Brilliant comment at the end and so very true. Put the guitar in a strange tuning and just start exploring. That’s how I started almost sixty years ago. I played for nine months in an open “A” tuning before I came across a guy who showed me what standard tuning was. I thought he was crazy. LOL
@@ClichéGuevara-2814 Those are relatively common open tunings, though, along with open E and A. Open D is pretty common (first in the video), too, especially for disciples of Elmore James and the Delta Blues masters. But I think Joni Mitchell used open D in unique ways.
Alternative tunings are great! So inspiring 😎👍 My fretless bass is tuned in fifths (low A, E, B, F#), my acoustic has the Nick Drake tuning, and an electric uses Fripp's New Standard Tuning but I'm at a half step lower, as that is literally a lifesaver on your high string! 🤣🤣🤣 Fifths isn't too difficult to get your head around, people have used it for ages when playing drop-D for instance 😉 I was used to it already anyway, as I also play cello and Chapman Stick...
This is possibly my favorite Reverb video ever. I honestly don’t remember how I got into alternate tunings (I think just fiddling with the tuning heads and growing up on so much blues 🤷🏼♂️), but I’ve found more and more of my very favorite musicians over the years have gone down this road. Keef, of course, Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell as you mention here, Richie Havens. No shortage of these sorts of pure explorers, and as Joe touches on, there’s something very *essential* (in every meaning of the word) to music in just stepping into the unknown and being led. Love it, love it, love it! 😄❤️
great video, vestapol (D maj), cross string (D min), and the Drake tunings are in my top 5 tunings. My favorite however, is Guy Clark's tuning. Capo every string on the 2nd fret, except the low E. This allows you to play drop D structures (in E). What makes it better than drop D (besides not having to actually touch your tuning pegs), is being able to still play open G, as well as every barre chord.
I love Fripp's tuning because I come to the guitar from the piano/keyboard and it makes so much sense in terms of layout. I would have had a much easier time learning guitar had I started with new standard tuning. It would have sucked for learning other people's music, but great for exploring compositional ideas of your own (Sweet Child 'O Mine sounded hilariously like something from Larks Tongue in Aspic and not GNR). I also really liked Joni Mitchell's tuning too. BTW that Taylor sounded beautiful.
Great job! Very enjoyable video! One word of caution to anyone new to open tunings. When re-tuning from open G back to standard, tighten the high E string VERY CAREFULLY! If you go too fast they break!
So good to see a decent exploration of alternate tuning . There is so much more to music than standard tuning and the same old junk played over and over, Nice work.
Bit late to this, but thanks for this. Oddly I play in open F# a lot of the time (because I sing in F#) but had no idea that Curtis Mayfield used it. Big fan of the man.
I use a LOT of alternate tunings (mainly open tunings). But my faves are DADF#AD (Open D), DADGAD (Dadgad), CGCGCE (Open C), DADF#BE (D6/9, I think?), EADEBE (Idk if this tuning has a name, but its a tuning I picked up from Ed Sheeran), and my all time favorite, DADEAD. Idk, I just love alt tunings.
I've been using alternate tunings for about 30 years (on acoustic), but I still picked up some helpful insights here. Very well done. Joe, consider linking up with TrueFire or a similar company to do a more extended course on this topic (yes, I'll look on the Reverb blog for more). BTW, top-quality A/V work on the part of the Reverb media team. -Tom
New Standard Tuning is awesome! I used it for a year and expanded my sound a lot. Then I switched a "mirror" tuning (CGDADG) and that symmetry is quite interesting too.
You mentioned about the need to have the guitar setup for a tuning. It would have been nice to have gotten a hint of what that might entail. Thanks! Nice stuff.
Every guitar is a little different, so you'd want to take it to a luthier and ask them about adjusting neck tension and intonation for the string gauge and tuning. Thanks for watching!
The weirdest tuning I’ve ever heard was from the Potent Pairings - Sonic Youth video, I still have no idea how they get those tunings but they sound awesome
@@ph476 True, that's also important. But when you're using tuning with all 6 strings set to the same note and octave, for example, it's one helluva risk trying to tune thick strings up to that without breaking.
Kyle Tekaucic why would you even use bigger strings if they’re all gonna be tuned to the same not. Just get 6 high E or maybe use an E B G G G and tune them all to the same note so they feel a little thicker.
Great lesson, of course Open G by Keith Richards and Jimmy Page does so much! Stephen Stills has a couple of interesting tunings and Dylan on Blonde on Blonde did Drop C, low E string tuned to C.
Joe, congrats on a really well addressed video. Very good, thank you. The Fripp tuning takes the prize for originality, and the Nick Drake tuning sounds so different from it's kissing cousin, DADGAD. Drake's tuning is DADGAD, but all strings down a full step from that. One way to describe those tunings is a sus4. DADGAD is a Dsus4 open chord, and the Drake is Csus4. Try this one - EADGBD. It's called Fake G or Reverse Drop D, also the Memphis Minnie Tuning. It gives you the top four strings of open G while allowing you to play regular chords, power chords and blues shuffles. If you like to drop in and out of slide using open G, this is a real good one. I stumbled on it years ago and thought I "invented" it. Wrong! I saw Erin Harpe (Erin Harpe and the Delta Swingers) use it and she gave me the history. Very useful.
Listening to Bob Dylan's "Blood on the tracks" and Joni's Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" got me into open tunings. I agree with what the guy says at the end. Forget about the theory and just explore the tuning by the sounds. If it caresses your ears, then it's good.
Thanks for sharing ! I believe you could play songs in any tuning ! Your guitar whichever you choose is like an extension of yourself as it is a veritable part of your musical life and it is obvious you have explored many uncharted journeys musically with guitar in hand through many alternate tunings ! You are an inspiration to all guitarists at any level , I can't wait to try them out ! Thanks again for waking up the guitarist that has fallen asleep in my body !
This is a tuning I stumbled upon a couple of months ago and have really enjoyed using every once in a while A#F#C#FA#C (my band plays in drop A, so this is pretty easy to get to from there)
Every time I think of open tunings I mainly think of Delta Blues guitarists like Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, and Ry Cooder, and Elmore James and Johnny Winter. But when it comes to other alternative tunings, the first person I think about that I believe could have been included is Johnny Rzeznik of The Goo Goo Dolls. Although most wouldn’t consider him a guitarist more than he is a singer-songwriter, I’ve read that a lot of his material had been recorded using many various and unorthodox guitar tunings, even their most famous song “Iris”. Another guitarist I believe should have been included is Jimmy Page. Songs like “The Rain Song”, “Kashmir”, “Traveling Riverside Blues”, “In My Time of Dying”, “Bron Yr Stomp” had utilized different and unorthodox open tunings
one alternate tuning that I like is EAEGBE, just taking the D string and tuning it up a whole step. it's not a tuning that anybody that I know plays, I just think it's a sweet one, makes sus2/add9 voicings very accessible while still making more regular voicings a breeze :+) also minor 2nds and lydian chords like C lydian (regular Cmaj shape)
Quick question: after how many years of guitar education would you expect a student to find this useful? After just 1.5 years music school, this sounds way above my head.
I would say that it differs from student to student. But part of the point of this lesson, is that even if the language of it is above your head, it may still be worth exploring simply for the different sounds and colors you can achieve. I encourage you to keep working on whatever you are currently working on with your instrument, and at some point, take a chance on an open tuning :)
I think that open minor tuning is an excellent idea and I don't know why it isn't more common, because until today I had never given it any thought, and the more I think of it the better the idea sounds. To be able to swap between major and minor chords, and even sus chords with 1 finger and 1 or 2 frets is much easier than attempting to finger a minor chord in open major chord, because to be perfectly honest I don't know how to play a minor chord in open tuning. I know that open minor tuning probably makes slide guitar that bit more difficult but we can't have everything can we? Besides, it's still easier than playing slide in regular tuning. What a revelation open minor tuning is !! 😎👍
I'd say you picked the best people to illustrate open turnings, Joni and Nic in particular. I use open C and open D on and off to get out of a playing rut. The other tuning that's good to try is open E, same intervals as D but somehow sounds and feels very different. Finally I have just set up a guitar with a Nashville string set which is the high six strings of a 12 string set, again this sounds very melodic. Great video and lovely playing.
Fripp's NST uniquely makes everything SOUND orchestral,- very "pretty". Surprised it hasn't been more widely embraced by the ambient crowd, though as demonstrated, you do have to reconfigure the nut, truss rod, etc,- and use non standard string gauges.You can achieve similar effects with pedals, but it does help you to see and write in a different way.Also as indicated, not easy to adapt to standard "rock",; just seems adverse to the necessary rough edges.One of the best examples of this done successfully is , no doubt, Fripp's work on Bowie's Heroes & Scary Monsters LP's.Eye opening, unique in structure and tone( courtesy , supposedly of the rare Buzzaround Fuzz- very distinctive & nasty).Still ahead of it's time today.
Totally different world of music, but when you started to play around with the Fripp tuning (around 10:45-ish), I immediately started to hear Sampha's 'Plastic 100 c', he even had a similar tone set on his keyboard in a couple of his live performances... Love the Nick Drake inclusion, couple of really interesting ones there (also has a couple of BEBEBE-s - what!?:D), many times he uses tunings so he can create some amazing clusters (very under-utilized thing imo). However I found the Fripp one the most beautiful tuning. Loved the math-y sounding thing at 11 mins with those amazing sounding chord!
As a rule, I stick to standard tuning because it’s less confusing and requires no guitar readjustment. However as I have been building a collection lately, I am likely to keep at least one axe in an alternative tuning. Unless I hear a more tempting one, the Robert Fripp tuning is definitely up there at #1.
DADGAd /Dsus4/ Celtic tuning should be mentioned as is crucial to many traditional instrument tunings around the globe, Irish (Celtic in general), Greek (or Balkan in general), Turkish, Arabic, Middle Eastern, Oriental & Eastern European traditional & folk music in all ways as well as modern up to day country & folk music, African, Afro beat etc. Being an alternate tuning player for years it's the only one I find myself still using. It is extremely balanced and derives from God Apollo's tuning of Lyre, EABE, DGAD. etc. What I consider most about alternate tunings is being able to cover as many musical genres as possible. I 've ended to-> Standard & Variations (etc single or double dropped D), DADGAD, DADFAD, CGCGCE. Out of open Major tunings the most common is Open G aka Spanish DGDGBD besides blues/ folk/ country/ rnr even used in traditional instruments such the spanish and the melodic 7-string Russian guitar, then DADF#AD (plus the aforementioned CGCGCE, great for covering Videogame and movie themes at times in the key of C). Some specialties are EAEABE (Celtic tone up), EADEBE, DADAAD (great for droning & soloing, sliding etc), EADGCF (All-4ths), DADGCF (All-4ths variant), CGCGCD. I have only taken under consideration alternate tunings that apply well to normal gauge strings without the risk of string snapping or pushing the neck too hard. I hope this is of some help and doesn't disencourage anybody from trying any alternate tuning out! P.S. I forgot to mention a couple of legendary DADGAD players- Rory Gallagher & Jimmy Page, Jimmy Page & Rory Gallagher. Not to mention the countless Irish or American Folk Folks, as well as the Balkans ones! There are also all those great modern or older Dark Blues & Country fellows playing the atmospheric Skip James Tuning. Cheers!
If anyone’s just exploring alt tunings, here’s some easy tunings that add nice flavour to the chords ( and can save you effort on barre chords): EADGBD, EADGAD, EADGCE
Good video, but missed opportunity. If you're gonna talk about Joni Mitchell, I have trouble understanding associating her with a very generic, widely used open D tuning, rather than her most distinctive and most interestingly useful tuning, in Coyote for example: C G D F C E. It's amazing and rich and forces a person to think and hear differently.
John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Leo Kottke, these are the people you should be talking about in a video like this. As far as I can tell john fahey invented open C tuning and was the first to record a song in this tuning. The Skip James was a good addition though, open minor tunings are some of the best, especially on twelve stings.
How long ago was"Questions" by The Bloody Moos , sorry , the Moody Blues ? Justin Haywood played it on a huge 12-string tuned to open C . Probably mid-to-late '60s
Leftienige Blank I don’t know about that, but John was recording songs with open C tuning as early as 1958, I still have yet to find an earlier example of its use. At this point I’m convinced John either conceived of it alone or found out about it while searching for old records and musicians in the American south. Definitely a great tuning for 12 string though, I keep mine in it most of the time. Thanks for your input!
Fun Vid. I love exploring open tunings. Got started chasing them trying to learn a bunch of Lindsey Buckingham songs. My current favorite is an open Amaj7sus4 that I bumped into on someone's TH-cam channel. Other artists well worth checking out that I'd recommend are Michael Hedges and virtually anything from the Slack Key Hawaiian masters!! What Fun!
if you're tuning down to open c get some heavier strings. more tension will remove the rattling of the strings. for nst, you'll need a specific set of strings, i believe there is a list on wikipedia for what gauges you need to buy for each string to properly tune. for both, after getting the right string gauge you'll have to do a proper set up of the truss rod and intonate the bridge saddles (acoustics typically can't adjust bridge saddles so you may need a new bridge if it sounds too out of tune)
@@navvmalav I'm aware of the different string gauges. I'm wondering what else can or needs to be done to accomplish a proper sound without hurting my instruments (my acoustic has 13-56 and doesn't have a truss adjustment, we may just not tune to c)
I think probably some form of reinforcing the neck, you could also in theory fork out a lotta money for a legit Guitar Ensemble Course as well as a custom Guitar Craft acoustic, but it's predictably costly.
I once brought five guitsrs on tour but I had seven tunings! At least I had them in tuning 'families', similar tunings that only require changing one string.
It's nice to have something like the Roland vg-99 or later units. You can just set up different tunings on a modeled guitar patch. No guitar setup gymnastics to go through. I hear Joni used one of these so she didn't have to change guitars for every song!!! Also, I understand the modeled guitar sounds leave something to be desired, but you can just use this for experimentation till you find the tunings YOU can utilize and have another guitar setup for that.😁😎
So glad that Nick Drake was included. So under appreciated and so many beautiful songs
"What does 'Sweet Child O' Mine' sound like in the New Standard Tuning?"
King Crimson. It sounds like King Crimson.
meaning this video wont exist in a couple days
It sounds a lot different than the King James version.
Ben Bellomy Who cares?
Now we know how he got his sound. Crazy tuning and then just played all the cliches on it. Result = weirdland = King Crimson 😂
@@EpicStuffMan1000 Its still here!
The Nick Drake tuning is the “Pink moon” tuning.
I wouldn't even play any chords in that tuning...just strum the open strings all night long 🤤
As ever, Nick Drake wins the day. So magickal, even an open strum sounds sublime.
Love Nick Drake’s tunings. He also played in BEBEBE tuning for “From the Morning” and “Northern Sky”
From the morning is such a beautiful song.
he also used that tuning for time of no reply
Thanks for the inclusion of Nick Drake. A creative genius, near impossible to replicate.
Brilliant comment at the end and so very true. Put the guitar in a strange tuning and just start exploring. That’s how I started almost sixty years ago. I played for nine months in an open “A” tuning before I came across a guy who showed me what standard tuning was. I thought he was crazy. LOL
Learned in non standards, & still never use E Standard.
That’s awesome! lol BOTH of you! 😄
I started in C# standard and B standard. Just screw around until you find something good.
One of my favourite tunings is what Jimmy Page used on the Rain Song : DGCGCD
Yes!
@@stratdude83 ...and of course, Keef's Open G. Likewise Ronnie Wood with the Faces and Rich Robinson.,
@@ClichéGuevara-2814 Those are relatively common open tunings, though, along with
open E and A. Open D is pretty common (first in the video), too, especially for
disciples of Elmore James and the Delta Blues masters. But I think Joni Mitchell
used open D in unique ways.
@@larrygeetar9309 I completely agree. I think Joni should have multiple eponymous tunings.
same. very much.
Thanks so much for the nick drake, and equally thankful for the Mayfield, such a huge influence on so many great guitar players
Alternative tunings are great! So inspiring 😎👍
My fretless bass is tuned in fifths (low A, E, B, F#), my acoustic has the Nick Drake tuning, and an electric uses Fripp's New Standard Tuning but I'm at a half step lower, as that is literally a lifesaver on your high string! 🤣🤣🤣
Fifths isn't too difficult to get your head around, people have used it for ages when playing drop-D for instance 😉
I was used to it already anyway, as I also play cello and Chapman Stick...
So is there a standard Chapman stick tuning in fifths? I always heard it was guitar standard bass standard but backwards? Educate me please
This is possibly my favorite Reverb video ever. I honestly don’t remember how I got into alternate tunings (I think just fiddling with the tuning heads and growing up on so much blues 🤷🏼♂️), but I’ve found more and more of my very favorite musicians over the years have gone down this road. Keef, of course, Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell as you mention here, Richie Havens. No shortage of these sorts of pure explorers, and as Joe touches on, there’s something very *essential* (in every meaning of the word) to music in just stepping into the unknown and being led. Love it, love it, love it! 😄❤️
great video, vestapol (D maj), cross string (D min), and the Drake tunings are in my top 5 tunings.
My favorite however, is Guy Clark's tuning. Capo every string on the 2nd fret, except the low E. This allows you to play drop D structures (in E). What makes it better than drop D (besides not having to actually touch your tuning pegs), is being able to still play open G, as well as every barre chord.
Nick Drake- yes!
Also should check out Tallest Man on Earth
Sam Popkin I had the same thought. Love his alternate tunings + capo on top.
Sam Popkin I couldn't agree more to both of those statements! Have you heard his cover of Bird Flew By?
Love the tuning from The Cure’s “Open”
G-Bb-F-G-Bb-Bb
👌👌👌
I love Fripp's tuning because I come to the guitar from the piano/keyboard and it makes so much sense in terms of layout. I would have had a much easier time learning guitar had I started with new standard tuning. It would have sucked for learning other people's music, but great for exploring compositional ideas of your own (Sweet Child 'O Mine sounded hilariously like something from Larks Tongue in Aspic and not GNR). I also really liked Joni Mitchell's tuning too. BTW that Taylor sounded beautiful.
Hey Joni, put it all behind you
,
Hey Joni, now I've put it all behind me too...
Great job! Very enjoyable video! One word of caution to anyone new to open tunings. When re-tuning from open G back to standard, tighten the high E string VERY CAREFULLY! If you go too fast they break!
The Fripp tuning is a “modified” cello tuning. Lots of fun.
I'm a huge fan of the tuning John Mayer uses for "In Your Atmosphere" and "Something's Missing." For those interested, it's E B E F# B E
Thanks for that! God bless!
Andrew Weitz I’ve broken trying to tune up to that lol
Yes Joe! Always the best topics!
Pavement, Sonic youth, led Zeppelin...
+ My Bloody Valentine
Sabbath
Sonic Youth, sure...if you want the video to be three hours long
Led Zeppelin used alternate tuning
Pearl Jam & Soundgarden
I have my seven string tuned to CABBAGE
Ha! That's hilarious. How does it feel? Is it easy to navigate?
That works great for krautrock!
Good for shredding?
@@xmillion1704 hahahahahhaa
Garbage?
So good to see a decent exploration of alternate tuning . There is so much more to music than standard tuning and the same old junk played over and over, Nice work.
Great sound! That Taylor and mic sound incredible!
Bit late to this, but thanks for this. Oddly I play in open F# a lot of the time (because I sing in F#) but had no idea that Curtis Mayfield used it. Big fan of the man.
Joe. Always bringing the knowledge.
I just posted my version of "My Secret Place" by Joni - Dflat open tuning
I use a LOT of alternate tunings (mainly open tunings). But my faves are DADF#AD (Open D), DADGAD (Dadgad), CGCGCE (Open C), DADF#BE (D6/9, I think?), EADEBE (Idk if this tuning has a name, but its a tuning I picked up from Ed Sheeran), and my all time favorite, DADEAD. Idk, I just love alt tunings.
update: found a new fave: FACGCE
Wonderful. Do you have loads of music stands ?
I've been using alternate tunings for about 30 years (on acoustic), but I still picked up some helpful insights here. Very well done. Joe, consider linking up with TrueFire or a similar company to do a more extended course on this topic (yes, I'll look on the Reverb blog for more). BTW, top-quality A/V work on the part of the Reverb media team. -Tom
Great choices on Joni, Nick, and Fripp! Steven stills and lee ranaldo would be super interesting for a part 2
Also Leo Kottke
Midwest emo / math tunings
FACGCE
FACGBE
DAEABE
DAEAF#E
DADF#AD
To name a few
How about Tom Rush!!?
one i made up: DAEG#BF#
New Standard Tuning is awesome! I used it for a year and expanded my sound a lot. Then I switched a "mirror" tuning (CGDADG) and that symmetry is quite interesting too.
Thanks.....great job as I am just trying to expand my understanding. Love the Fripp tuning.
You mentioned about the need to have the guitar setup for a tuning. It would have been nice to have gotten a hint of what that might entail.
Thanks! Nice stuff.
Every guitar is a little different, so you'd want to take it to a luthier and ask them about adjusting neck tension and intonation for the string gauge and tuning. Thanks for watching!
If you all want some crazy tunings, check out Tim Collis from TTNG. Partial capos, switched G and B strings, you name it.
The weirdest tuning I’ve ever heard was from the Potent Pairings - Sonic Youth video, I still have no idea how they get those tunings but they sound awesome
I do different tunings allllll the time but I never touch Sonic Youth ones. Guaranteed string breaks o.o
@@eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeo You pretty much have to use custom string sets for those tunings.
@@eddievhfan1984 they set their guitars up specifically for those tunings
@@ph476 True, that's also important. But when you're using tuning with all 6 strings set to the same note and octave, for example, it's one helluva risk trying to tune thick strings up to that without breaking.
Kyle Tekaucic why would you even use bigger strings if they’re all gonna be tuned to the same not. Just get 6 high E or maybe use an E B G G G and tune them all to the same note so they feel a little thicker.
It's always interesting to hear people's take on new tunings at different skill levels. Nice Reverend.
love the riff in open Dm on "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" you played there momentarily... awesome song
Loved Joe's initial reaction to the Nick Drake tuning. I do the same thing.
I love these minor deviations from standard: "Am9" EACGBE and "6/9" EADF#BE
I like a variation on the open D of Joni Mitchell/Skip James: open D2 - DADEAD
Fripp's tuning makes you sound like Holdsworth without having to learn a bunch of wonky chords.
Daniel Rossen is amazing in using alternate tunings. Especially uncommon.
Joe you are great ,your demos are super interesting,the feeling that comes through is very positive and instructive!!Keep it up!!
Thank you! Thanks for watching, more on the way!
Great vid!! 3 of my very fave artists...Joni, Curtis, Fripp.
Great lesson, of course Open G by Keith Richards and Jimmy Page does so much! Stephen Stills has a couple of interesting tunings and Dylan on Blonde on Blonde did Drop C, low E string tuned to C.
I also like Alex Lifeson's tuning for the song Hope. He uses DADAAD. Very haunting and melodic. Love it.
4:05 Hard Time Killing Floor Blues :)
so much great stuff to unpack in this. thank you. this is awesome.
Joe, congrats on a really well addressed video. Very good, thank you. The Fripp tuning takes the
prize for originality, and the Nick Drake tuning sounds so different from it's kissing cousin,
DADGAD. Drake's tuning is DADGAD, but all strings down a full step from that. One way to
describe those tunings is a sus4. DADGAD is a Dsus4 open chord, and the Drake is Csus4.
Try this one - EADGBD. It's called Fake G or Reverse Drop D, also the Memphis Minnie Tuning.
It gives you the top four strings of open G while allowing you to play regular chords, power
chords and blues shuffles. If you like to drop in and out of slide using open G, this is a real
good one. I stumbled on it years ago and thought I "invented" it. Wrong! I saw Erin Harpe (Erin
Harpe and the Delta Swingers) use it and she gave me the history. Very useful.
Absolutely do more of this please. 😊
That guitar you're playing during the Curtis Mayfield part is really nice! I love the pickguard shape
Listening to Bob Dylan's "Blood on the tracks" and Joni's Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" got me into open tunings. I agree with what the guy says at the end. Forget about the theory and just explore the tuning by the sounds. If it caresses your ears, then it's good.
Joe your lessons are really great! Thank you
You got it! Thanks for watching
Thanks for sharing ! I believe you could play songs in any tuning ! Your guitar whichever you choose is like an extension of yourself as it is a veritable part of your musical life and it is obvious you have explored many uncharted journeys musically with guitar in hand through many alternate tunings ! You are an inspiration to all guitarists at any level , I can't wait to try them out ! Thanks again for waking up the guitarist that has fallen asleep in my body !
This is a tuning I stumbled upon a couple of months ago and have really enjoyed using every once in a while A#F#C#FA#C (my band plays in drop A, so this is pretty easy to get to from there)
Every time I think of open tunings I mainly think of Delta Blues guitarists like Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, and Ry Cooder, and Elmore James and Johnny Winter. But when it comes to other alternative tunings, the first person I think about that I believe could have been included is Johnny Rzeznik of The Goo Goo Dolls. Although most wouldn’t consider him a guitarist more than he is a singer-songwriter, I’ve read that a lot of his material had been recorded using many various and unorthodox guitar tunings, even their most famous song “Iris”. Another guitarist I believe should have been included is Jimmy Page. Songs like “The Rain Song”, “Kashmir”, “Traveling Riverside Blues”, “In My Time of Dying”, “Bron Yr Stomp” had utilized different and unorthodox open tunings
one alternate tuning that I like is EAEGBE, just taking the D string and tuning it up a whole step. it's not a tuning that anybody that I know plays, I just think it's a sweet one, makes sus2/add9 voicings very accessible while still making more regular voicings a breeze :+) also minor 2nds and lydian chords like C lydian (regular Cmaj shape)
Tuned to NST and damn I love it! Especially a half step down so it's B sounds awesome
I think I fell in love with the last guitar Joe used.
What is the make of that? I too am smitten!
I think it’s a Framus Idolmaker.
Thanks! It's the 5R and I'd have to eat mac and cheese for two years if I wanted one.
That’s pretty much where I’m at too...
I keep a Richie Havens and a Nick Drake tuned guitar on the ready ;)
Great video I tend to use full step down standard D tuning, and DADGAD a lot, always nice to see alternatives and hear what they sound like
The Livingroom Busker Roy Harper and Davy Graham are all over that one...can’t go wrong there!!
CGCGCD is one of my favorites to mess around with. Then again I'm a sucker for the add9/sus2 tonality.
Yes it's actually a great one!
Great upload!
You are a brave man on that guitar and your skill and understanding afford you that bravery. I'ma listen to you mo'.
Joe is such an incredible player, wow.
I would have mentioned Kevin Shields.
I keep a butterscotch Tele in open G in honor of Keith Richards.
I hope you don't forget to throw away the 6th string ( like Keith ) too, haha .
butterscotch ok?
you got a flipped neck humbucker on the neck?
Great demonstration! Thanx.
Quick question: after how many years of guitar education would you expect a student to find this useful? After just 1.5 years music school, this sounds way above my head.
I would say that it differs from student to student. But part of the point of this lesson, is that even if the language of it is above your head, it may still be worth exploring simply for the different sounds and colors you can achieve. I encourage you to keep working on whatever you are currently working on with your instrument, and at some point, take a chance on an open tuning :)
Nice video. For acoustic, I think Alex De Grassi is the king of alternative tunings.
I was actually expecting that "Sweet Child o' Mine" would magically turn into "Discipline" in the New Standard Tuning. :)
excellent demonstration, thx.
I think that open minor tuning is an excellent idea and I don't know why it isn't more common, because until today I had never given it any thought, and the more I think of it the better the idea sounds. To be able to swap between major and minor chords, and even sus chords with 1 finger and 1 or 2 frets is much easier than attempting to finger a minor chord in open major chord, because to be perfectly honest I don't know how to play a minor chord in open tuning.
I know that open minor tuning probably makes slide guitar that bit more difficult but we can't have everything can we? Besides, it's still easier than playing slide in regular tuning.
What a revelation open minor tuning is !! 😎👍
Albert Collins played exclusively in E minor tuning, from what I understand. He also
capo'd up and down so he could use that tuning in every key.
i’ve been tuning my guitar to CGDGCD it’s one of my favorites
Just love your videos Joe, everything about them
Nice! Do John Fahey and Robbie Basho next.
Definitely seconded.
Fahey mostly played in Skip's D minor tuning
I'd say you picked the best people to illustrate open turnings, Joni and Nic in particular. I use open C and open D on and off to get out of a playing rut. The other tuning that's good to try is open E, same intervals as D but somehow sounds and feels very different. Finally I have just set up a guitar with a Nashville string set which is the high six strings of a 12 string set, again this sounds very melodic. Great video and lovely playing.
Amazes me joni and nick never met shed have shagged him no doubt prob cheered him up as well
Fripp's NST uniquely makes everything SOUND orchestral,- very "pretty". Surprised it hasn't been more widely embraced by the ambient crowd, though as demonstrated, you do have to reconfigure the nut, truss rod, etc,- and use non standard string gauges.You can achieve similar effects with pedals, but it does help you to see and write in a different way.Also as indicated, not easy to adapt to standard "rock",; just seems adverse to the necessary rough edges.One of the best examples of this done successfully is , no doubt, Fripp's work on Bowie's Heroes & Scary Monsters LP's.Eye opening, unique in structure and tone( courtesy , supposedly of the rare Buzzaround Fuzz- very distinctive & nasty).Still ahead of it's time today.
Totally different world of music, but when you started to play around with the Fripp tuning (around 10:45-ish), I immediately started to hear Sampha's 'Plastic 100 c', he even had a similar tone set on his keyboard in a couple of his live performances... Love the Nick Drake inclusion, couple of really interesting ones there (also has a couple of BEBEBE-s - what!?:D), many times he uses tunings so he can create some amazing clusters (very under-utilized thing imo). However I found the Fripp one the most beautiful tuning. Loved the math-y sounding thing at 11 mins with those amazing sounding chord!
Excellent video, thank you!
awsome, beautifull, it opens doors for all of us! thanks a lot!
This is wonderful. Thank you!
DADFAE - Opeth in Ghost in Perdition
My fav
As a rule, I stick to standard tuning because it’s less confusing and requires no guitar readjustment. However as I have been building a collection lately, I am likely to keep at least one axe in an alternative tuning. Unless I hear a more tempting one, the Robert Fripp tuning is definitely up there at #1.
What is that black electric he's using for the Fripp tuning?? So beautiful.
Answered my own question: Framus!
DADGAd /Dsus4/ Celtic tuning should be mentioned as is crucial to many traditional instrument tunings around the globe, Irish (Celtic in general), Greek (or Balkan in general), Turkish, Arabic, Middle Eastern, Oriental & Eastern European traditional & folk music in all ways as well as modern up to day country & folk music, African, Afro beat etc. Being an alternate tuning player for years it's the only one I find myself still using. It is extremely balanced and derives from God Apollo's tuning of Lyre, EABE, DGAD. etc. What I consider most about alternate tunings is being able to cover as many musical genres as possible. I 've ended to-> Standard & Variations (etc single or double dropped D), DADGAD, DADFAD, CGCGCE. Out of open Major tunings the most common is Open G aka Spanish DGDGBD besides blues/ folk/ country/ rnr even used in traditional instruments such the spanish and the melodic 7-string Russian guitar, then DADF#AD (plus the aforementioned CGCGCE, great for covering Videogame and movie themes at times in the key of C). Some specialties are EAEABE (Celtic tone up), EADEBE, DADAAD (great for droning & soloing, sliding etc), EADGCF (All-4ths), DADGCF (All-4ths variant), CGCGCD. I have only taken under consideration alternate tunings that apply well to normal gauge strings without the risk of string snapping or pushing the neck too hard. I hope this is of some help and doesn't disencourage anybody from trying any alternate tuning out!
P.S. I forgot to mention a couple of legendary DADGAD players- Rory Gallagher & Jimmy Page, Jimmy Page & Rory Gallagher. Not to mention the countless Irish or American Folk Folks, as well as the Balkans ones! There are also all those great modern or older Dark Blues & Country fellows playing the atmospheric Skip James Tuning. Cheers!
If anyone’s just exploring alt tunings, here’s some easy tunings that add nice flavour to the chords ( and can save you effort on barre chords): EADGBD, EADGAD, EADGCE
dude, do a deep dive into all the alt tunings on Soundgarden's Superunknown. That should make for an hour-long video.
true story!
Such an amazing album..
;)
Good video, but missed opportunity. If you're gonna talk about Joni Mitchell, I have trouble understanding associating her with a very generic, widely used open D tuning, rather than her most distinctive and most interestingly useful tuning, in Coyote for example: C G D F C E. It's amazing and rich and forces a person to think and hear differently.
John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Leo Kottke, these are the people you should be talking about in a video like this. As far as I can tell john fahey invented open C tuning and was the first to record a song in this tuning. The Skip James was a good addition though, open minor tunings are some of the best, especially on twelve stings.
How long ago was"Questions" by The Bloody Moos , sorry , the Moody Blues ? Justin Haywood played it on a huge 12-string tuned to open C . Probably mid-to-late '60s
Leftienige Blank I don’t know about that, but John was recording songs with open C tuning as early as 1958, I still have yet to find an earlier example of its use. At this point I’m convinced John either conceived of it alone or found out about it while searching for old records and musicians in the American south. Definitely a great tuning for 12 string though, I keep mine in it most of the time. Thanks for your input!
great choices. Great video.
Never used alternative tunings but this is very cool I will explore. Would have loved to hear u explore Phil Keaggy n his tunings. Thanks
Fun Vid. I love exploring open tunings. Got started chasing them trying to learn a bunch of Lindsey Buckingham songs. My current favorite is an open Amaj7sus4 that I bumped into on someone's TH-cam channel. Other artists well worth checking out that I'd recommend are Michael Hedges and virtually anything from the Slack Key Hawaiian masters!! What Fun!
So how do we set up our guitars (electric and acoustic) for nst? Or better yet even open c tunings sound rattly and trashy on my acoustic
if you're tuning down to open c get some heavier strings. more tension will remove the rattling of the strings. for nst, you'll need a specific set of strings, i believe there is a list on wikipedia for what gauges you need to buy for each string to properly tune. for both, after getting the right string gauge you'll have to do a proper set up of the truss rod and intonate the bridge saddles (acoustics typically can't adjust bridge saddles so you may need a new bridge if it sounds too out of tune)
@@navvmalav I'm aware of the different string gauges. I'm wondering what else can or needs to be done to accomplish a proper sound without hurting my instruments (my acoustic has 13-56 and doesn't have a truss adjustment, we may just not tune to c)
I think probably some form of reinforcing the neck, you could also in theory fork out a lotta money for a legit Guitar Ensemble Course as well as a custom Guitar Craft acoustic, but it's predictably costly.
No John Fahey? Open D, Open D minor, Open G Minor, Open C were just some of the tunings he used
include Leo Kottke and Adrian Legg and Chet Atkins
I once brought five guitsrs on tour but I had seven tunings! At least I had them in tuning 'families', similar tunings that only require changing one string.
Open E and open A minor are my favorite open tunings.
Great video! Thanks.
It's nice to have something like the Roland vg-99 or later units. You can just set up different tunings on a modeled guitar patch. No guitar setup gymnastics to go through. I hear Joni used one of these so she didn't have to change guitars for every song!!! Also, I understand the modeled guitar sounds leave something to be desired, but you can just use this for experimentation till you find the tunings YOU can utilize and have another guitar setup for that.😁😎
Brilliant - dont know who you are but i like you videos about tunings a lot ❤