Interesting tuning styles?

[jake-owa]

I've been screwing around a bit with drop D and a few slack key tunings and it's been tons of fun. I'm sure this has been covered but I would be interested to hear a few of your favorite unique or strange tuning schemes.

I really like this one for accoustic type pickin' and diggin'...it's called taro patch: DAGDBE. there's a few I don't know the names of but are also lots of funGCGBE, DADGAD.

Anyone have any others add? I would be really interested to know some of the tunings that Leo Kottke uses.

 

[Treeline]

Cool stuff

http://www.celticguitar.com/artists.html

http://www.frailing.com/

http://www.sover.net/~arte/celtic.html

http://www.sover.net/~arte/tunings.html

http://www.edgerhard.com/subpages/ggandt/tuning.html

http://www.guitarmusic.org/kottke/gnetwork.html

That should keep ya out of trouble for a day or two...

 

[jake-owa]

Thanks, those are some great links.

 

[philboyd studge]

A while back I got to thinking that a keyboard guy gets 10 voices and a guitar only six (or seven), but a 12 strings has potential for 12 if you tune it differently. By dropping the octave or high strings down to a fifth things get pretty interesting. The V chord has to be suspended or it sounds like a hog steppin on squash rinds.

 

[JR#97]

A few of my faves are DADGAD, DADF#AD, GBDGBD, DGDGBD, DGDGAD, DADDAD, EADEAE, shit... I could go on forever. On the steel string, alternate tunings is all I do anymore. Fingerstyle rules!

Be sure to check Treelines link to Ed Gerhard. The guy is a monster with fingerstyle. I've learned about 5 of his tunes all the way through and each one was a huge lesson and plateau for me.

 

[Christine K]

I have a couple of songs in the works in BF#D#F#C#F#. I listen to a lot of Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, and Will Ackerman (which is where the above tuning came from).

 

[Cyrokk]

Kim Thayil of Soundgarden is known for doing some really wacked out alt tunings..

Although I'm not positive on this, I think I read somewhere that "My Wave" had all.. or almost all strings tuned to the same note..

Cy

 

[zer0sig]

some tunings i've used:

dadgad (use it all the time)
cgcgce (nice open c chord tuning-i believe zeppelin used this, and it makes a great thunderous acoustic sound)
dgdgbd (open g-pretty neat, though seemingly a little less intuitive than the previous, probably because the bass note is not the fundamental in the chord)
b (every string tuned the same-i think it was all to b-now THAT was crazy stuff)
bebebe (makes thick, multi-octave chording easy)
a#ea#ea#e (like bebebe, only shifting your fingers over a string plays the SAME CHORD, just a diminished 5th off)-excellent for evil-sounding shit, and, if you're clever about it, really thick, quick-change, odd progressions)
i do drop-d on occasion (have written several songs in it), but mostly work in dadgad because of the ease of finding great-sounding partially-open chords that leave me enough fingers free to work on dexterity)

just some ideas-i've done quite a bit of experimenting-above are the ones that i would strongly consider using again.

 

[JR#97]

I have a couple of songs in the works in BF#D#F#C#F#. I listen to a lot of Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, and Will Ackerman (which is where the above tuning came from).

Post them. I'd love to hear to them. I've got quite a few Will Ackerman tunes in my repretoire. But I only know 1 Kotke, and 1 Hedges. We oughta start an alternate tuning thread in the clinic!

 

[Treeline]

We oughta start an alternate tuning thread in the clinic!

Not a bad idea...


Hey, Christine K:

Welcome aboard; I haven't run into you before. You're hailing from Mass? Check out the Jamfest threads in the Dragon's Cave - it's becoming an annual gathering of the clan with some really good music and way too much food. Coming up in Andover CT (just outside of Hartford) this August 8-11th. You're invited!

 

[snibbel]

DADGbF

 

[Christine K]

Hey, Christine K:

Welcome aboard; I haven't run into you before. You're hailing from Mass? Check out the Jamfest threads in the Dragon's Cave

Yes, and that sounds like a fun time. Possibly I could make it, though that's usually our vacation time when we do our cross country motorcycle trip (without guitar BTW ). But I will certainly keep the date in mind!

 

[Doug Quance]

Jake:

You're in the center of the universe when it comes to slack-key tuning.

When the haoles came to Hawaii, they traded guitars in lieu of currency... but the locals didn't know how to tune them. So, they tuned them to a variety of open tuned keys.

You would do well by tracking down the old timers and getting them on tape.

Gabby Pahinui was the master, rest his soul

 

[gilwe]

Just look into Joni Mitchell !

This amazing composer has done her best stuff on G and D tunings, which made me start composing myself over those ones a year or two ago
It's amazing what you can do when the guitar is tuned to a specific chord.

 

[Bass Freak]

Any cool bass tunnings?

freak

 

[jake-owa]

Hey thanks for all the tunings guys.

It's true that I live in the alternate tuning center of the universe in Hawaii but I don't know any old school Hawaiian music guys so this is a better resource for me.

I've been messing around alot with dropped D and double dropped D, those seem to be my favorites.

"Wahine" style slack key is alot of fun too it's CFCGCE.

Thanks again.

 

[badassmak]

I always found it was best to have a few guitars, tuned differently so you dont have to mess around retuning for different songs...altho I only have 3 guitars right now (dropped D, E, and Eflat)...dropped D is great to just groove on, especially if your just learnin how to sing at the same time

 

[bdbdbuck]

another link

Just happened upon this link...check it out.

http://guitar.to/folder/guitar.html

bd

 

[Even]

E...B...E...G...B...E

No question haveing a few guitars is a plus, alternate on the fly sorta sucks. This particular tuning sets me up for some real dandy harmonics and overtones when I hit pretty much any fret marker. Also found that it allows almost passable slide work (and I suck on slide) on an electric.

Sometime for shits and giggles, read the liner notes on one of phil Keaggy's albums. He lists the tunings and even the gear he uses on most individual tune. Mind you the way it reads he almost makes you feel like you can rip off the same tune just like him but alas....

 

[Even]

Speaking of Keaggy...

In the vein of alternate tunings, I have never been a fan of the capo, but I was reading how this dude will use two at once. He will cut specific notches in the higher capo to allow certain strings to ring uneffected.