Dropped D hints for newbie?

[MTGuru]

I use a hipshot D tuner.

Thanks for your report on the Hipshot, matt. Very interesting!

John Doyle has an instructional video for playing Irish accompaniment on the guitar and I think on the video he uses exclusively dropped D.

I've played with John once, and he can and does use several different tunings (he also plays a mean guitar-zouki). But yes, Dropped-D is definitely his signature sound.

He also tends to use a very heavy D string - actually a bronze D from an acoustic bass set. Of course, that requires a custom nut, saddle and neck setup. I've tried a slightly heavier sting, but find I'm satisfied with a standard .053 on my instrument.

Yes, the Madfortrad video is unfortunately no longer in print. But copies can be had on eBay etc.

[Feadoggie]

Yes, John uses a very heavy gauge string for the bottom D. I've heard it's a .072. I've used a .59 from a squareneck resonator set for dropped D tuning which works.

Oh, the Hipshot tuners are made in two formats: one to replace Rotomatic style and another to replace Schaller enclosed tuners. If you have Waverly or other style tuners on your guitar then you may have to drill a new hole when you install them.

Feadoggie

[robert schuler]

I don't care much for drop D but I do love open D.. That is DADF#AD, and I drop the F# to F for minor key and blues stuff. I keep one guitar always tuned to open D. The nice thing about open tuning is I can just play nothing without fretting . Three finger rolls up and down the strings and its musical... Brake away from the tyranny of standard tuning... Bob.

[Feadoggie]

I don't care much for drop D but I do love open D.. That is DADF#AD, and I drop the F# to F for minor key and blues stuff. I keep one guitar always tuned to open D. The nice thing about open tuning is I can just play nothing without fretting . Three finger rolls up and down the strings and its musical... Brake away from the tyranny of standard tuning... Bob.

Then you must be a slide man too. A fan of Blind Willie Johnson? Robert Johnson? Lyndon John...ok, that's enough. Am I right?

Yes, open D and it's sibling open E are great tunings. And frequently are used as the basis for slide guitar - both bottleneck and lap Steel styles. I keep my Weissenborn tuned in open D as well as a Spider bridge resonator. The Rolling Stones were just another bar band before open D came into their music. I could say more.

But drop D is quite useful as well.

Brake away from the tyranny of standard tuning... Bob.

I couldn't agree more except I might prefer to break away, actually.

Feadoggie

[MTGuru]

Brake away from the tyranny of standard tuning... Bob.

One could just as well say: "Break away from the tyranny of open tunings!"

I've known people to become mesmerized by the resonance of open tunings, and forget that you're supposed to play the instrument, not the other way around. The "Hey, I can noodle anything and it sounds good" syndrome is just another kind of trap. Which is not to say that open tunings can't be done very well and obviously have their place.

I don't care much for drop D but I do love open D..

The key question is: For what?

Especially if you're playing fingerstyle, open tunings can be great, offering up patterns and harmonies that you might not otherwise exploit.

But for percussive Irish backup guitar, where you're playing the instrument as a sort of hybrid drum-and-chord thingy ... well, there are reasons that Dropped-D, Standard, or DADGAD tend to be tunings of choice.

I tend to switch to Standard for hornpipes, for easier access to stride patterns and Dom7 voicings. And just listen to Andy Cutting for examples of what can be done with Standard tuning for rhythmic backup.

[fearfaoin]

I've known people to become mesmerized by the resonance of open tunings, and forget that you're supposed to play the instrument, not the other way around.

In Soviet Russia, guitar plays you!

I'd like to know more about these "Stride patterns";
your ideas are intriguing and I'd like to subscribe to
your newsletter.

[Feadoggie]

I'd like to know more about these "Stride patterns";

My understanding is that it refers to a guitarist emulating the bounce of the left hand bass lines in "Stride Piano" style as popularized by Willie 'the Lion' Smith, Fats Waller and others. The stride style bridged the ragtime and swing eras in jazz. Guy Van Duser is one player that come to mind that plays stuff in that style. Van Duser frequently plays with Billy Novick and appears on Novick's jazz whistle recordings.

For my part in this, all tunings are open tunings on the guitar. It's just a matter of how you use the open strings in voicing chords and creating melody lines.

Feadoggie

[MTGuru]

In Soviet Russia, guitar plays you!

I'd like to know more about these "Stride patterns"

Yeah, I just mean boom-chuck. Your regular old garden variety alternating basses and runs.

Standard tuning is also great for playing comp chords. Think Django Reinhardt backing Stephane Grapelli.

Many hornpipes seem to lend themselves to either or both, as well as to more I-IV-V7 harmonization than I'd use to back other tunes.

It's probably fair to call all of the above a "cheap trick". But, you know, it usually brings a smile to the face of the folks I play with. So why not?

your ideas are intriguing and I'd like to subscribe to
your newsletter.

You'll have to choose between the "Boom-Chuck Bulletin" or the "Cheap Trick Monthly". Rates upon request.

[robert schuler]

Then you must be a slide man too. A fan of Blind Willie Johnson? Robert Johnson? Lyndon John...ok, that's enough. Am I right?

Not really. Im a finger style flat picker turned finger picker. Another favorite tuning I use almost exclusively on the banjo is double C... g CGCD on guitar its CGCGCD. I use this tuning to play in C and capo up to D. Also raise the 4th string to D making CGDGCD... For playing in G and capo up to A... Bob