The archive contains posts about special open tuning techniques for guitar.
Are you tired of listening to out of tune guitar chords?
All open tunings are alternate tunings, but the reverse is not true. A guitarist makes an opening tuning when the guitar’s strings get tuned to a chord.
Many guitarists tune by comparing the strings to fretted notes. Others use electric tuners. This roughly brings the guitar into equal temperament. The temperament keeps the number of notes workable, but compromises the sound of the chords while doing so.
However, the guitar does not have to be tuned this way. Many guitarists tune the guitar’s strings to a chord by strumming all of the strings while turning the pegheads. Keith Richards does it this way. Likewise, Hawaiian artists, such as Keola Beamer and Ray Kane, also tune without fret references.
When tuned in this manner, the major third of the chord gets lowered when compared to equal temperament. This makes better sounding major thirds and therefore better tuned chords.
Similarly, Gerhard Kubik described how the Memphis bluesman Wolfman Belfour tuned while holding an open E chord in standard tuning. This yielded an E major chord with a lowered third.
Many guitarists find tuning the strings without fret references challenging. Therefore, in the blogs you will learn how to implement open tunings with harmonics.
Crafting tunings, such as open G and D, with harmonics yields very similar results to how Richards, Belfour, Beamer, and Kane tune. Regardless, either way sounds better than traditional tuning methods.
Moreover, tuning with harmonics trains the ear for what to listen for in a well-tuned chord. Thus, guitarists can switch to Richard’s method of tuning once they have mastered tuning with harmonics.
Some posts in this blog archive also discuss micro tuning synths and Supplemented Equal Temperament.
© 2021 Geoffrey Keith
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Have you had a hard time getting the sound of your favorite rock guitarist? Have you ever felt frustrated that the guitar sounds out of tune? In the post, “Tune Like a Rock Star,” we talked about how Keith Richards tunes his guitar without holding down any frets. Today, you will play an 80s rock guitar style that works well with this special open tuning. Read more to learn how to play like a rock star with open G tuning. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Tired of having your guitar or synth sound out of tune? “Intonation and Supplemented Equal Temperament” shows how to make them sound amazing! Estimated reading time 12 minutes.
Does your choir have pitch issues? Retune your synth to make examples of good sounding chords. After years of hearing pianos tuned to equal temperament, many singers cannot sing harmony accurately. The piano is a bad model for how well-tuned chords should sound. Read more to learn how to sing in tune with synth settings! Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Tablature creates a picture of the guitar neck. However, many LD students become confused by tab despite its visual appearance.
In other words, they become dazzled by the shimmer created by the contrast of the black and white lines of the notation. Color-coding the strings helps reduce the confusion that students experience, assisting them in effectively reading the score. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Want to train your ear to harmonize in tune? All you need is a guitar. Read more to learn how to sing in tune like an a cappella singer! Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Frustrated that the guitar’s chords don’t sound in tune? Learn to tune the blues rock open D tuning using harmonics so you can play chords in tune. You will also learn the song “Jumping Jack Flash.” Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Frustrated that the guitar sounds out of tune? Learn to tune the classic rock open G tuning using harmonics to be able to play chords in tune. You will also learn the song “Honky Tonk Women.” Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
How you tune affects how you sound. We look at how Keith Richards tunes his special open G tuning. The post includes video interviews with Keith Richards. Learn how to tune like a rock star! Estimated reading time 3 minutes.