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Alternative tunings for guitar: help needed.
23 November 2014
5.39am
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Oudis
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Here’s another thread for musicians who are willing to help me and teach all the others Beatles Bible members; I hope it doesn’t turn into an argument between two or three professionals leaving the rest of us out, the way it’s happened before in another thread. I beg you: keep it simple, for I know little or no musical theory whatsoever.

I’ve been playing rhythmic guitar on and off for twenty five years. I mostly play for my own enjoyment, but I’ve played at barbeque parties and community centers. I compose songs as well, and have recorded demos with professional musicians in professional studios, and with fellow amateur musicians with the help of a multitrack recorder. I am interested in exploring the world of alternative tunings for guitar but I have found the information the internet provides is insufficient and too theoretical at the same time. They basically tell you “Tune the sixth string down/up to…” and give you the new alternative tuning (e.g. G-G-D-G-B-D) but leave you to your own devices in terms of chords. Let’s suppose we are talking about the traditional/standard tuning (E, A, D, G, B, and E). The basic, very basic chords would be these:

simple-chord-chart-opt.jpgImage Enlarger

 

Now, what I need is one or two alternative tunings with a chart like that, with chords and their names, so that I can play; it should be like a “drawing”, since I can’t read music.

Should somebody post such chart, and explain how to tune the guitar, or post a link to a site with such information, I would be very grateful.

Thanks in advance,

Oudis.

Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit” (“Perhaps one day it will be a pleasure to look back on even this”; Virgil, The Aeneid, Book 1, line 203, where Aeneas says this to his men after the shipwreck that put them on the shores of Africa)

23 November 2014
6.14am
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Meowson
The Deep South
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Perhaps something like this website is what you are looking for?

http://www.alanhorvath.com/Gchart.php

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With love from me, to you.

24 November 2014
12.29am
muzair
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Wow, I’d love to see a chart like that too; I play in open/altered tunings so rarely that it always does my head in when I try to figure out what’s going on each time! It’d be good to have a chart especially for D-A-D-G-A-D tuning. 

I used to play with a guy who had one guitar permanently tuned to D-A-D-F#-B-D! Now that was complicated, but it sounded great. 

24 November 2014
12.32am
muzair
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Ah, I’ve just found that the link posted above (thanks @meowson!) does have a DADGAD chart also. 

24 November 2014
3.07am
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Mr. Kite
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I’m no expert on strange timings by any means, but I’m pretty sure they’re used more for riffing than chord-based rhythm.

Keith Richards loved to use all sorts of open tunings, so maybe reading something he’s said would help.

Haven’t checked Meowson’s link yet, but it sounds like its what you’re looking for.

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24 November 2014
5.56am
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Oudis
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Meowson said
Perhaps something like this website is what you are looking for?

http://www.alanhorvath.com/Gchart.php

Thank you @Meowson for the link you posted; I’ve been rather busy these past few weeks, but I will check the link as soon as possible and then let you know what I think. Have a good one, Oudis.

Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit” (“Perhaps one day it will be a pleasure to look back on even this”; Virgil, The Aeneid, Book 1, line 203, where Aeneas says this to his men after the shipwreck that put them on the shores of Africa)

25 November 2014
4.21am
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Oudis
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Hi again, @Meowson. I have checked the site you referred me to, and it’s the best I’ve found so far (well, you found it!). Unfortunately it doesn’t provide all the major and minor chords, only a few (e.g. it tells you how to play A, Am, A7, and then C –but not how to play Cm or C7) I’ll have to tune one of my guitars (probably the electro-acoustic one) the way this guy tells you to and experiment with the new sounds. That’s what I’m after: new sounds. Thank you again.

Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit” (“Perhaps one day it will be a pleasure to look back on even this”; Virgil, The Aeneid, Book 1, line 203, where Aeneas says this to his men after the shipwreck that put them on the shores of Africa)

25 November 2014
6.18am
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Meowson
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@Oudis   You make a valid point, perhaps this other website, which appears on my phone as a pdf and has more chord diagrams like you mentioned, would help you and the rest of us more.

EDIT: This is exactly what you’re after.

With love from me, to you.

25 November 2014
8.11am
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Sugarplum fairy
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I can’t help with a chord chart but open tunings are always fun because you never know what will pop out!  I’m no open tuning expert but for me the point is to stay away from standard sounding chords.  If you think of something like Led Zepplin’s ‘The Rain Song’, I bet Page just picked an open tuning and spent some enjoyable time riffing around but he probably wouldn’t have written at all it if he had stuck to standard tuning.  I used to think Paul played Blackbird in an open tuning (so that’s why I learnt it in open G) but I was wrong, he doesn’t seem to use open tunings, although he does sometimes tune a whole step down. (Yesterday ). 

Many of the online tuners allow for open tunings like here- http://www.fender.com/en-GB/co…..tar-tuner/  So I’d say even new players should experiment, because often with an open tuning you only need to fret two strings at once to get an cool sound.  Blackbird is like that. 

25 November 2014
12.40pm
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Mr. Kite
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Zeppelins Friends is another good example.

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25 November 2014
11.29pm
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Oudis
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Meowson said
@Oudis   You make a valid point, perhaps this other website, which appears on my phone as a pdf and has more chord diagrams like you mentioned, would help you and the rest of us more.

EDIT: This is exactly what you’re after.

@Meowson, you are a lifesaver! The second site is amazing, indeed. More chords than I need –I’ll learn a lot. It’ll take me a while to assimilate so much information. Once more, thank you.

apple01

@Sugarplum fairy, thanks for the link. At a first glance I couldn’t see the open tuning tuner but I haven’t looked properly yet. I’ll get back to you, Oudis.

Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit” (“Perhaps one day it will be a pleasure to look back on even this”; Virgil, The Aeneid, Book 1, line 203, where Aeneas says this to his men after the shipwreck that put them on the shores of Africa)

26 November 2014
4.43pm
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Joe
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I don’t have much to add here, apart from a bit of trivia. On Super Furry Animals’ album Phantom Power there are two instrumentals, Father Father #1 and #2. They were titled that because they used DADDAD tunings on the guitars when writing/recording them.

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