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Post by mistermuncher on Oct 8, 2009 6:58:37 GMT -5
Since I'm working with an acoustic, I was simply looking to do slower tempos and less complicated songs. I figure that if I get it tuned just right, then that - combined with the slower pace I'd be playing at - would minimize the amount of work I'd need to do with the frets. Then I'd definitely advise an open or modal tuning of some kind."Standard" EADGBE tuning isn't massively friendly for simple fingerings of chords. It does require some fairly tight and accurate finger placement to play chords clearly (although, obviously, this becomes second nature after a time). If you were using an open tuning, you'd be able to get the major (or indeed minor, depending on your tuning) with a simple 1-finger barre across all the strings, and add embellishments with the others. It's worked for quite a while for one Mr Keith Richards. Open/Modal tunings also have the advantage of sounding deeply lovely, and have been a staple of acoustic and folk playing for aeons (as well as hallions like me using them to play stoner rock). Don't get too tied to the notions of "standard" tuning and "standard" chord fingerings. Both represent a compromise between versatility and utility. Invest a tenner in a wee chromatic tuner and try a few out, you might find something you like amongst them. Try here. The cross-note tunings in particular might be a good job.
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Post by SimSim on Oct 8, 2009 15:34:47 GMT -5
I'll second the using an open tuning. When I feel like just noodling around I'll tune to open D and just goof around.
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Post by mistermuncher on Oct 8, 2009 16:08:37 GMT -5
I tend toward DADGAD meself. Not actually an open tuning, per se, but full of lovely little nuggets of melody.
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Post by Amaranth on Oct 8, 2009 21:08:13 GMT -5
I rarely tune open since I hate retuning a 12 string, but I love open tunings.
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Post by Armand Tanzarian on Oct 10, 2009 13:20:59 GMT -5
I tend toward DADGAD meself. Not actually an open tuning, per se, but full of lovely little nuggets of melody. I go for DADFAD myself. Right now though, my guitar is tuned to Dropped B (figure that one out).
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Post by rookie on Oct 16, 2009 15:46:27 GMT -5
Don't know if this will help, but you can try the lap-style Jeff Healy thing.
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