Alternate tunings are any combination of notes that do not use standard tuning. The most common associated with the acoustic guitar are open tunings e.g. the strings are tuned to a chord. Advantages to playing in non-standard tuning include the many different chord voicings available, and removing much of the framework a guitarist typically relies on, which can benefit creativity.
In the following article we’ll cover the most common alternate tunings for acoustic guitar, how to play in each, and a couple of tools you can use so you don’t need to remember the specifics of each. While we will be mostly looking from the perspective of the acoustic guitar the chords discussed are equally applicable to the electric guitar. So, if you’ve been looking for a way to freshen up your acoustic guitar playing, dare I say it….stay tuned.
When I first started learning guitar, I was a MASSIVE Led Zeppelin fan. The raw power and sense of mystery Page, Plant, Bonham, and Jones dished up, served as a gateway drug to my eventual obsession with Soundgarden and the songwriting of Chris Cornell.
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The funny thing was, while I did learn a handful of classic Led Zeppelin songs — Stairway, Black Dog, etc. I could never really play Soundgarden.
I had trouble transposing the music (this was before the internet and free guitar tabs were a thing) and even when I had the right notes or thought I was playing the right chords something stilljust sounded off.
It wasn’t until a few years later (1994), reading an interview with Kim Thayill and Chris Cornell in Guitar World that I realized a lot of Soundgarden’s music wasn’t played in the standard E-B-G-D-A-E that I was accustomed to.No wonder, I had trouble transposing songs like the acoustic version of ‘Like Suicide’ that I had been playing around with for years by this stage.
Tuning Pegs Of An Acoustic Guitar
Seeing Cornell unplugged in a small theater many years later (2011) confirmed things further (there must have been at least 8 different acoustic guitars on stage).
Truth be told, Jimmy Page used a lot of beautiful alternate tunings as well, including on two of my favorite non-acoustic songs of all time ‘Kashmir‘ (DADGAD) and ‘When the Levee Breaks‘ (FACFAC).
Songs like ‘Black Mountain Side’ (DADGAD), the haunting ‘That’s the Way’ (Open G), and ‘Going to California’ (Double Drop D) sound otherworldly, and a large reason for this is Page’s creative use of alternate tunings.
School Of Rock
Since then, I’ve always had an interest in alternate tunings and the bands and artists that best exploited them including, but far from limited to Fleetwood Mac, Nick Drake, Soundgarden and Led Zepellin, The Black Crowes, The John Butler Trio, Leo Kottke, Simon and Garfunkel and blues icons such as Son House and Robert Johnson.
As already discussed in the introduction. An alternate tuning is any alternative to standard e.g. at least one of the string’s pitch is changed, which then changes the relationship (intervals) between the open strings. As a result, alternate tunings have helped me break out of creative ruts often and I’ve always felt there’s just something magical about them.
Standard tuning requires your guitar to be in ascending perfect 4ths aka P4 (the musical interval that spans 5 half steps of the guitar neck).
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This means every string is equal in pitch to the 5th fret of the string below it, apart from the interval between the G and B strings which is a third.
While not a perfect solution for the playability of one or the other, E-A-D-G-B-E provides a nice compromise between chords and scales.
If the guitar is tuned using all fourths e.g. the interval between the G and B string was the same as the strings above and below it, scales and single-note melodies would be a lot easier to visualize on the fretboard and as a result, more intuitive.
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Mostly because common chord shapes would require large stretches on the treble strings. Consider the C or F major chords for example, which would need to span an additional fret.
By using the third interval on the G string, stretching the hand four frets is prevented while providing the next best option for playing scales and melody.
There are additional benefits concerning the use of barre chords, with regard to the octave between the 1st and 6th strings which makes barre chords more practical. But, for the most part, the reason your guitar is the way it is to provide a compromise between playing chords and scales, instead of sacrificing the playability of one over the other.
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Incidentally, most stringed instruments are tuned to 5ths. Including the violin, however, the fretboard of a violin is smaller than a guitar, and chords are rarely used.
No. Open tunings are a subset of alternate tunings. In simple terms, they are a form of alternate tuning but an alternate tuning isn’t necessarily an open tuning.
Lastly, they also can be useful for lowering the key of the music being played e.g. for vocalists who may be struggling to hit certain notes or to reduce the amount of tension on the strings resulting in greater playability. While technically this is simply detuning , we’ll briefly touch on this approach along with the other listed benefits in the section below, starting with chords.
The Benefits Of Locking Tuners And How To Use Them
How a chord is ‘voiced’ changes its structure e.g. how it’s put together, or built. This means the notes that make up the chord can be played on different strings, either open or fretted, and in a different order.
An example of this is the open F chord. When played, the A and low E strings are skipped. A lot of the low end that gives E major and G major chords in open position their expansive, full sound are lacking which is evident if playing open F as part of a chord progression.
However, when played using an E major barre shape the root note is fretted on the low E string which adds more low end and body to the sound of the chord.
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If standard tuning represents a safe, familiar home base for our fingers on the fretboard. Alternate tunings take away a lot of that familiarity, opening up new avenues for expression, for those willing to test unfamiliar waters.
If you write original music and find yourself getting a little stale, taking away the familiar foundations of standard tuning can be a good way to break out of a songwriting rut and inject new life into your music.
Over the last few years I’ve been learning Nick Drake songs and there’s some pretty subtle tuning changes that create these very specific kinds of open auras musically. It’s difficult to write in those without sounding like that sprightly, sparkly pastoral Nick Drake thing. But it does help create new ideas in a sense when you’re sitting there. Chris CornellChord Transitions
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Another advantage to playing in an alternate tuning is the potential to unlock different shapes on the fretboard, making many chord shapes simpler to fret and transition between. This is especially the case with open and drop tunings .
This relatively small adjustment changes the structure of the chord. The root note on the low E string must then be played two frets higher on the fretboard, thus making it possible for mediocre guitarists everywhere to play power chords using just one finger and transition between chords easily.
If you consider slide guitar and the limitations with regard to standard chord shapes and transitioning between chords it becomes even more obvious.
Tuning Machines & Why They Matter
Another major benefit of playing in alternate tunings is the different notes available on open strings. This is especially useful if you play fingerstyle guitar for example, where the bass notes are often played to accompany a melody line on the treble strings.
Drone and pedal tone notes are played (mostly on open strings, but not always) as an underlying note accompanying a melody. The video below provides an example of this concept below.
Using alternate tunings allows different open strings to ‘drone’ that would otherwise not be possible. DADGAD for example is particularly well suited to this type of playing.
Alternate Tunings For Acoustic Guitar
Both terms have been around for hundreds of years (at least) and are often used interchangeably. Depending on whom you speak to they differ in application e.g. a pedal tone note is a repeated note used to underlie a melody. This is usually a low note that contributes to the mood of the piece. While the note may change over the course of a melody it’s essentially a home base and the musician will come back to this note repeatedly while playing other accompanying notes. A dronetechnically is held longer e.g. it sustains for much longer. Drone notes are more closely associated with Indian music along with Scottish music e.g. bagpipes.
I’ve personally played in bands where we tuned down a half step to preserve my vocals. While this approach really is just standard tuning at a lower pitch (e.g. detuning), the benefits can be great.
An example of detuning comes courtesy of Black Sabbath who tuned down a half step, to begin with before tuning down a full step later in their career.
Different Guitar Tunings Every Guitarist Should Know
While this may have also
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