The three-string-guitar project caused me to explore several open tunings.
I saw a Rick Beato thing about good songs that never saw the light of day. He mentioned DADGAD tuning in that segment, also known as Celtic tuning.
I started playing around with that, which produced really pleasant results.
What tunings do you use and why?
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
I tune down a half step because it is easier on my partner in crime/ vocalist.
Byron Dickens
BIAB. CbB. Mixbus 32C 8 HP Envy. Intel core i7. 16GB RAM W10. Focusrite Scarlett 18i 20. Various instruments played with varying degrees of proficiency.
I do dig the sound textures of alternate tunings....D - G6 - C, etc.
I've threatened to try an alternate tuning a few times over many years. I never took that plunge because I'm just a rhythm axe player/song writer.
My 'bread & butter' rock/roll song writing doesn't require digging into alternate tunings anyway. I wasn't enamored with learning all new chord positions either. That would just be a distraction from my song writing focus.
DADGAD Celtic, UK folk-type and "moody" fingerstyle type and what I can only call quasi-classical guitar music for lack of any label I'm aware of.
Open G (D-G-D-G-B-D) My most often used open tuning by a long shot... basic go-to tuning for all slide styles... covers most all genres This is also known as Hawaiian slack key and is the most commonly used tuning for that genre
Open D (D-A-D-F#-A-D) Very little slide, mostly fingerstyle Celtic, UK-folk style
Others, rarely used:
Drop D (D-A-D-G-B-E) Just sets up a low D drone string. Use sometimes in Celtic and UK folk-type.
C6 (C-G-C-G-A-E) slide only - use this to imitate a pedal steel (without pedals) or lap guitar limited genre for me... western swing. I don't play country music, but one could use it for that genre too I suspect.
I play the open tunings only on acoustic guitar, with two exceptions... an electric in Open G for slide blues and an electric in C6 for western swing.
LOL...I did not want to take the plunge either. I just fell off in the deep end of the pool as a result of building the three-string guitars.
It has opened my eyes to new ways of playing and sounds.
I assume some people have learned to play in Drop D because it is so popular and necessary to play certain songs.
Everything is a compromise including standard tuning.
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
I played a mandocello for awhile. My stroke came before I recorded it, however. Too bad. It was an 18" jumbo flat top and could blow down walls. It was the only stringed instrument that I could hear clearly while singing.
BIAB 2024 Audiophile Mac 24Core/60CoreGPU M2 MacStudioUltra/8TB/192GB Sequoia, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP Digital Performer11, LogicPro, Finale27/Dorico/Encore/SmartScorePro64/Notion6 /Overture5
I have never tried to play in drop D. It does make the D chord sound very good, but that is about as far as I got.
I assume part of the reason is being unfamiliar with huge hits like Radioactive by Imagine Dragons, which I guess I did not like that much.
I like What I've Done by Linkin Park but I never tried to play it.
So...drop D may be very popular with metal and other styles but there are just not enough hours in my life left to learn everything...lol
Altered tunings are something I will incorporate as time goes by. They are just more colors to paint with and make certain finger positions much less trouble to play.
Cool stuff.
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
David, did you not understand that you have to put the capo on the neck so that it presses down on the strings? Placing the capo on the strap only changes the vocals.
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
I've written in DADGAD, open Am and open Em. The open tunings are OK for easy barre chords, but what I like to do is cowboy-chord shapes and then take them further up the neck. Haven't a clue what chords I'm playing, but they can really be interesting.
The issue is remembering what tuning for what song, being so disorganized. I'm my own guitar-tech and only have one guitar.
I use Drop D and DadGad and open D major tuning a lot.
I really recommend open major and open minor chord tunings, and creating your own versions of these.
The thing to do with open tunings, in my view is to find patterns that are moveable that sound interesting to you and are different than the usual cowboy chords and cowboy licks. For example, the use of open strings which are allowed to resonate while you form a three fret chord on three of the six strings, leaving up to three of the other strings to be played open, in any order you like, is incredibly fun and can yield some really interesting textures.
There are many stringed instruments in the world that have drone strings, so why shouldn't some guitar styles involve drone strings. For any piece where the home 1 chord is your six open strings, you can spice up the 1 chord with any number of voicings of chords that are not available to any human guitarist in ordinary tunings.
This guy is doing some pretty basic stuff and I like this type of lick, but I feel like something is off in the audio recording of his guitar. Maybe it's just that it's a tiny parlour guitar and I'm playing a dreadnought sigma .... But these are the same licks I'm playing and they are positively thunderous here with my big dread.
Start with Droup D which is only one string out of standard tuning and enjoy that big fat 1 chord in your blues in D. Then go all the way to drop D and try some fingerstyle and maybe some day, some slide guitar in open D.
Last edited by Warren P; 10/16/2310:03 AM.
BIAB Mac 2024 Mac Studio 2022, M1 Max, OS Ventura 13.6
We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!
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These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!
Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
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Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
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Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
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New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
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XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
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Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Windows!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
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