In a band in the mid 90’s.. We had a lead singer that could do jagger as well as jagger.. plus he knew all the words.. so I bought a custom shop tele with lace sensors and discovered tuning G .. that tele sounded so much like Keith that it opened up a whole stones set for us.. it was so much fun covering Stones and sounding like them and even looking like them with our singer.. all because of G..
oh yeah, no question, Start Me Up will catapult folk onto the dance floor. The other sure tune in the set list for dancing is Billy Jean - all about that bass line.
I wondered for 30 years what that tuning was that made it look so easy and quite frankly possible. Thank you for sharing this tip that I will use and enjoy forever! I cannot believe how easy this makes a ton of songs. I used the 2 E's to D tuning for many Neil Young songs but could not figure this tuning out to save my life! Can't thank you enough!
Thanks Jeff……..just went and cut off the sixth string of my beat up Tele, tuned it to open G per your wonderful video, put a capo on the fourth fret, and taught myself in a half-assed way Happy and Tumbling Dice, my two favorite Stones songs. Thank you for your generosity. Subscribed of course……Best wishes and thanks again.
Just as a point of interest, I cut an eraser into a block just a bit taller than the low D saddle. Then that gets pushed up under the string between the bridge and the pickup ring. So then if you happen to hit the low D it is totally muted.
Open G is rooted in old time country blues, typically they rested their right hand on the body to mute the low D and used to add rhythmic "chunks" while playing.
Really good lesson. Clear, concise and right to the point. I was also perplexed as to how Keith Richards was getting all those tones in his chording structures - until a friend showed me open-G tuning. My guitar playing has never been the same. It was like I was playing a standard guitar - then I was open-G tuned and playing a whole different instrument. Crazy!
Next time you are in a music store, pick up a 5 string banjo and treat yourself to a little Brown Sugar… Banjos are tuned to open G as well, so you kind of “are” playing a new instrument!
@@DaveGrandel I remember Keith backed Chuck Berry a few times, as well as a few more people. I would imagine in that instance he would revert back to normal e tuning ?
It’s hard to say… As said in the video, Keith plays only 5 strings instead of 6 making it pretty tough to play anything in Standard Tuning without losing the 6th string notes (pretty important “root notes” on that string…)
Another great vid. The biggest benefit I found of alt tunings is that I needed another guitar so could leave one in G tuning. Was a good excuse to buy a LP so could tune the Fender to G.
Wow! thanks man. On holiday at the mo. Not near my instruments. So I have to keep myself sane with music tutorials. So thanks for the tips. When I get back home to Yorkshire I am on that. 57 still learning.
Now I finally understand how all those guys that you mentioned were doing this. Funny as hell. It was just a trick. It sounds so big. It sounds especially good with a Les Paul, running it like you are running it. Until youtube, we did not know how to run Les Pauls like we do today. I have heard some great Les Paul tones recently, and Tele sounds too. People seem to know how to run the amp a lot better than before. Clean but with break up.
Nice video. I loved that you kept it simple and stuck to the basics, and were very thorough. That's just the kind of thing that provides the spark to get players interested, where they will sit down and then start to explore. I had a similar experience watching Irish players live and wondering "what the hell are those chords they are playing" avter talking to one after a gig, he opened the door to dadgad tuning. After playing around a little with it over the course of a few years, I left one guitar tuned to dadgad, determined to learn something. I'm still learning, but open tunings open your mind to be creative in a way you couldn't with regular tuning.
Great lesson Jeff, thanks. I was always aware that the Black Crowes were big fans of this tuning but watching your opening jam it I suddenly see / hear that Bad Co were clearly fans too. I love Mick Ralph’s playing. Very inspiring! This is a great tool to come up with new song writing ideas. Thanks. 👍👍 oh, btw, stunning Goldtop! 🤘🤘🤘
When I first heard about open G tuning. I had just bought a telecaster copy guitar from a pawnshop. It was brand new. I put $20. Down on layaway. Got it out a few weeks later. Total cost $149. I first played it in drop D tuning. For a week or so. It just didn't feel right. So I played my other guitars. Thinking I wasted my money on that telecaster. Then I found out Keith Richards played in open G tuning. Once I got it tuned in open G. I tested it out. I was blown away 😮. I couldn't stop playing that guitar. I played that guitar all night. Till 3 am. It was so much fun that I couldn't put it down. To the point that I haven't played my more expensive guitars for quite awhile.
Great stuff...thanks for unlocking that, Jeff! Yes, retuning live is a nuisance. Thankfully, with the Advent of so many really great guitars in the $300 - $400 range, anybody can afford to keep a guitar dedicated to open G if they really dig that tuning.
You are right about that Edward. I keep 2 Acoustic and 2 Electric in open Tuning. a 6 &12 string of each. They make budget Guitars so much better than back in the 1970's when I started out. I am surprised the Beatles never really did much in open tuning. Maybe Rain was. I play it in open G myself
@@TNT-km2eg long story, I’m 62. A retired session cat from LA. I retired to Tahoe in 2017 with my wife. I was first call for Taavi Mote for ten years. I’ve toured everywhere and I have thousands of hours in every room in town. And I do play slide but I’ve never studied it. This cat has a great vibe and you’re never too old to learn. I won Hollywood Hotlicks 3 years in a row in the 80s at Gazzari’s. Now I get to woodshed in areas I never was able to. I was a working musician, I never had the luxury of lessons. I began playing professionally at 15 back in ‘77. However, my ignorance is stunning in all the forms I missed along the way. I’ve only been playing jazz for 6-7 years. I missed all that when I was young. I’m a high gain player and I’ve always loved Rod Price. Best rock slide player ever. And a hell of a nice cat RIP. We even share a birthday. And I’m old AF and slide will give me old mitts a day off😊 I had to go to 8s on my strats last month😂 hope you’re good! 🤘🎸🎼
I remember often seeing guitar players proudly saying they didn't need to retune for open G Stones songs and then sounding nothing like the Keith Richards parts. It's a pain retuning to an open tuning live (you need to find some space for it because of the need to retune a couple of times to compensate for changes in pressure on the neck) but it's so worth it. Rich Robinson is another person who made fantastic use of open G - in a pretty different style to Keith. And he'd often combine slide and chording in great ways.
@@nedim_guitar That's not a small 'just'. There's cost, lugging, swift change-overs (I used to have a dual input box for this). There are pros and cons. Plus I also used Open D for slide. So... three guitars? It is a good solution. But it has a lot of downsides. For recent gigs where I'm so far only using standard and open G (which requires retuning three strings, unlike Open D) I've just been doing quick retunes. Multiple guitars can often be better but they're also an absolute pain in their own way.
Yep. Its a cracker of a tuning. Wasy to use and so creative when you spend the time on it. So many applications and styles come flying straight out of it.
Spent a lot of my youth wondering where and how they got their sound, no one ever mentioned drop tuning, I suppose they didn't know about it ether. I'm old as dirt now so it don't matter any more! If only me and my friends would have had YT back then.
Love the Rolling Stones and Keith Richards! Thank you for the really cool lesson… All the years I’ve never heard anyone explain open G the way you just explained it… Really appreciate it Jeff! Doug from Denver. I gave a like 👍 and subscribed!
I've got a little Hondo Spanish guitar that I bought at a second hand store and I also have a couple electrics but I tuned the little Hondo to open G and the sounds I get out of it even with nylon strings is astounding
Jeff, this is like you were reading my mind. Been playing Sticky Fingers on repeat and agree "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" is one of he best RnR songs ever. Been playing a lot in Open G on acoustic and also Open D (DADF#AD), which seems to be really similar. The last two moves here are definitely ones I will add to what I have been messing around with lately. THANKS!
I found out about open G tuning and the Keith Richards chord about 3 months ago and since then I've learned 4 Rolling Stones songs I started off with brown sugar I can sing it and play it at the same time I couldn't believe it every guitar player should give it a try it's very easy if you're just the average player
Yes this is definitely one to have in your arsenal. That said it is quite limited. I play a couple songs in this tuning but I need more variety in chord voicings. Good video.
I had almost the same experience you had trying to learn Stones tunes in the late 60's and 70's. Like you I read in guitar player magazine about open G tuning ...was a big ah ha moment for me.
When you play in open E you can put a capo on the 3rd fret. Then you've got the 5-string open G tuning without the low D à la Keith Richards from the 2nd to the 6th string and on top another high G on the 1st string. Check that out, this can be quite useful. Thanks for this video!
Nicely done, Jeff! Great presentation. My first exposure to open g was at a memorial service for a local musician. His son borrowed my guitar, tuned it to open g to play "Jesus Done Left Chicago," and handed it back to me without re-tuning (party foul, for sure) to standard. I tuned the guitar back to standard to finish the gig but the open g tuning had piqued my interest and a whole world of blues and rock music "opened" up!
I think Keith got the inspiration from Ry Cooder, who worked with Stones (& Jagger solo, e.g. Memo from Turner). Cooder used All open tunings, to the point that when the album session was over, Keith reportedly gave Ry a hand written note that said, "Hey Ry, here's a tuning I've found Really good.... E-A-D-G-B-E" 😊
Jimmy Page used alternate tunings for some of his songs like Kashmir, The Rain Song, Bron-Yr-Aur and others. I love playing "That's the Way" from Led Zeppelin's third album. It uses the open G tuning.
Yea but Jimmy is such a sloppy player, that's what I hear from the Zeppelin and Page Hater.Jimmy used so many alternative tunnings and it opened up so many possibilities. In my opinion Jimmy is the best all around player, electric and acoustic. So sloppy of a player he was one of the top session gutiar players before he joined up with Yardbirds.
Just a late thought. Maybe think of the "ornamentation" as a 4 to 3 AND 6 to 5 suspension / resolution. without the second note, the 6 to 5, you would probably call it a suspension.
You described my journey into open tunings, too. I have a second guitar at all my gigs, tuned to open G. Since I have to have a 2nd guitar anyway (just in case), I keep it in G so the Keef, Zep & ZZ tunes are only a guitar change away. So much straight blues, too. Or folk: think early Joni Mitchell.
@@bobgreen623 Yeah, Joni uses all sorts of stuff including DADGAD, as you said. Jimmy Page used a lot of alternates - like DADGAD - as well as some very odd bespoke tunings, too. Alternate tunings are such a rich vein of inspiring sounds. As a really good folky said at a gig as she was retuning, if you're bored with your playing and think you need a new guitar, you don't. You probably just need a new tuning. ;-)
How did open G tuning work out for you. I bet you had a blast an love playing in open G . Let me know what you think or how you feel about open G tuning.
This was perfect! Finally, after watching your video, I had an aha moment. I love open G I’ve been practicing slides, but I just didn’t know what I was doing really. I was playing those chords you were playing with a slide no problem and I was discovering on my own some picking areas, but this really helps me see a different side of it when it comes to picking and strumming it open G. Thank you! Thank you.
say the 'S' word my brother... many of the 'ornaments' (which it can surely be) - is most commonly referred to as a SUSPENDED chord... BUT?... we're BOTH correct. THAT?... is the best!
Ha! That’s funny! But honestly I don’t hear them all as sus chords actually! I hear it as a slash chord. C Sus is CFG. I see the first embellishment for example as F/C. So that is a F chord with C in the bass, CFA or F in the second inversion. C sus has no A in it. So I hear it as F/C, to technically not a sus. I’m definitely not trying to be snarky. It’s an awesome comment that I wanted to clarify! 🙌🏻🙌🏻
You just gotcha another fan Jeff, shame I've got three Strats coz I love that beefy tone bro...Your hitting us with all that great Brit-Rock sound Jeff and thanks for some great info.
Great video. Open G is so simple it's genius. All those Stone tunes, and the Crowes borrowed so heavily and disguised by detuning a little as well. So much fun, so easy, made the Stones how much $$?? Ridiculous really...
I was puzzeled also though l became a hit at parties in college because most people had never heard of it either😅 and l could play the second side of Zep lll which was big with the girls at the time
This is great! What do you do next? Outside of doing a bunch of stones stuff what else can you do with this tuning? I saw Rhett Shulls video about open G from ages ago and he seemed like he could get some really amazing modern guitar sounds out of the tuning but I don’t know how he does it (or how you get that modern pop guitar sound) and I’d love to learn how! Thank you once again and I can’t wait to start messing with this tuning more!
I was fortunate to score a front row ticket to a Stones concert a few years ago. When Keith brought out an acoustic and played Wild Horses, I thought, hell, his guitar tech broke or forgot the 6th string. But Keith just played like he didn't care - how cool! But, of course now it all makes sense, and even I can sometimes hack my way through a few songs. Big thanks.
Hi Jeff, Great video! Just a heads up... the wall in your background slightly to your left at head level, needs painting badly! It keeps drawing my attention to the wall, wondering 'What the heck's going on with your paint & prep?' A little painter's tip is to use a light sitting directly on the wall but face it off to the side, left or right. You'll see all the discrepancies in the wall before adding mud or paint, and it'll help give you a perfect finish to your wall. Keep on rockin'!
Really? Come on man. Original plaster wall from 1892 not some drywall so not nearly as simple a fix as you suggest. Massive light in front of me that will show up anything and everything in 4K. That is new paint but you never plan or anticipate what professional lighting can show. It is what it is unless you want to donate to have that wall professionally re-plastered and repainted I can setup a go fund me! 😉
@@JeffMcErlain to add to that I’m from the UK so maybe we have a different view on Ron Wood. ( who is of course also great like KR ) I liked your 4th position as well, never thought of that. By the way a great LP sound you have. I also use the open G to play Bad Company’s “Can’t Get Enough”. Apparently it’s what Nick Ralph’s used for that song.
I was just thinking about how cool open G was and easy to make sound awesome. Start Me Up just doesn’t sound the same in standard. In open G it’s magical.
I have been playing guitar for 45 years and never ventured into “open tuning”. I have down tuned guitars for vocal purposes. Thank you for making this video and your easy to follow advice. I will be trying this with one of my guitars. Will be handy for slide too. Liked and subscribed 😊
Ry Cooder is the one who taught Keith Richards the different tunings. If you watch CROSSROADS with Joe Seneca and Ralph Machio, you can hear Ry Cooder and Steve Vie playing a tune they both put together for the amazing end of the movie.
You can thank Don Everly, of Everly Brothers' fame, for turning Keith Richards on to the G-Tuning. Don used it on the Everly Brothers' first hit, "Bye, Bye, Love", when he played that classic intro. He also used it on "Wake Up, Little Susie", and several others.
This also sounds like Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" A lot of the songs I like by Blackberry Smoke are open G, I'm going to give it a try tomorrow. Thanks bud.
Tumbling' Dice is the big one for me -- check out the other Keith - Keith Urban, Jimmy Fallon Tumblin' Dice live - 2nd guitar player in open G, K Richard's signature lick through the breakdown "you got to roll me " is one of his finest Open G riffs, strap capo on 4th fret (key of B). Urban Developments Episode 54 (this TV station) offers the rehearsal. Jeff nicely lays out all the math for you - yeah Lydian mode - I would only add, to play Keith slide into greasy, or even sloppy
Thanks, Jeff! I immediately heard a Small Faces tune (or two) in your presentation. Small wonder, since the Stones' Ron Wood was a Faces former member.
In the 70s i was unaware that there were any other tunings we didn’t have videos until 1980 or so then i was totally confused be this trickery. Until I bought a guitar player magazine with the Stones on the cover i wish i still had that issue
Dude this was a huge eye opener but even if you saw them in a book doesnt mean youd know what they truely were meant for I was a beginner in the guitar having trouble in E tunning let alone these other open tunnings. We did what we could with what we had which normally was just one guitar. And didnt wanna mess up our tunning pegs by constantly retunning our guitars especially if its like that gold top les paul delux you got I had the new seventies version $680 bucks with a hard shell case at the time. I worked my ass off to get that guitar and a 50 Watt plexi Marshal amp was about $1100 bucks w no master volume and had 6 -10" celestions for the bottom before that I had a VOX stack. But I think it was a solid state as it didnt sound real good.
I always tune the bottom E unison to the fifth string G to give a thicker bass tone especially if using a telecaster
I like to put it in D because it makes for cool little bass lines. Sometimes I just wanna rip it off there, though. Lol
yes! can't you hear me knockin' IS one of the greatest rock and roll songs of all time!
In a band in the mid 90’s.. We had a lead singer that could do jagger as well as jagger.. plus he knew all the words.. so I bought a custom shop tele with lace sensors and discovered tuning G .. that tele sounded so much like Keith that it opened up a whole stones set for us.. it was so much fun covering Stones and sounding like them and even looking like them with our singer.. all because of G..
oh yeah, no question, Start Me Up will catapult folk onto the dance floor. The other sure tune in the set list for dancing is Billy Jean - all about that bass line.
Were you guys based in NJ by chance?
@@philipcramer940 no North East Ohio. Cover band local did bars and private parties..
I just saw a black tele set up like that today for sale
Cool 😎
I’ve viewed numerous videos on guitar ‘open tunings’. This is a darn good one! Thank you!
Can’t you hear me knocking is absolutely my favorite stones song. Agreed.
I wondered for 30 years what that tuning was that made it look so easy and quite frankly possible. Thank you for sharing this tip that I will use and enjoy forever! I cannot believe how easy this makes a ton of songs. I used the 2 E's to D tuning for many Neil Young songs but could not figure this tuning out to save my life! Can't thank you enough!
🙌🏻🙌🏻
Thanks Jeff……..just went and cut off the sixth string of my beat up Tele, tuned it to open G per your wonderful video, put a capo on the fourth fret, and taught myself in a half-assed way Happy and Tumbling Dice, my two favorite Stones songs. Thank you for your generosity. Subscribed of course……Best wishes and thanks again.
Awesome!!!
Just as a point of interest, I cut an eraser into a block just a bit taller than the low D saddle. Then that gets pushed up under the string between the bridge and the pickup ring. So then if you happen to hit the low D it is totally muted.
Cool tip, thanks.
Brilliant!
Open G is rooted in old time country blues, typically they rested their right hand on the body to mute the low D and used to add rhythmic "chunks" while playing.
Do what Keith does and remove it !!
@@jimking3288 Yeah I've got one of those as well ;)
Really good lesson. Clear, concise and right to the point. I was also perplexed as to how Keith Richards was getting all those tones in his chording structures - until a friend showed me open-G tuning. My guitar playing has never been the same. It was like I was playing a standard guitar - then I was open-G tuned and playing a whole different instrument. Crazy!
Next time you are in a music store, pick up a 5 string banjo and treat yourself to a little Brown Sugar… Banjos are tuned to open G as well, so you kind of “are” playing a new instrument!
@@DaveGrandel I remember Keith backed Chuck Berry a few times, as well as a few more people. I would imagine in that instance he would revert back to normal e tuning ?
It’s hard to say… As said in the video, Keith plays only 5 strings instead of 6 making it pretty tough to play anything in Standard Tuning without losing the 6th string notes (pretty important “root notes” on that string…)
Another great vid.
The biggest benefit I found of alt tunings is that I needed another guitar so could leave one in G tuning. Was a good excuse to buy a LP so could tune the Fender to G.
Wow! thanks man. On holiday at the mo. Not near my instruments. So I have to keep myself sane with music tutorials. So thanks for the tips. When I get back home to Yorkshire I am on that. 57 still learning.
I feel that I'm currently in the dog house I bought another guitar and wifey doesn't understand lol I'm 54 and it probably won't be my last one lol
Now I finally understand how all those guys that you mentioned were doing this. Funny as hell. It was just a trick. It sounds so big. It sounds especially good with a Les Paul, running it like you are running it. Until youtube, we did not know how to run Les Pauls like we do today. I have heard some great Les Paul tones recently, and Tele sounds too. People seem to know how to run the amp a lot better than before. Clean but with break up.
🙏🏻🙏🏻
Nice video. I loved that you kept it simple and stuck to the basics, and were very thorough. That's just the kind of thing that provides the spark to get players interested, where they will sit down and then start to explore.
I had a similar experience watching Irish players live and wondering "what the hell are those chords they are playing" avter talking to one after a gig, he opened the door to dadgad tuning. After playing around a little with it over the course of a few years, I left one guitar tuned to dadgad, determined to learn something. I'm still learning, but open tunings open your mind to be creative in a way you couldn't with regular tuning.
Thank you Tony!! I appreciate this!
As a keyboard player I'm going out and getting a guitar. You just made it easy for me. Thanks
Great lesson Jeff, thanks. I was always aware that the Black Crowes were big fans of this tuning but watching your opening jam it I suddenly see / hear that Bad Co were clearly fans too. I love Mick Ralph’s playing. Very inspiring! This is a great tool to come up with new song writing ideas. Thanks. 👍👍 oh, btw, stunning Goldtop! 🤘🤘🤘
Yeah, I instantly heard "Hotel Illness".
Faces, Crowes , didn't know about bad co. Have to listen more .
When I first heard about open G tuning. I had just bought a telecaster copy guitar from a pawnshop. It was brand new. I put $20. Down on layaway. Got it out a few weeks later. Total cost $149. I first played it in drop D tuning. For a week or so. It just didn't feel right. So I played my other guitars. Thinking I wasted my money on that telecaster. Then I found out Keith Richards played in open G tuning. Once I got it tuned in open G. I tested it out. I was blown away 😮. I couldn't stop playing that guitar. I played that guitar all night. Till 3 am. It was so much fun that I couldn't put it down. To the point that I haven't played my more expensive guitars for quite awhile.
Cool story!
Instead of lowering the low E to D, try tuning it up to G like the one next to it. It prevents hitting bum notes
I use the low D all the time, that and I’m not crazy about bringing up an E string to G. But yes you are correct it’s a good option!
Very clear teaching which makes it very easy to remember! Subscribed!
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The open chords in this tunning are Magical because they are STACKED DIFFERENT 💓✌️
Great stuff...thanks for unlocking that, Jeff! Yes, retuning live is a nuisance. Thankfully, with the Advent of so many really great guitars in the $300 - $400 range, anybody can afford to keep a guitar dedicated to open G if they really dig that tuning.
You are right about that Edward. I keep 2 Acoustic and 2 Electric in open Tuning. a 6 &12 string of each. They make budget Guitars so much better than back in the 1970's when I started out. I am surprised the Beatles never really did much in open tuning. Maybe Rain was. I play it in open G myself
Check out the Line 6 Variax guitars with open/alternate tunings all in one guitar and MORE! No need for seveal guitars tuned differently.
Good stuff bro! Thank you. I’ve played for 50 years and I’m just now picking up slide. I dig your teaching style. 🤘🎼🎸
?!?
@@TNT-km2eg long story, I’m 62. A retired session cat from LA. I retired to Tahoe in 2017 with my wife. I was first call for Taavi Mote for ten years. I’ve toured everywhere and I have thousands of hours in every room in town. And I do play slide but I’ve never studied it. This cat has a great vibe and you’re never too old to learn. I won Hollywood Hotlicks 3 years in a row in the 80s at Gazzari’s. Now I get to woodshed in areas I never was able to. I was a working musician, I never had the luxury of lessons. I began playing professionally at 15 back in ‘77. However, my ignorance is stunning in all the forms I missed along the way. I’ve only been playing jazz for 6-7 years. I missed all that when I was young. I’m a high gain player and I’ve always loved Rod Price. Best rock slide player ever. And a hell of a nice cat RIP. We even share a birthday. And I’m old AF and slide will give me old mitts a day off😊 I had to go to 8s on my strats last month😂 hope you’re good! 🤘🎸🎼
I remember often seeing guitar players proudly saying they didn't need to retune for open G Stones songs and then sounding nothing like the Keith Richards parts. It's a pain retuning to an open tuning live (you need to find some space for it because of the need to retune a couple of times to compensate for changes in pressure on the neck) but it's so worth it. Rich Robinson is another person who made fantastic use of open G - in a pretty different style to Keith. And he'd often combine slide and chording in great ways.
Doesn’t sound right unless you retune!!!
Just use different guitars for different tunings.
@@nedim_guitar touring with multiple guitars can be prohibitive!
@@nedim_guitar That's not a small 'just'. There's cost, lugging, swift change-overs (I used to have a dual input box for this). There are pros and cons. Plus I also used Open D for slide. So... three guitars? It is a good solution. But it has a lot of downsides. For recent gigs where I'm so far only using standard and open G (which requires retuning three strings, unlike Open D) I've just been doing quick retunes. Multiple guitars can often be better but they're also an absolute pain in their own way.
For sure Rich is often very overlooked with peeps often focusing on the Crowes latest 2nd guitarist. He is a brilliant & inventive player 👍
Yep. Its a cracker of a tuning. Wasy to use and so creative when you spend the time on it. So many applications and styles come flying straight out of it.
Spent a lot of my youth wondering where and how they got their sound, no one ever mentioned drop tuning, I suppose they didn't know about it ether. I'm old as dirt now so it don't matter any more! If only me and my friends would have had YT back then.
Love the Rolling Stones and Keith Richards!
Thank you for the really cool lesson… All the years I’ve never heard anyone explain open G the way you just explained it… Really appreciate it Jeff!
Doug from Denver.
I gave a like 👍 and subscribed!
🙏🏻🙏🏻
I've got a little Hondo Spanish guitar that I bought at a second hand store and I also have a couple electrics but I tuned the little Hondo to open G and the sounds I get out of it even with nylon strings is astounding
Jeff, this is like you were reading my mind. Been playing Sticky Fingers on repeat and agree "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" is one of he best RnR songs ever. Been playing a lot in Open G on acoustic and also Open D (DADF#AD), which seems to be really similar. The last two moves here are definitely ones I will add to what I have been messing around with lately. THANKS!
Great minds!!
I have found an acquostic for £18 + new string costs, might give it a try as richer sound should come out of it
Thanks so much for this great explanation of open G tuning and its relation to all those great Stones tunes!
I found out about open G tuning and the Keith Richards chord about 3 months ago and since then I've learned 4 Rolling Stones songs I started off with brown sugar I can sing it and play it at the same time I couldn't believe it every guitar player should give it a try it's very easy if you're just the average player
Use this tunning a whole lot..just love the sounds it makes.
Always worth having two (or more) guitars with both the tuning AND the change in string dia to complement the down tuning
Yes this is definitely one to have in your arsenal. That said it is quite limited. I play a couple songs in this tuning but I need more variety in chord voicings. Good video.
I had almost the same experience you had trying to learn Stones tunes in the late 60's and 70's. Like you I read in guitar player magazine about open G tuning ...was a big ah ha moment for me.
When you play in open E you can put a capo on the 3rd fret. Then you've got the 5-string open G tuning without the low D à la Keith Richards from the 2nd to the 6th string and on top another high G on the 1st string. Check that out, this can be quite useful. Thanks for this video!
Yup!
Keith removes the E string and just plays 5
Raise the B string up 1/2 step and you have a GSus4. Page used a lot. Must be something about those Brit’s!
My first time digging into open G and this is the video I clicked on. Awesome stuff, you made it easy for me. Cheers!
Glad it helped!
Nicely done, Jeff! Great presentation. My first exposure to open g was at a memorial service for a local musician. His son borrowed my guitar, tuned it to open g to play "Jesus Done Left Chicago," and handed it back to me without re-tuning (party foul, for sure) to standard. I tuned the guitar back to standard to finish the gig but the open g tuning had piqued my interest and a whole world of blues and rock music "opened" up!
I mean, the son of the guy whose memorial service it was? Probably could give that kid a pass. It’s his fathers memorial service.
@@smelltheglove2038 Truth.
Rhythm in open G is all about finding a groove and almost being percussive.
I think Keith got the inspiration from Ry Cooder, who worked with Stones (& Jagger solo, e.g. Memo from Turner). Cooder used All open tunings, to the point that when the album session was over, Keith reportedly gave Ry a hand written note that said,
"Hey Ry, here's a tuning I've found Really good....
E-A-D-G-B-E"
😊
I have heard that there is a capo that makes different tunings...
I loved your example of open tunings...
Well done. Learned a lot. Thank you.
I decided to switch it up and try my hand at open G with Start Me Up then I saw this video, thanks so much, it's a lot of fun playing in this tuning!
A few very ‘Townshend’ sounding chords in there too - and he’s also been known to dabble in what I’ve always thought of as the tuning dark arts!
Jimmy Page used alternate tunings for some of his songs like Kashmir, The Rain Song, Bron-Yr-Aur and others. I love playing "That's the Way" from Led Zeppelin's third album. It uses the open G tuning.
Yea but Jimmy is such a sloppy player, that's what I hear from the Zeppelin and Page Hater.Jimmy used so many alternative tunnings and it opened up so many possibilities. In my opinion Jimmy is the best all around player, electric and acoustic. So sloppy of a player he was one of the top session gutiar players before he joined up with Yardbirds.
Open tunings were an AHA moment for me too. Good stuff brother.
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Just a late thought. Maybe think of the "ornamentation" as a 4 to 3 AND 6 to 5 suspension / resolution. without the second note, the 6 to 5, you would probably call it a suspension.
All I hear is ron wood and I am so glad you made this video!
Believe that after all these years I just learned the right way to play Rock'n'Roll Damnation from AC/DC lol. Thank you for this video, sir. Cheers!
You described my journey into open tunings, too. I have a second guitar at all my gigs, tuned to open G. Since I have to have a 2nd guitar anyway (just in case), I keep it in G so the Keef, Zep & ZZ tunes are only a guitar change away. So much straight blues, too. Or folk: think early Joni Mitchell.
Folk/acoustic players use any number of alternate tunings, open G, D, C, DADGAD and many more. I think Joni used open D a lot.
@@bobgreen623 Yeah, Joni uses all sorts of stuff including DADGAD, as you said. Jimmy Page used a lot of alternates - like DADGAD - as well as some very odd bespoke tunings, too. Alternate tunings are such a rich vein of inspiring sounds. As a really good folky said at a gig as she was retuning, if you're bored with your playing and think you need a new guitar, you don't. You probably just need a new tuning. ;-)
Open G... Like it, love it, want more of it.
awesome video. very interesting. i tune down a whole step. not much to tune to open G. gonna have to try this out n get my stones on.🤔🍻
This was an awesome lesson. I don't know how I missed this for so long. Thanks!
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Thank you for this. I set up a keith richards beater acoustic. This lesson has sent me off into it.
You are most welcome.
45 years of playing.
Never tried any open tuning.
I will now ... how cool ... thanks man !
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Me too bud. Exactly
How did open G tuning work out for you. I bet you had a blast an love playing in open G . Let me know what you think or how you feel about open G tuning.
This was perfect! Finally, after watching your video, I had an aha moment. I love open G I’ve been practicing slides, but I just didn’t know what I was doing really. I was playing those chords you were playing with a slide no problem and I was discovering on my own some picking areas, but this really helps me see a different side of it when it comes to picking and strumming it open G. Thank you! Thank you.
say the 'S' word my brother... many of the 'ornaments' (which it can surely be) - is most commonly referred to as a SUSPENDED chord... BUT?... we're BOTH correct. THAT?... is the best!
Ha! That’s funny! But honestly I don’t hear them all as sus chords actually! I hear it as a slash chord. C Sus is CFG. I see the first embellishment for example as F/C. So that is a F chord with C in the bass, CFA or F in the second inversion. C sus has no A in it. So I hear it as F/C, to technically not a sus. I’m definitely not trying to be snarky. It’s an awesome comment that I wanted to clarify! 🙌🏻🙌🏻
You just gotcha another fan Jeff, shame I've got three Strats coz I love that beefy tone bro...Your hitting us with all that great Brit-Rock sound Jeff and thanks for some great info.
Great video. Open G is so simple it's genius. All those Stone tunes, and the Crowes borrowed so heavily and disguised by detuning a little as well. So much fun, so easy, made the Stones how much $$?? Ridiculous really...
I was puzzeled also though l became a hit at parties in college because most people had never heard of it either😅 and l could play the second side of Zep lll which was big with the girls at the time
Loved this Jeff!
This is great! What do you do next? Outside of doing a bunch of stones stuff what else can you do with this tuning? I saw Rhett Shulls video about open G from ages ago and he seemed like he could get some really amazing modern guitar sounds out of the tuning but I don’t know how he does it (or how you get that modern pop guitar sound) and I’d love to learn how!
Thank you once again and I can’t wait to start messing with this tuning more!
The hat really puts it across! Nice playing mate!
Fantastic video 🤙🏻
Great video. Very well explained.
Thank you!
I was fortunate to score a front row ticket to a Stones concert a few years ago. When Keith brought out an acoustic and played Wild Horses, I thought, hell, his guitar tech broke or forgot the 6th string. But Keith just played like he didn't care - how cool! But, of course now it all makes sense, and even I can sometimes hack my way through a few songs.
Big thanks.
You’re welcome!!
You could mute the bottom string with a little foam earplug or something. I think I'd rather have that low 5th note for bass lines, though.
Great quick take on open g tuning
Great video as always. Can’t help but hear the black crows and John cougar in that tuning.
Sooo many tunes!!
I really like this. When I get back home (working out of town) I'm gonna try this out for sure. A Keith Richard's fan always.
Excellent!!
Hi Jeff, Great video! Just a heads up... the wall in your background slightly to your left at head level, needs painting badly! It keeps drawing my attention to the wall, wondering 'What the heck's going on with your paint & prep?' A little painter's tip is to use a light sitting directly on the wall but face it off to the side, left or right. You'll see all the discrepancies in the wall before adding mud or paint, and it'll help give you a perfect finish to your wall. Keep on rockin'!
Really? Come on man. Original plaster wall from 1892 not some drywall so not nearly as simple a fix as you suggest. Massive light in front of me that will show up anything and everything in 4K. That is new paint but you never plan or anticipate what professional lighting can show. It is what it is unless you want to donate to have that wall professionally re-plastered and repainted I can setup a go fund me! 😉
Super Cool video. I always wondered how K.R. did those changes.Thanks for showing us.
Thanks for this Jeff, I would call your 3rd position the Ron Wood / Faces one as I associate that sound with them
I hear that!
@@JeffMcErlain to add to that I’m from the UK so maybe we have a different view on Ron Wood. ( who is of course also great like KR )
I liked your 4th position as well, never thought of that. By the way a great LP sound you have.
I also use the open G to play Bad Company’s “Can’t Get Enough”. Apparently it’s what Nick Ralph’s used for that song.
@@andyrose2158 I love the Faces and his bass playing with Jeff Beck. A legend!
Eric Clapton uses open G tuning for slide on his 335, which can explain how different his slide licks were from Duane Allman's on "Layla".
I was just thinking about how cool open G was and easy to make sound awesome. Start Me Up just doesn’t sound the same in standard. In open G it’s magical.
Guess I’ll be playing some Stones tunes today ..👍🏼 the right way.! Thanks Jeff..!👍🏼❤️ ..and looking forward to your slide video…
Thanks man!!
I have been playing guitar for 45 years and never ventured into “open tuning”. I have down tuned guitars for vocal purposes.
Thank you for making this video and your easy to follow advice. I will be trying this with one of my guitars. Will be handy for slide too.
Liked and subscribed 😊
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Ry Cooder is the one who taught Keith Richards the different tunings. If you watch CROSSROADS with Joe Seneca and Ralph Machio, you can hear Ry Cooder and Steve Vie playing a tune they both put together for the amazing end of the movie.
Best guitar instruction video in a long time.
Thank you!
Great stuff. Tuned my telecaster to open G in honor.
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Besides of really digging your approach for this video, your Goldtop LP just jumped up into my personal top 3 favorite guitars!!
Thanks!!
Definitely my favorite open tuning 🎵🎶
Mine too!
Watching you tune by ear blew my mind. I wish I had that.
Honestly my ear is just OK. That’s just from lots of experience and decades of playing.
Figure 4 was new for me. Nice vid. Thanks.
Jeff, the camera work + lighting make these videos AWESOME. Great job with the content - love the Keef stuff!
Thank you!!!
Try tuning low E up to G also for some other tricks/ideas/tones
Thank you for your insight, very useful!!! JJ Guitars also...
You can thank Don Everly, of Everly Brothers' fame, for turning Keith Richards on to the G-Tuning. Don used it on the Everly Brothers' first hit, "Bye, Bye, Love", when he played that classic intro. He also used it on "Wake Up, Little Susie", and several others.
This also sounds like Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting"
A lot of the songs I like by Blackberry Smoke are open G, I'm going to give it a try tomorrow. Thanks bud.
Tumbling' Dice is the big one for me -- check out the other Keith - Keith Urban, Jimmy Fallon Tumblin' Dice live - 2nd guitar player in open G, K Richard's signature lick through the breakdown "you got to roll me " is one of his finest Open G riffs, strap capo on 4th fret (key of B). Urban Developments Episode 54 (this TV station) offers the rehearsal.
Jeff nicely lays out all the math for you - yeah Lydian mode - I would only add, to play Keith slide into greasy, or even sloppy
Thanks, Jeff! I immediately heard a Small Faces tune (or two) in your presentation. Small wonder, since the Stones' Ron Wood was a Faces former member.
Oh for sure!!
Here's one to add to the open G basket! Bar your root chord, 3 frets up, bar the 3 high strings... gives you a minor if you need it!
In the 70s i was unaware that there were any other tunings we didn’t have videos until 1980 or so then i was totally confused be this trickery. Until I bought a guitar player magazine with the Stones on the cover i wish i still had that issue
Nice way of explaining everything so it makes more sense, rather than just playing it. Thanks.
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It was Ry Cooder who showed Keith Richards the Open G Tuning. Honky Tonk Women guitar tune was actually a Ry Cooder guitar expirement on notes.
Check out Kevin Borich Express playing "Going Downturn in A open
So simple with a big effect. Stoned again❤
Holy shit, been playing the 5 string banjo for years, they are open G tuned. So I'm a guitar wizard and never even knew it...
Dude this was a huge eye opener but even if you saw them in a book doesnt mean youd know what they truely were meant for I was a beginner in the guitar having trouble in E tunning let alone these other open tunnings. We did what we could with what we had which normally was just one guitar. And didnt wanna mess up our tunning pegs by constantly retunning our guitars especially if its like that gold top les paul delux you got I had the new seventies version $680 bucks with a hard shell case at the time. I worked my ass off to get that guitar and a 50 Watt plexi Marshal amp was about $1100 bucks w no master volume and had 6 -10" celestions for the bottom before that I had a VOX stack. But I think it was a solid state as it didnt sound real good.
I will definitely give this a go. Thank you.
Jeff man you have the best tone on You Tube. Love that sweet Gold Top as well. Makes me want to just plug in and have fun. Omg. Nice
Thank you!
Thank a lot for uploading. Very well explained!
You’re welcome!