplicity, we’re going to work in just one of the numerous open tunings we discussed in the last column. And since I get to choose, I pick Open D. I’ll wait a bit ’til you get in tune.

Ready? Okay. First, we’re going to take a piece of paper and make a map of the Open D tuning. Across the top will be the frets and down the left column will be the newly tuned strings (open fret). We’re going to fill in the notes in their proper places and, to make it a tad more legible, I’m going use only the notes in a D major scale. I am also going to add the flatted seventh, which is C natural (as opposed to C#, which is the major seventh) for reasons that will hopefully become clear later on. When I’m done, it will look like this:

If you took the time to fill in all the notes (as we have in the 5th, 7th and 10th frets), then you’d see a major chord down each fret. Remember our capo discussion? This is an excellent demonstration of what we were talking about. If we put a capo on the seventh fret, we are now in Open A tuning. What about Open F#? Right, fourth fret. Amazing stuff, isn’t it?

Now, before we go figuring out our chords, we have to take another brief theory lesson. Remember our scale? Let’s see the D major scale:

Whether you’ve been playing for ages or just started learning the guitar a few days ago, you’ve probably noticed that certain chords keep popping up over and over again. “Why is that?” you might ask. Well, believe it or not, theory pretty much dictates what chords usually show up in any given key. I say “usually” because, as we know, theory is not a be all and end all. It simply examines what has happened in the past, what chord usage has traditionally been acceptable. Since anything goes in real life, it’s good to have a secure place from which to start.

The primary chords that one will use in a given major key will be major chords of I (the root or tonic), V (called the dominant) and IV (the subdominant). Secondary chords include the minor (and occasionally major) chords of II, III and VI. Also included in this group is the major chord with its root being the minor seventh of the scale. Occasionally, especially in rock, pop and country music (just to mention a few genres), you will run into a major chord based on the flat seventh of the major scale whose key you’re playing in. For our particular example in open D, this would be C major. You’ll read more about this in the upcoming lesson, A Before E (except after C).

So, playing in the key of D major, these are the chords we are most likely to come across:

(Two things I want to mention here – first, as usual we’re covering a lot of ground and it’s bound to be a bit confusing. That’s okay. Anything we brush on, we’ll be going over in depth in the (relatively) near future. Secondly, one thing that will be hard to avoid brushing against here is what I tend to call embellished chords. These are your run of the mill major chords with an additional note or two, usually the sixth or second (or ninth, as it is more often called). Open tuning lends itself to finding chords that are just a tad off beat. Sometimes it is necessary to work with what your guitar will give you. We’ll explore this in a bit…)

Okay, back to our guitars! I know the make up of a D major chord (I, III, V = D, F#, A), and since I know just how far I can stretch my hand, I can find a lot of different ways to put one together in Open D tuning. What I am going to do now is simplicity itself – I’m going to throw together a “do-it-yourself” tab chart. First, I go to the “map” we’ve made and pick out the notes I need (when I first started doing this, I’d actually circle to notes I wanted). Then I create my tabs by taking these notes (actually the frets at which they occur) and putting these in a separate chart. On the left column, I once again list my open strings. The right columns, read downward, will give me various sounding D major chords. You’ll notice that, again for the sake of simplicity, I’m leaving the three bass strings open in order to focus my exploration on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings.

On the last chord, I could also play the 12th fret of the 1st string, but again, I prefer the sound of this voicing. Likewise, since I enjoy the droning effect of the D’s and A’s, I also tend to play the 3rd chord with an open first string. It’s your call.

I’ll also put together tab charts for the other primary and secondary chords. Since I like to use open D’s and A’s, some of my chords will be embellished chords, such as Em7 and Bm7, which benefit from the open strings. Now, if I pick and choose from the various charts I’ve made, I can see that it’s pretty easy to form the chords I normally would use in any song in the key of D. Here are a few of the ones I use a lot:

Reaping The Rewards

How about we try out a couple of songs? Well, just like when first took up the guitar, it’s best to start with something relatively easy and then work your way towards pieces that are more difficult.

We’ll begin with Bob Dylan’s Shelter From The Storm. It’s very straight forward – 4/4 time and just three chords. Oh, yes, before I forget – the disclaimer:

This file is the author’s own work and represents his interpretation of the song. It is intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.

As I said, the song is in 4/4. Each verse is sixteen measures – four sets of four which correspond to the four lines of lyrics in each verse. I like to repeat the last three measures between the verses to break it up. The chord pattern for each verse (with the “inter-verse” break in parenthesis) is as follows:

D – - – / Dmaj7 – - – / G – - – / D – - -
D – - – / Dmaj7 – - – / G – - – / G – - -
D – - – / Dmaj7 – - – / G – - – / G – - -
D – - – / Dmaj7 – - – / G – - – / D – - -

( Dmaj7 – - – / G – - – / D – - -)

These are the chords I will use in Open D tuning:

First, let’s put together a strumming pattern, perhaps something like this:

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

When I play this, I usually play the second D chord (the non-open one) as the first chord and the open D chord to end the first and fourth lines of the verses. This allows me to start a descending bass line on the 5th string, playing the bass note on the first beat of the measure (I hope you’re bearing with me, because it’s a lot easier to show someone than to write it out!). Visually, one verse would look something like this:

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Now this tablature is very basic. I fingerpick a lot, and even when I use a pick I tend to arpeggiate (not a verb, I know) more than I strum. But for now, just get the feel of where the chords are and how they sound. Pretty nice, huh? If you want to get the lyrics to all ten verses, just Google the song title.

And For Those Of You Who Want A Challenge?

This is my take on Shawn Colvin’s take on Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by the Police, done in open D tuning . The introduction consists of arpeggios of Dmaj7 (with the sixth (B) added) played over a walking bass line of G, A, G, D, which looks (and sounds) like this:

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

And here’s a good place to make another note, tab is a great and useful tool, but one should never pass up the opportunity to learn how to read music. Yeah, I know-”So-and-so’s a bloody great guitarist and he can’t read music-blah, blah, blah.” All I’m saying is that anyone can live in a foreign country without speaking the language. But if you want the fullness of the experience, then buck up and learn to converse with the locals in their dialect. You’re likely to find the little things that occasionally slipped past you, like rhythm patterns.

Back to the song – The verses are a slight variation from the introduction, as you’ll see in the following example. For a bit of a dramatic flair, the verses close with a “turnaround,” starting with the open D and then shifting what would be an Amaj7 chord in standard tuning to get Em7 (xx2120) and Dmaj7 (004340) up the neck, using our standard tuning A chord shape on the fifth fret to get G (xx5550) and then coming back down again to the open D major chord. And because that doesn’t seem quite dramatic enough, let’s add another D major chord, produced with the 12th fret harmonics, as an exclamation point!

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Now, on with the chorus! Using our open D tuning to get voicings of Asus4 and D chords way up the neck, you can double the melody line, which puts a bit of punch into the chorus. By the bye, there’s a bit of anticipation going on here, with the D chord coming in slightly before the first beat of the following measure.

And this is probably a good place to mention that this notation is simply meant to be a starting point. As you’ve no doubt read in many of the song lesson articles here at Guitar Noise, be they “Easy Songs for Beginners” or on the “Songs for Intermediates” page, I’m not concerned with you getting this down precisely. You might even hear me take a few liberties with the rhythms in the MP3 examples in this lesson. Have fun with these arrangements and come up with ways to make them your own.

The chorus ends with a Bb based arpeggio (feel free to call it Bbmaj7(add6) if you’re a stickler for these things). then a C6/9 arpeggio. Both of these arpeggios use the same rhythm from the verses. Finally, a repeat of the same turnaround used to herald the chorus brings this section to a close.

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

After the first chorus, we then go to the second verse and repeat the chorus again. When we come to the Bb on the second chorus, we stay on the arpeggio for an extra measure (or however long you’d like) and then move on to the bridge, which is simply a build-up of the Bb and C arpeggios used at the end of the chorus. This leads into the turnaround again and then a final chorus. Here’s a “cheat sheet” of sorts to help you out:

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Whew! That was a bit of a workout, eh? I hope that you’ve had some fun with this lesson. As mentioned in the first part of this introduction to open tunings, we’ve a number of song lessons that use them. You should try to make it a point to fool around in one a bit sometime, if for no other reason than it will make you think a bit about chords, how they’re formed and what notes go into them.

And don’t forget to write things down!

Until our next lesson…

Peace

But it made me think, “Hey, couldn’t I tune my guitar so that when I strum it, I’ll get a nice straight chord as well?” So I tuned the G string to G#, the D to E and the A to B and, yes indeed, I had a great E major chord at my disposal. Better still, all I had to do was barre any given fret to get another full major chord. Naturally I went and showed all my friends, thinking that I had discovered the next big evolution in music (my friends will be quick to tell you that I, like most people, never seem to be more annoying then those times when I think I’m being exceedingly clever). Three things kept me from fame and fortune, however. First, as I’ve mentioned before, I have small hands and was learning to play on a twelve stringed guitar with a very wide neck, so I could not barre any fret very well or for very long. Secondly, since I was tuned up on several strings, I was busting G strings and D strings with alarming regularity. Finally, I couldn’t play any minor chords and, being a true seventies folkie, at least eighty percent of my repertoire consisted of songs in minor keys.

Oh, yes, there was also the small fact that people had been using open tuning on guitars for centuries.

What we guitarists consider “standard tuning” has been around pretty much since the fifth and sixth strings were added to the instrument in the late 1700’s. And, artists being artists, “non-standard” or “alternate” tunings have existed for just about as long. For the sake of our discussions, we will divide guitar tunings into three categories – standard, open, and alternate.

Standard tuning is what we were taught from day one (low to high or 6th string to 1st):

E A D G B E

Open tuning is when we tune the guitar in such a fashion that results in our getting a major (or minor) chord when we strum the open strings.

Alternate tuning is when the guitar is tuned in a way that results in neither standard nor open tuning. And, yes, that’s going to cover a lot of things.

In this column we will look at various open tunings and how to go about re-tuning your guitar to achieve these tunings. Next time out we’ll explore “where we’ve landed,” so to speak. I’ll show you how to find chords and then we’ll go over some songs that you might like to take a stab at in open tunings. Then in the next two columns we’ll tackle alternate tunings in the same manner. I do want to warn you, though, I might take a break between the open and alternate tuning columns to start discussing song writing, especially since it seems to be a topic of great interest to some of you.

But that’s the great thing about Guitar Noise – you can go after the topics that interest you most and still have access to all the other stuff. Speaking of which, if there’s something that you’d like to see covered in an upcoming column, please feel free to write me or drop a line on the Guitar Forums. Okay, let’s get on to open tunings.

Important Note !!!!!!!

Open and alternate tunings should not be attempted on electric guitars with “floating” bridges. This is disastrous to the guitar’s intonation (the guitar will sound in tune when you play it open, but it will stop being in tune with itself). Many of today’s newer guitars, especially those with locks on the nut and “fine tuning” pegs on the bridge tend to suffer from this. If your electric guitar does not have a whammy bar, like a Les Paul or SG style guitar, or has a whammy bar that bends the tone only in one direction, you should be fine. Otherwise you are setting yourself up for hours of endless frustration.

Like most guitar techniques, it’s always preferable to become proficient on an acoustic before you start wailing away on an electric. It’s best for your guitar to pick one tuning and stay with it for a while. Don’t switch after every song. If you plan on working with a particular open tuning, then set your guitar and explore it thoroughly, and don’t forget to take notes (more on that next time).

Where Are We Going?

Open tunings have been making a “comeback” of sorts in the nineties, but they have always been a staple of serious musicians. Many fledgling guitarists are unaware that artists such as Keith Richards, Dave Mason, Richie Havens, Leo Kottke and Mark Knopfler have been using various forms of open tuning for years and years. Slide guitar players often tend to utilize open tuning; it suits their particular playing styles quite well.

As we stated earlier, open tuning is when we tune the guitar in such a fashion that results in our getting a major (or minor) chord when we strum the open strings. Remembering our lesson on how to build a chord, Theory Without Tears, we understand that the six strings of the guitar should be tuned to the I, III (or minor III) and V of whatever key in which we choose to play. I should add that it’s possible to add sevenths, ninths and whatever, but for now we’ll stay with the easy stuff.

Here are some basic open tunings:

You will note that all these tunings do indeed consist of the I, III and V of their given key. The open G 7th also includes the “F” which is the minor seventh in the G scale. It’s interesting to note that there is usually only one III, while the I and V is doubled (and tripled) up. As my high school theory teacher was fond of saying, “A little third goes an awfully long way.”

An important aspect of open tuning is that it almost instantly improves your fingerpicking. Since the root and fifth of the chord to which you are tuned almost always occupy the 5th and 6th strings, it’s ludicrously easy to develop what’s known as an “alternating bass line” (root, chord, fifth, chord, root, chord, fifth, chord, etc.) (and that’s another topic we’ll have to cover, isn’t it?). It’s also a fairly simple task to play in a “drone” style, much like a bagpipe or dulcimer. You play the bass root and fifth simultaneously with your thumb while plucking a melody on the higher strings.

By far the two most popular open tunings are Open D and Open G. But the great thing about open tuning is that you can pretty much set your guitar for all sorts of keys, depending on your personal preference.

How Do We Get There?

A couple rules of thumb: (1) Try to tune downward whenever possible. Too much stress on the strings is not good for the guitar or the strings (or you, for that matter). If you do tune up to a note, try not to go higher than three half steps. (2) Use a capo. You’ll note that I didn’t include an Open E or Open A. It’s much easier on your guitar to tune to Open D and then put a capo on the second fret to get your Open E. Ditto with Open G to get Open A. If you listen to the Rolling Stones’ Happy, you’ll find it’s in the key of B. Richards uses Open G tuning with a capo on the fourth fret. (3) Remember that nothing is set in stone. Virtually every diagram you’ll see for Open A tuning, for example, will be listed as such:

E A E A C# E

I actually prefer to have the III (C# note) lower down, on the 4th string instead of the 2nd:

E A C# E A E

As long as you have all the notes of your chord somewhere, it will sound fine. But having said that, I will add that it is preferable to have your two lowest notes be the root and the fifth of your chord. Likewise, the third is the one note you really don’t have to worry about doubling (sounding on more than one string). Try out different ways. Write out the notes of the chord to help you figure out what’s the best way to get there.

The easiest way to retune your guitar is to use a keyboard (which is hopefully in tune to start with). Most electronic tuners will allow you to tune to specific notes as well. However, if you do not have access to either of these, re-tuning is still not a difficult process. I am going to use the Open C tuning as an illustration, but the general principle will remain the same regardless of which tuning you choose to try. First I make sure that my guitar is in tune to start with, then I look at where I am and where I plan to go:

Okay, I see that two of the strings, the G and high E, are not going to change at all. This makes matters a bit easier. Since I already have one G, I decide to go after the other one first. I tune down the A string while playing the G string until they have the same pitch (even though it’s actually an octave apart). I can double check the tone by playing the 12th fret of the newly tuned A string – it should sound the same as the open G string. Now I can tune the D and B strings to C by matching them to the 5th fret of either G string and then finally get the lowest C by use of octaves again.

If I decide to use an open tuning that shares none of the open strings of standard tuning, then I have to be a little more creative (and patient).

Let’s try the Open F:

STANDARD: E A D G B E

I have a couple of options here. I could actually use an Open D with the capo on the third fret or the Open C I just demonstrated with a capo on the fifth fret. But I personally prefer this particular tuning:

OPEN F: C F C F A F

I like the sound of the I on the 1st string along with the V’s on both the 4th and 6th strings, so I’ll go with this one. I usually start with the middle strings, so first I retune the G to F by matching the tone to the third fret of the D string (remember that F is 3 half steps from D – I told you that scales would be important) and then I get the other Fs by tuning to octaves. The A is now achieved in the same way I get the B in standard tuning – 4th fret on the 3rd (now F) string. Likewise the 4th string can be tuned to C by matching it to the 5th fret on the 5th string. Finally I use octaves to get the 6th string set to the low C. It’s nowhere near as complicated as it sounds. And it’ll sound wonderful.

While you experiment with open tuning you will probably find that, at least initially, your lower strings will tend to raise a bit in pitch until they settle down. This is normal. Minor adjustments are to be expected and if you stick with it, your patience will definitely be rewarded.

We’re going to stop here to catch our breath before moving on to the next column where we’ll put our open tunings into practice. It’ll be called Here There Be Monsters and you can find it here.

In this article, we’ll look at how to put together a “fretboard map” so we can figure out how to make chords with our open-tuned guitar. And, as a bonus, we’ll take a quick look at two pieces in open tuning: Bob Dylan’s Shelter From The Storm and an open-tuned arrangement of the Police classic Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.

Plus, we also have a number of song lessons here at Guitar Noise that employ open tuning: Happy by the Rolling Stones and Coldplay’s God Put A Smile Upon Your Face on the “Easy Songs for Beginners” page and another Dylan Classic, Simple Twist of Fate, on the “Songs for Intermediates” page. And over on our “Christmas Songs” page, there’s even an arrangement of Silent Night done in open D tuning. So go have some fun!

And I’d like to take the time to thank those of you who have written with comments and questions. I really appreciate all the feedback. The best way for this column to serve you is to have your input. I try to answer each email I get (and that’s not as easy as I thought it would be!). I know we try to cover a lot of ground here and for every new thing we learn, usually three more questions come up. One of my philosophies (and I could write for ages about the philosophies of music and teaching) is that it’s is more important to show why things work rather than to just show you what works. This way you’ll be able to start putting pieces together yourself. And once you start to realize that you can figure out a lot of things by applying what you learn here, there’ll be no end to where you can go. Keep asking questions. The day we stop asking questions is the day we stop learning and the day we stop learning is the day we should hang up our guitars for good.