alternate tuning

Why use alternate tuning or open guitar tuning?

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Alternate tunings or open guitar tunings

Using alternate tunings or open guitar tunings offers several benefits to guitar players. Some of the reasons for using these tunings include the following:

  1. New Sounds: Alternate and open tunings offer new possibilities for chord progressions, fingerings, and open tunings that can produce unique and interesting sounds.
  2. Expanded Harmonic Palette: By changing the tuning, guitar players can access new chord shapes and harmonies, providing a more comprehensive range of musical possibilities.
  3. Easier Chord Progressions: Some alternate and open tunings make it easier to play certain chord progressions and shapes, allowing guitar players to play with greater ease and fluidity.
  4. Creativity: Using alternate and open tunings can encourage creativity and experimentation for guitar players. It can also help players break out familiar playing patterns and inspire new musical ideas.
  5. Different Musical Styles: Alternate and open tunings are often associated with different musical styles and genres, such as folk, blues, jazz, and experimental rock. These tunings can help guitar players capture a particular style’s unique sound better.

Using alternate or open guitar tunings can add new dimensions to a guitarist’s playing and enhance their musical creativity.

different types of guitar tuning

There are many different types of guitar tunings, including:

  1. Standard tuning: This is the most commonly used tuning for the guitar and is based on the intervals of fourths, with some thirds. It is also known as E standard tuning: E, A, D, G, B, E.
  2. Drop D tuning: This tuning involves lowering the 6th string by to D while keeping the rest of the strings in standard tuning.
  3. Open tunings: Open tunings involve tuning the strings to specific notes to produce an open chord without needing any frets to be pressed. Examples include Open G, Open D, and Open E.
  4. Major third tuning: This tuning involves tuning the strings to third major intervals.
  5. Tritone tuning: This involves tuning the strings to tritone intervals, three whole tones.
  6. Modal tuning: Modal tuning involves tuning the strings to specific notes to create a particular musical mode, such as Dorian or Phrygian.

These are just a few of the different guitar tunings you can do. Other tunings can be used to achieve different sounds, and they can be used to play different styles of music. 

My song Here Come The Guns is performed on a guitar tuned in fifth. F.C.G.D.A.E

Robert Fripp’s new standard tuning

Robert Fripp has been associated with a unique tuning system called “New Standard Tuning,” an alternate tuning he has used in his solo work and with King Crimson. He is tuning his guitar in fifht, except for the higher string: C-G-D-A-E-G.

He uses a minor third interval between E and G because he couldn’t find a high B string that does not brake. 

Check The Hate Team for other alternative songs by Hervé Senni

guitar tuning in major third

This alternate tuning is different from the conventional standard tuning. Some guitar players who used this tuning include Robert Fripp, who developed the “New Standard Tuning,” and Pat Metheny, who used major third tuning in some of his recordings. 

guitar tuning in tritone

Guitar tuning in tritone refers to a tuning method for the strings of a guitar where the intervals between the strings are tritones. 

Conclusion

The interest in using different guitar tuning is to play differently. 

Playing traditional guitar music on any alternative tuning is much more difficult.

The music you play on those instruments must be written for them. 

It’s exciting because, whatever you do, everything possible on a conventional guitar has been done for a while now.

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herve senni

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