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The Realm of Alternate Tunings

© Cristina Stine

Acoustic guitar is receiving new attention with the growing popularity of alternate tunings. When I was first given a guitar by my parents, they didn't know how to play, so I just tinkered around until I settled for an open chord tuning and played that way for years. My introduction to standard tuning occurred in high school when I wanted to play with my friends in their regular jams, and it wasn't until recently that I started learning chord progressions and scales. Until then my musical excursions had always been by ear, reading tablature, and closely watching others' fingerings. (For further discussion on alternate tunings, check out the article about slack key 02-16-99)

Alternate tunings have gotten a lot of media attention lately due to the success of The Goo Goo Dolls, Shawn Mullins, and others although they've been around for quite some time. Alternate tunings, open tunings, these open up a whole new world of creativity, exploration, and innovation.

Due to all this attention I would like to go over some of the songs that have captured the attention of the masses. As you adopt these new "stylings", they can be a source of inspiration. For me, I like to take parts of songs and use them as exercises. It's a thrill when these become catalysts for new songs. The song "Satellite" by Dave Matthews, for instance, originated from a funky riff he was playing as a technical exercise.

When asked about the "new" sound of his new album, Duncan Shiek recently told Acoustic Guitar World magazine it is the product of alternate tunings. Only one song in the entire album is played with standard tuning.

Shawn Mullins' "Lullaby", "Slide" by the Goo Goo Dolls, these songs have alternate tunings in common. Speaking of the Goo Goo Dolls, I find John Rzeznik, lead singer and guitarist of the band fascinating. I mean that specifically in reference to his approach to the guitar. Check out some of the radical tunings this guy has come up with:

"Name" D-A-E-A-E-E "Iris" B-D-D-D-D-D "Slide" D#-A#-D#-G#-D#-D#

New tunings present new challenges. Obviously fingering adjustments, although depending on the tuning, having an open chord allows for more freedom to add melody or bass to what you're playing. And then there's the time factor, I think a lot of us feel tied down to standard tunings because most songs we learn on the guitar are written that way. But this really shouldn't be the case, we should give ourselves all the inspiration we can find. Over the last year, I found that I had stopped experimenting. It took the music of some untiring musicians to remind me to stop restricting myself and my guitar.

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