Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Whoa, Has it Been this Long? So, about Standard Tuning for Guitar
Yikes! For those of you waiting with bated breath, why didn't you say something??
All is well in open-D land. Clearly there is interest in the guitar world, in the areas of:
alternate tunings
experimentation
alleviation of guitar frustration
At least that's what all the inquiries and comments tell me.
A few people seem to view my promotion of open-D as some kind of cheater's way to the guitar. I say - well, you know what I'd say. In fact, the same people may actually think there is little or no benefit to learning guitar in any other way but standard tuning. Hmmm.
Here's my thinking on the relationship between standard guitar tuning and open-D, and where I feel open-D is the best fit.
First - if you are a wizard, stop reading now, unless you want to be a wizard in another tuning too. You have been blessed, and you probably don't need Guitar-eze, or anything else to help you along in guitar. That's because you're a wizard.
For the rest of us, who from time to time, or all the time, experience difficulty playing guitar (see, I still sometimes tune back to standard tuning just to confirm that I'm inept at it), there is a simpler path. That path, I've found, is open-D tuning.
One reason I believe it's the alternate tuning of choice for beginner guitar players or frustrated guitar players is that, actually, the two tunings are fairly closely related. In fact, there is string duplication between the two:
E A D G B E standard guitar tuning
D A D F# A D open-D guitar tuning
Notice that if you want to flip back and forth between the two guitar tunings, two of your strings don't move at all. That's one aspect of the relationship. Another important one is that in standard tuning, you do have a little tiny major chord built in, among three strings - D G B - that's a G-major chord, all by itself, with all open strings (inverted unfortunately). It's there but it's nowhere near as useful as a fat, six-string open-D major.
One of the strongest things going for open-D on the other hand, from theoretical standpoint, is that the six open strings are all part of a major chord. Manipulations from this starting point actually show you why a chord becomes a chord - i.e. why a D-augmented is what it is (in the example, it's because you augmented the A to A#). Playing in open tunings like open-D is a virtual theory lesson every time out.
So how do I tie all this in?
For these categories of aspiring guitar players:
absolute beginner
frustrated novice (some playing experience or lessons)
vocalist
parents of aspiring youngster guitarist
...open-D is the perfect place to start (or start over). Easier on the fingers, easier to visualize chords and chord changes, easier to play by ear, easier (MUCH) to tune, and so on and so on. Consider open-D like a primer to the more advanced standard guitar tuning text book. It's a little like walking before you can run, or learning to read before attempting War and Peace. Keep in mind, that a lot of what you learn in open-D, can be relayed directly to standard tuning (finger strength and manipulation, and so on). That's to say nothing of the right hand (or strumming/picking hand). Keep in mind, guitar is played with two hands. Most people stumble on the chording hand side. But, there are intricacies to strumming and picking that generally are insurmountable until the chording side is figured out.
Summary: aspiring to becoming a whiz at standard guitar tuning isn't a bad thing. But it isn't the only thing. And one way to get there, especially on the four categories I listed earlier, is to start on a simpler path, to get you where you want to go eventually. For me, I've found I'm perfectly comfortable, actually, staying on the road I'm on. Oh yeah, it's not cheating, either!
All is well in open-D land. Clearly there is interest in the guitar world, in the areas of:
alternate tunings
experimentation
alleviation of guitar frustration
At least that's what all the inquiries and comments tell me.
A few people seem to view my promotion of open-D as some kind of cheater's way to the guitar. I say - well, you know what I'd say. In fact, the same people may actually think there is little or no benefit to learning guitar in any other way but standard tuning. Hmmm.
Here's my thinking on the relationship between standard guitar tuning and open-D, and where I feel open-D is the best fit.
First - if you are a wizard, stop reading now, unless you want to be a wizard in another tuning too. You have been blessed, and you probably don't need Guitar-eze, or anything else to help you along in guitar. That's because you're a wizard.
For the rest of us, who from time to time, or all the time, experience difficulty playing guitar (see, I still sometimes tune back to standard tuning just to confirm that I'm inept at it), there is a simpler path. That path, I've found, is open-D tuning.
One reason I believe it's the alternate tuning of choice for beginner guitar players or frustrated guitar players is that, actually, the two tunings are fairly closely related. In fact, there is string duplication between the two:
E A D G B E standard guitar tuning
D A D F# A D open-D guitar tuning
Notice that if you want to flip back and forth between the two guitar tunings, two of your strings don't move at all. That's one aspect of the relationship. Another important one is that in standard tuning, you do have a little tiny major chord built in, among three strings - D G B - that's a G-major chord, all by itself, with all open strings (inverted unfortunately). It's there but it's nowhere near as useful as a fat, six-string open-D major.
One of the strongest things going for open-D on the other hand, from theoretical standpoint, is that the six open strings are all part of a major chord. Manipulations from this starting point actually show you why a chord becomes a chord - i.e. why a D-augmented is what it is (in the example, it's because you augmented the A to A#). Playing in open tunings like open-D is a virtual theory lesson every time out.
So how do I tie all this in?
For these categories of aspiring guitar players:
absolute beginner
frustrated novice (some playing experience or lessons)
vocalist
parents of aspiring youngster guitarist
...open-D is the perfect place to start (or start over). Easier on the fingers, easier to visualize chords and chord changes, easier to play by ear, easier (MUCH) to tune, and so on and so on. Consider open-D like a primer to the more advanced standard guitar tuning text book. It's a little like walking before you can run, or learning to read before attempting War and Peace. Keep in mind, that a lot of what you learn in open-D, can be relayed directly to standard tuning (finger strength and manipulation, and so on). That's to say nothing of the right hand (or strumming/picking hand). Keep in mind, guitar is played with two hands. Most people stumble on the chording hand side. But, there are intricacies to strumming and picking that generally are insurmountable until the chording side is figured out.
Summary: aspiring to becoming a whiz at standard guitar tuning isn't a bad thing. But it isn't the only thing. And one way to get there, especially on the four categories I listed earlier, is to start on a simpler path, to get you where you want to go eventually. For me, I've found I'm perfectly comfortable, actually, staying on the road I'm on. Oh yeah, it's not cheating, either!
