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The current popularity of alternate tunings among a
segment of guitarists has been fueled by the increasing
availability of guitar tablature. The advantages of
tablature are enormous. First, complex pieces of music
can be rendered accessible to guitarists who cannot
read standard music notation. Second, tablature, with
the secret of the actual tuning displayed at the beginning
of the score, allows the guitarist only to concentrate
on where to place their fingers, not on what tone to
play.
By now, you'd probably like to get a feel for what alternate
tunings are common. We'll group these tunings into five
categories, open tunings, modal tunings, regular tunings,
instrument tunings and miscellaneous tunings.
Open Tunings
As mentioned above, open tunings create a chord when
playing all six strings. Benefits of open tunings include
unusual chordal combinations and interesting tonal clusters
by utilizing drone or sustained strings. Of course,
using a first finger bar across all six strings results
in a major chord. Slide players adore open tunings for
the ease at which they can ply their trade. Open G,
by the way, is often referred to as slack key or Hawaiian
tuning. Note that there are minor chord tunings as well.
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Open C
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C G C G C E
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Open D
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D A D F# A D
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Open D Minor
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D A D F A D
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Open G
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D G D G B D
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Modal Tunings
In a sense, modal tunings are open tunings as well.
The tuning in this instance spells a suspended chord
that includes the root, 4th note, and 5th note of the
scale. The most popular modal tuning is:
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D Modal
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D A D G A D
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G Modal
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D G D G C D
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Other modals are possible by following the same pattern
of intervals. These tunings are especially adept for
Celtic music.
Regular Tunings
In the regular tunings, the strings are tuned in the
same intervals. In these formats, a small number of
chord forms is easily transferable up and down the neck.
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Minor Third
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C D# F# A C D#
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Major Third
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C E G# C E G#
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All Fourths
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E A D G C F
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Aug Fourths
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C F# C F# C F#
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Minor Sixth
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C G# E C G# E
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Major Sixth
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C A F# D# C A
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Instrument Tunings
The instrumental tunings adopt the tuning of other string
instruments. There are lots of unique intervals, drones,
and patterns available to the adventurous guitarist.
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Balalaika
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E A D E E A
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Cittern
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C F C G C D
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Dobro
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G B D G B D
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Pentatonic
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A C D E G A
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Miscellaneous Tunings
There is a world of other tunings embraced by various
individuals. Perhaps the most common is double drop
D (DADGBD). Other tunings, like DADGBE, are favored
by Leo Kottke. David Crosby, for instance, often writes
is EBDGAD and DADDAD. Of course, there are a myriad
of resources in book form or on the web as well. The
point is that alternate tunings are only limited by
your imagination, the ability to think with a new set
of rules, and what sounds good to you.
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