I've tried Open G,since a lot of country gospel was in the key of G. But lately I've switched to Open D and it just sounds better.I can't explain it,but it does.I don't have the knowledge to fiqure out what the key I'm hearing when I play it,but it sounds reconizable. Is Open D a good uning to use for songs transposed in G,or other keys in standard tuning?
Well, a lot depends on who you're going to be playing with, and what key.
What are you playing on? Acoustic guitar? Roundneck resonator? Squareneck reso?
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Roundneck,a Regal model. Most of the songs I'm looking at are in the key of G. I've always heard that D and G keys are inerchangable with one another.Is this true?
Welllll...
You can move things from one to the other easily. If you know how to play a tune in Open G, you can play it the same way in Open D by moving it over one string toward the bass side. Won't be in the same key, of course. Opens up some new possibilities for playing some notes on the first string, and takes away some of what you may have been plying on the sixth string in G. You have to come up with alternatives. I do that sort of switching around all the time. And of course you can always play songs on any tuning that aren't in the key of the open chord. The simplest way is to base them around the frets that the cardinal chords of the tune are found on in that tuning, for example if you want to play in the key of G in Open D, the I chord is the fifth fret. The IV chord is the tenth fret, and the V chord is either the twelfth fret or the open strings. As with "standard" tuning, chords can be voiced different ways in lots of different positions as well. It's fun to look at these in different tunings here: http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/guitar/index_rb.html
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
