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Lots of reasons; the most prevalent reason is probably so that they can keep the tune within the range of their voice. Jimi Hendrix was famous for this; tuned a half step down. Other reasons; to create a different atmosphere in the music; as in the case of Metal where instruments are down-tuned to create the darkest most aggressive sounding riffs ...

An "open tuning" is one where the open strings, when strummed, are tuned to form a chord. So an "open D tuning" is going to something along the lines of (low to high) D A D F# A D -- that's a D major chord. There are certainly more common open tunings than others but the range of open tunings available, even with a standard set of guitar strings on a ...

An additional point is that a guitar tuned a half/whole step down will be easier to play with higher action or larger gauge strings due to the less tension on the strings required to maintain the right pitch. I believe I have an interview with Stevie Ray Vaughn around here somewhere where he cites this, as well as many other reasons, as to why he played a ...

Disregarding expensive hi-tech solutions There are really only three answers, and you've covered them in your question; with some extra choices within each one: No on-stage tuning; no help The only way to achieve this is with a separate guitar for each tuning. No on-stage tuning; a helper While you're playing, the helper is preparing your guitar for the ...

If you would like to get scientific about it, the D'Addario company has a chart discussing string tension and tuning and string gauges for alternate tuning schemes. http://daddario.com/DAstringtensionguide.Page?ActiveID=2681 You can also download this PDF which explains the recommended tuning, pitches and tensions for every type and gauge of individual ...

Many alternate tunings are used to make it easier to play open chords. Another notable example is the New Standard Tuning, which has been developed by Robert Fripp. The goal here is to force yourself to find new licks/chords since none of the tunes you usually play would (easily) work on this new tuning.

Because it's cool. It's not only easier to play power chords on the low strings, it's also easier to have drones especially in D and A. And as with any more-or-less-open tuning, you have different pitches for the unfretted strings, which means a fuller tone for different notes. I think of it as a compromise between standard tuning and DADGAD.

First thing you might consider is to re-arrange some of the pieces. You're probably hesitant to do that; I'm not saying you should somehow cramp all the pieces into standard tuning, but it's quite possible that once you've tried every piece in several different tunings you will find you can at least reduce the number a little – seven is really quite ...

The only real alternative that comes to mind is Joni Mitchell's solution. She is known for many many tuning changes, and her rig, last I heard, is a Parker Fly with a MIDI bridge and MIDI box that adjusts to her tunings, so it stays in standard but it sounds like DADGAD or whatever she chooses. It sounds like a great technical solution, but also a bit ...

Your question is a question that is asked by many musicians over a range of instruments, but I think that the real question is a bit more broad than the one in the original post. I believe the real question your looking for is: "How can I make something that is unfamiliar familiar?" The answer to this is frequency. The reason why you have a difficult time ...

I like the way you've posed this question, and I think you're correct in comparing your problem to musicians who play different instruments in different keys, so I'll answer from that perspective. As jjmusicnotes alluded, it seems the problem may not be playing in different tunings so much as it is switching from one tuning to another after an extended ...

It entirely depends what you want to play. A capo is for transposing a piece up by some number of semitones, without changing the fingering. So let's look at ways to transpose those pieces without a capo -- it will often involve changing the fingering: If the piece does not contain any open strings, you don't need a capo. Just play the piece with your ...

Think of the reason you're giving names to notes: communication. So, it depends who you're communicating with, their expectations of you, and your expectations of them. When I play soprano ukulele, I think in terms of the guitar fretboard - the intervals between strings are the same as the top four strings of a guitar. So in my head, I play a guitar "D" ...

An alternative to the Parker Fly is the Line 6 Variax. They're about the price of a decent electric guitar -- not a rare one -- and give you a boatload of options. Not that I would ever presume to second guess a musical legend like Joni Mitchell.

CADG is the most common way I've heard this term used for basses. It could also refer to the drop D tuning with a low C on the bottom according to Wikipedia, in guitar context: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_c_tuning Incidentally orchestral basses fitted with a low C extention have the CADG tuning too, although with the extension no fingering changes are ...

Slide guitar is well known for alternate tunings. Usually the guitar is tuned to a standard, open chord (A is a prominent one) which makes playing open chords with the slide piece easier. Many artists will tune to a tuning that allows easier access to a suspended chord feel, which results in a more "airy" sound. See Jars of Clay (EABEBE) and Goo Goo Dolls ...

The upper four strings in open G (D G D G B D) comprise a harmonic series and offers shapes with some of the advantages of supercat's fine answer. $6 d 0.$5.2.$4.0.$3.2.$2.3.$1.4 $6 dm 0.$5.2.$4.0.$3.2.$2.3.$1.3 $6 g 0.$5.0.$4.0.$3.0.$2.0.$1.0 $6 or 0.$5.0.$4.0.$3.4.$2.3.$1.5 $6 gm 0.$5.0.$4.0.$3.3.$2.3.$1.5 $6 or 5.$5.3.$4.5.$3.3.$2.3.$1.5 Since ...

Ultimately it is subjective, and it is worth learning both the scordatura and normal versions; however, I find the scordatura version more satisfying to play, personally. One place in particular is the G-D-G chord before the start of the fugue. In scordatura, the top G can be played with an open string, so all three pitches can ring simultaneously. In ...

I like open tunings a lot, because they have a certain "flavor". Open-G is very melodic and fun to improvise on, especially with another guitarist tuned the same way. It's popular with bluegrass. Open-D is another one I used to use for slide. To me, it's not as pretty as G, but it's got more power. There's been a lot of songs written using either.

I'd try .011s. Because they're heavier than .010s, they'll have higher tension, which might be enough to compensate for tuning them down a step. But perhaps more importantly, they'll have a plain third string rather than a wound one, which will help keep the feel similar to the feel of the .010s. I've tried .012s, but the wound third string feels very ...

An oud usually has 10, 11 or 13 strings, in six or seven 'courses'. A course is a grouping of strings. The lowest is usually a single string, and the rest are doubled. For a 5 string oud, it is tuned GADGC, C being the lowest and the other 4 pairs of strings are tuned in unision in the same octave. A six course oud, or 11 string, is tuned to DGADGC, with the ...

If one is aspiring to become a good guitar player, there really is no alternative to learning to finger cleanly. On the other hand, if one wants to simply have fun playing the instrument, and play chords to back one's favorite songs, alternative tunings may reduce the level of technical proficiency required. One tuning which makes it very easy to play a ...

Especially if everyone in your ensemble follows suit, you can think of this as playing with a different reference ptich frequency. Nowadays, most tuning uses a reference pitch of A'=440Hz. You can think of down-tuning your guitar as redefining this reference pitch to be a different, lower, frequency. For example, declaring A'=415Hz is the same as down ...

The short answer is no, the tunings are not different. The soprano and concert are usually tuned the same way, with CGEA. The baritone uke is the only size that is normally tuned differently. As far as "better sounding" goes, that's a matter of personal preference. One option you might try is to use a low G string tune the G as a low G instead of the ...

Usually you start with the low string, despite the fact that we begin counting strings with the high string, and this would be D# G# C# F# B E then, which would be very similar to Stanley Jordan's tuning, EADGCF, which is exactly like standard except the strings above the major third are sharpened. "All Fourths" would be a way to express it, but I don't ...

The lower you tune your guitar, the thicker you will want the strings. 10's are probably not going to cut it for going that low. From what I heard at the music shop the other day, you want to go up a gauge for every whole step you go down, which by this formula, would mean you want 12's. Maybe 'Even Better Than Slinkys', which come ready packaged for ...

A point for dropping to Eb is that it gives you open strings which have sustain. The style of jazz accompaniment, as epitomized by Freddie Green, is closed and muted strings all over the neck, on archtop guitars that are notable for the punchy attack but minimal sustain, so the benefit you get is being on the position marker rather than off it. I don't doubt ...