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Open G Tuning

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(@blackzerogsh)
Prominent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 759
Topic starter  

I have a KORG GA-30 tuner, and im trying to tune my guitar to open g. How would i do that based on the tunerWHen I loosen the 6th, 5th, and 1st stirng, how would I know where to stop?


   
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(@john-with-the-wind)
Active Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 7
 

G chord = G, B, D.

Tune low E down one step to D.
Tune A one step down to G.
Leave D alone.
Leave G alone.
Leave B alone.
Tune high E down one step to D.

One possibility. :D

John

"Farewell, profit, and be indulgent"

Johann Joseph Fux
Gradus ad Parnassum


   
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(@blackzerogsh)
Prominent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 759
Topic starter  

Thanks for that bit of info but when do I know i have reached D when bringing down my e string (on the tuner)


   
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(@john-with-the-wind)
Active Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 7
 

Ah, got ya. :oops:

I'm pretty sure the tuner will flash the notes in the top right or left corner
when you start loosening the string. Keep making adjustments
until it shows a "D" and the center light is solid Green.

Hope that helped.

John

"Farewell, profit, and be indulgent"

Johann Joseph Fux
Gradus ad Parnassum


   
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(@noteboat)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 4921
 

Looking at the specs for the tuner, it's a 'guitar tuner', which usually means it supports standard tuning only. However, the Korg GA30 has a Quinta flat tuning mode... the documentation says it supports up to 5 semitones flat of standard tuning. You'll probably need to look in the manual to see how that works - you probably need to press the 'flat' button to get lowered tunings.

To get John's tuning, which is a pretty standard open G, first make sure that strings 2, 3, and 4 are in tune in standard tuning. Then set up the tuner to TWO flat half steps, and tune the 1st, 5th, and 6th strings.

Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL


   
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(@john-with-the-wind)
Active Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 7
 

I hope you don't mind my asking this NoteBoat, but what is your formal
education? I've seen your book and your responses to the questions on
this board are usually very articulate and informative.

I've been looking into the possibility of becoming a teacher and it seems
to me that you may a good person to ask for any advice.

Hope that's not too forward. :mrgreen:

John

"Farewell, profit, and be indulgent"

Johann Joseph Fux
Gradus ad Parnassum


   
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(@noteboat)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 4921
 

When I started teaching I didn't have a lot of formal education - I was a college music major at the time. Plectrum guitar wasn't an option at the time, so my principal instrument was percussion; I studied that with Mike Green, the tympanist from the Lyric Opera. I ended up leaving my junior year - I was making too much money doing music to keep up full-time studies.

I studied theory with Dr. Hans Gross (I'm sure he's deceased now - he'd be over 100 if he's still alive), and improvisation with bassist Paul Zibits. I eventually completed my Bachelor's degree (at the age of 35!), and I've since taken some graduate courses, but for me rather than for a credential.

As far as the educational background suited for teaching, it depends on what you want to teach, and where. A music education degree will suit you for the elementary or high school level, although more and more school teachers will have a MM - given cutbacks in the arts, there's a lot of competition. Alternative schools won't neccesarily require a degree - I taught for a year at an alternative high school before I had one - but you'll be under someone else's supervision (my supervisor knew nothing about music, but it filled the legal requirements, I guess).

If you've got a special niche, and can market it, credentials aren't essential. I did a college guest lecture on music theory as applied to fretted instruments long before I had an academic degree.

If you want to teach privately, you can hang out a shingle and see if you get students, or you can teach through a music store. Music stores in my area require a music degree, but that's not the case everywhere. When I started teaching, it was at a local store... like much of my career, serendipity played a huge role.

I'd played percussion for years, and got a job at a store called Morse Avenue Music in Chicago as a percussion teacher. One day a new shipment of guitars arrived, and having nothing to do at the moment, I helped string and tune them... started noodling around with some Zeppelin tunes, and the owner of the store suggested I take on a guitar student or two. A year later, I had about 60 guitar students, and I never looked back :)

Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL


   
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(@blackzerogsh)
Prominent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 759
Topic starter  

Hey I want to thank you guys alot for your help. Hopefully now, I'll learn how to play slide guitar. Thanks again


   
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(@anonymous)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 8184
 

I do my alternate tuning a bit differently.
I am a newbie and this may be wrong but given that my tuner only supports standard tuning here is what I do.
I simply lower whatever string needs to be lowered and then fret the string to get the standard note.
Example: Drop D. I lower my E string and fret the second fret until my tuner shows I am at low E.


   
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(@noteboat)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 4921
 

That'll work, but it means reaching over the fretted note with your picking hand to tweak the tuning peg.

Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL


   
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(@laoch)
Estimable Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 143
 

My tuner is not chromatic but it won't recognize different octaves. Therefore you can tune down the E strings to D using the tuner even though the D you get will be an octave apart from the D string.
In other words, use your tuner on the E string as if you were tuning your D string. Same goes for tuning the A string down to G.

To give credit where it's due, I read about this tuner "trick" in a Dave Hodge article (or perhaps song lesson) on alternate tunings.

I hope this made sense. :)

"The details of my life are quite inconsequential." - Dr. Evil


   
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(@ricochet)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 7833
 

If a "guitar" tuner's all you've got, you can figure out ways to work around it, but if you're going to buy a tuner, for heaven's sake buy a chromatic one!

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."


   
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