[MUSIC]
Okay,
just a little introduction to the idea,
of some alternate tuning possibilities.
We've learned to live on this instrument,
for a few centuries, at least.
In this tuning E, A, D, G, B, E.
But there are some alternatives, and
some things that are really handy to
just get some other sounds, and
maybe generate some new directions.
And sometimes it can be really helpful
when you're just trying to make
something up, be creative.
Now throw the guitar
in a different tuning.
I should say, not trying to be creative,
but letting yourself just experience
the instrument in a different tuning
can allow for some inspiration.
And one of the things I like to do
is put the guitar into a tuning,
which is just called drop D and
there are many tuning, and
alternate tuning for the guitar.
I'm comfortable in a few of them, and
if I have more lifetimes I'll get
into even more of them I think,
but one of them I like to do is drop D.
And it's just what the name implies.
You drop the E string down to D.
So kinda like
[MUSIC]
so.
[MUSIC]
So when
you do
that.
[MUSIC]
You can kind of,
it upsets the tension balance
of the rest of the strings.
So sometimes you've gotta tweak it, a
little bit to get it to all agree in tune.
But, what's really nice is
you get this big fat D note.
[MUSIC]
All
right.
You get that kind of sound.
It can be nice for
[MUSIC].
Now, when you do that it changes
some of your fingering for
your root notes on the E string,
cuz now your E string is a D.
So you get
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make a G chord like that.
Sometimes
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on an A7 chord, if you don't play
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the low now D string, that's fine.
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Or you can play it up here
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like an A7.
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So,
that's some
stuff to
consider.
I have
[MUSIC].
All right,
get some different sounds going.
All right, but
you can take it further than that.
Let's just explore
another alternate tuning.
A lot of times, it's using slide playing,
and can be really good.
It's just called an open D tuning, and
what that is is you're just tuning
your guitar, to an open chord.
All right?
So
basically would be like
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what would that mean?
Well, what would be a D chord,
remember we're gonna go up
the ladder we have D, E,
it's got to be a whole step,
two whole steps to get to that third,
so D, E, F sharp.
All right?
F sharp, G, A.
All right.
So D, F sharp, A.
So, I'm just gonna tune my strings.
Each of them to the nearest D,
F sharp, or A.
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So we're at D.
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A is already there.
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We're at D.
All right G.
What's the closest?
It's gonna be F sharp.
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Then we've got B,
we're gonna make that B an A.
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And then E
would be
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on down to D.
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And so what ends up happening,
what's cool about open D?
If your guitar,
like this guitar likes being in open D,
because everything gets a little looser.
Now, open D would be also an alternate for
that is open E,
which would mean the exact same
relationships, the same cord voicing.
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But up a whole step in E,
if that makes sense.
Let me just make sure I've
got this in standard tuning.
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Right.
This is a really good one for playing
blues and unfortunately I don't have
a slide with me, but if I was playing,
sometimes I would play slide.
And
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all right, you get
that kind of a sound.
[MUSIC]
All right, so you have your
one chord here, very simple.
You have your four chord here and
your five chord.
Look, all you've got to do
is bar straight across,
if you want for a simple chord,
and you have these harmonics.
Right.
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All
right.
So, now you get an idea
of the sound of that.
[MUSIC]
All right, now when
you put it in open tuning,
it pretty much sends all your
knowledge [LAUGH] of the finger
board into outer space.
Because you're, for all intense and
purposes you're playing an entirely
different instrument except for the
physical part of it, generating the notes,
and getting, driving this
thing is pretty much the same.
But, now all the notes have shifted and
open strings are all different,
so the things that,
the fingerings that for
chords change around and
in a way it's a really beautiful thing,
cuz it's like sort of like it's
rebooted the whole guitar.
And sometimes that process alone can be
the catalyst for amazing discoveries.
Of little musical snippets that take you
into creating something of your own.
Or, even if you have a second guitar in
standard tuning, you can grab that and
figure out what you discover, and
then learn it on the standard tune guitar.
So, just encouraging as usual,
encouraging exploration,
openness, and open tuningness.
If you get the inkling, I say go for it.
[MUSIC]
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