MYTH # 3 – “ YOU CAN FIGURE OUT THE TUNING OF A GUITAR FROM AN AUDIO RECORDING .” Sometimes . Not always . I wrote a song in DADGAD and recorded it on an album with my capo on the 3 rd fret . Later , a friend liked the song so much that he taught it to himself from the recording , and played it in standard tuning , but with a lot more fretted notes .
MYTH # 4 – “ THE TUNING DICTATES THE KEY .” Not necessarily . I actually learned a beautiful fingerstyle song by Pierre Bensusan in DADGAD while studying with him in France called “ L ’ Alchimiste ,” and that song was in DADGAD but in the keys of C and F Major … without a capo . Pretty wild .
MYTH # 5 – “ ALTERNATE TUNINGS REQUIRE A DEDICATED GUITAR .” I think it depends on how quickly you can retune . I caught Michael Hedges in concert a couple times and he had two 6-string guitars for the whole show – one he played onstage , while his technician re-tuned the other one offstage .
He must have played in upwards of two dozen tunings with just those two guitars . At my concerts and when I lead worship , I use at most , three guitars . I try to keep my guitars in neighboring tunings as well , and to plan my sets accordingly .
MYTH # 6 – “ EACH TUNING TAKES A LONG TIME TO LEARN TO PLAY IN .” Actually , once you ’ ve re-tuned , you can be creating great music in minutes . There ’ s something sweet about exploring a new tuning for the first time , and finding chord voicings that are just not possible in standard tuning or even partial capo positions .
MYTH # 7 – “ ONCE YOU RE-TUNE , YOU HAVE TO RE- LEARN THE INSTRUMENT .” As I mentioned , you don ’ t have to re-learn everything in a new tuning . Some strings , if they remain in their original pitches , can allow for some of the same figures we know , like threestring chord voicings or melodic fragments .
Some tunings are nice for specific textures , drones , or certain keys . But a new tuning doesn ’ t necessitate re-learning the entire guitar from square one .
MYTH # 8 – “ ALTERNATE TUNINGS REQUIRE SPECIAL STRING GAUGES .” If we keep the same strings proprietary to their standard locations on the guitar , I recommend medium gauge – 13 to 56 , from high to low , because a set of these strings splits the difference between the heavy gauge strings and light gauge strings .
MYTH # 9 – “ YOUR TUNINGS DRASTICALLY AFFECT YOUR COLLABORATORS ’ CHOICES .” As long as you ’ re in concert pitch and playing chords or melodies , this really doesn ’ t affect your collaborators in a major way .
You might have a little fun mystifying your bass player who thinks they know which notes you ’ re playing , especially on your low strings , but no , tunings don ’ t affect other musicians , at least not logistically . They may actually inspire your collaborators artistically , which could be really cool . Lastly …
MYTH # 10 – “ THERE ARE ONLY A LIMITED NUMBER OF ALTERNATE TUNINGS OUT THERE .” Think about my analogy of a combination lock for a moment . There are lots of possibilities , especially if there are six digits on your lock . If we were to compute each string as having a combined range of an octave ( in other words , each string could theoretically be tuned down a Perfect 5th and up a Major 3rd ), how many alternate tuning possibilities could there be on a 6-string guitar ? Answer : 2,985,984 tunings !
A six-string acoustic guitar in good shape is primed and ready for exploring alternate tunings , so I encourage you to step out and take the risk .
Who knows ? You might write an arrangement or a brand-new song in a new tuning … today . Maybe you ’ ll find a way to arrange a worship song you love , in an alternate tuning , perhaps combined with a capo across all 6 strings for the key where it works best for your voice , your band , or both . I hope you do .
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David Harsh David is a nationally touring worship leader , songwriter and performing artist . He is passionate about equipping guitarists to discover their potential . Learn more and join now at www . GuitarSuccess4U . com
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