Joni Mitchell had 57 different open tunings. She deserves a ton of credit for alternate tunings.

@SandraBonney

2 жыл бұрын

Joni’s open tunings sound so beautiful. Inspiring me to finally have a serious go at it myself

@AnthonyMonaghan

Жыл бұрын

True....

@tonyrandazzoe8210

2 ай бұрын

No s..t

@giannibiancocircus

2 ай бұрын

Wow 57 !!!

Tony, DADGAD is also called the Celtic Tuning. It's great for Irish music and sounds beautiful when fingerpicking

awesome episode! Thank you, Tony

My intro to open tunings: - Scottish band The Corries (Roy Williamson) - Bert Jansch (and Davy Graham and John Renbourne) - Incredible String Band - Joni Mitchell - Martin Carthy - some of the blues players, promoted by Stephan Grossman - Stephan Grossman’s ragtime guitar series (which was/is just incredible for any fingerstyle guitar picker) That’s probably enough. Incidentally, my two main guitars and my bouzouki were made by a hugely unsung hero of guitar making: Roger Bucknall and his Fylde Guitars workshop. Fantastic work.

Excellent show, Tony. Awesome alternate tunings lesson.

Davy actually hitched to Morocco, but he got the idea of adapting guitar for oud/tar music from Steve Benbow a good guitarist who had seen service in north Africa in WW2.Steve had a guitar with him and played/learned from local players.It was a short step from open D tot DADGAD. The adaptation referred to early in the video is actually 'she moved through the fair' to White Summer'.

I started guitar in 1961 when I was nine years old I just turned seventy and I still play. 'Suite Judy Blue Eyes' by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young turned me on to open tunings. Also some songs by Pink Floyd gave me other ideas. To this day open 'D' and 'D' modal are favorites. I've even written a few instrumentals in open 'D.' Very cool video, thank you.

Anji by Davy Graham and Bert Janch & Misty Mountain Hop - Zeppelin. I grew up with Zeppelin - saw them once at Earl's Court Olympia London. Later I saw Rush, very influential on my early playing style and I built a Peart kind of kit. I think more drummers need to play guitar and guitarist need to learn drums - learning to help the song is so important to playing in the studio and live. I went back to Davy graham and Janch learning alternative tunings and finger picking folk styles, although both gents would call themselves British Blues artists. I think I hear a lot of them in JImmy Page and Roy Harper too.

i loved this episode! Thank you!

This episode just changed my 2021! I've known about open tunings for years but only dabbled in them. Tony, the way you showed these tunings changed my guitar into a new instrument for me, especially in relation to songwriting. Thank you!

Thank you so much for being an awesome dude and teaching us about guitar🔥

Big Yellow Taxi (in Open G) by Joni Mitchell. On a 12-string.

My introduction to alternate tunings was 'The Rain Song' by Led Zeppelin.

@daleschimpf

Жыл бұрын

Same here. What is the tuning for this song? Been a long time since I tried to play it!

Awsome info on the tunings!! I started my string journey on mountain dulcimers which now I have 9 and they are open tunings I just transferred it to the acoustic guitar! Thanks have a good week

Absolutely fantastic video! Definitely gives me a lot of tools to add to the “toolbox”. Thanks!

Initially trying to figure out Richie Havens in the 70s with vinyl on a turntable and ear-tuning (microtonally off due to the turntable speed) Later while experimenting, I tuned to DADDAD, loved the Native-American vibe, and thought it to be cosmic intervention, since my firstborn had just begun calling me Dad Dad. I composed a piece and played it publicly many times on a 12-string and always received a lot of praise for it. I was on a Michael Hedges binge. He was new to the scene at the time, and I fortuitously played a wedding gig sans rehearsal with a sax player who’d played with Hedges. I egotistically thought I had created the DADDAD tuning but ate some humble pie upon buying a guitar mag on alternate tuning and finding it in a list with “classic Stephen Stills” listed beside it. The timing was perfect, since I was mega-binging on the recently released acoustic album “Stills Alone.”

I am a British Army vetran I was in the Royal Irish Regiment from formation to 2002 when I retired we have Sevastapol on our battle honours our Ancestor Regiment the Enniskillen Fusiliers were there as were the Royal Irish Regiment 18th Regiment of foot which is not related to the present day Regiment But as that tuning was used then we in our Regimentsl folk band used Sevastapol tuning as part of our battle honours, which is fantastic

Very helpful video! Thank you.

Now that I'm learning to play "dobro", (square neck resonator), open tunings are a must. I resisted them for too long. Thanks for all the videos and cheers!

This is a great video. It and the story has been an inspiration.

Great video, I’ll get a lot of use out of this one. Thanks.

Thanks Tony for your clear, concise, informative style. I'm a rookie at the guitar, but have been a musician all of my life ( drums 48 yrs.) Peace brother !

The fact that i watched the whole video even when he gave time stamps proves how cool this video is! Thanks for this mate! ❤️

I really appreciate Danny's story. Thank you for sharing. Truly inspirational. Cheers!

Dude. This is great. Thank you.

Slide guitar. Open D. Now I've learned multiple tuning. It has expanded my music theory far beyond what I thought. Simply going down like you said strumming the scale. Love this video!

John Fahey recorded a couple of tunes in DADgad, around 1963

Great show Tony, my first experience with open tuning was Hawaiian "slack key". Keaola Beamer's first album in the 1970's.

The movie of once with Glen Hansard, its amazing how the sounds of the guitar can change so much

Funny that you mention "She Talks To Angels." About a year ago, I couldn't get that song out of my head so I looked up the music. This was shortly after your New Year's Resolution or Goals show where you mentioned exploring alternate tunings as a goal. I tuned my beater guitar and gave it a try. Gonna have to give D minor tuning a try after listening to today's show. That sounded pretty damn cool.

Very very cool tutorial thanks

Gonna check that out. Cool vid!

Romeo and Juliet by Mark Knopfler introduced me to open G tuning.

Very handy stuff, thanks.

this is frikkin awesome!

This is so good! Omsgh! I'm excited to try this! :D

Thanks for the tips on these tunings; you've removed some of the anxiety from them. As a beginner, however, I should probably focus on standard EADGAD.

@nakana_212

3 жыл бұрын

EADGBE

No mention of Bert Jansch. He really brought the DADGAD tuning into the light. It was his arrangement of "Black Waterside" that directly influenced Jimmy page when it came to him 'writing' "Black Mountainside". The two are so similar it's practically a cover version.

@maxcuthbert100

5 ай бұрын

No mention of Davy Graham !

Thank you ! You are a great teacher

This is pure gold

Pretty cool! Especially if you have fretting hand issues or injuries. You can still play single finger chords.

Only just found your page, this is the first video I have seen of yours, I've gotta say I really enjoyed watching and hearing Dani's story.. I've been dabbling for a little over a year and am still not very good, but I continue to practice for the love of guitar

Tony, this is probably the most interesting video you've made, Bravo! My experimentation started with Uriah Heep's The Wizard (dropped D) and - many years later - the Celtic traditional song, Shady Grove (DADGAD).

@andyc5392

2 жыл бұрын

Vaseline Machine Gun-Leo Kottke and The Moon Shines Bright-John Renbourn

Thank you Mhan!

Started listening to John Butler and Xavier Rudd a long time ago, which introduced me to the wonderful world of alternate tunings. I haven’t ever really stuck with it, but this video has inspired me to give it a go again. Thanks

Freaking legend you are man. JUST when i thought I couldn't be any blown away by instruments, you come along and blow my mind again while giving so much knowledge. my guitar has saved my life because for once I can create something beautiful...and it's all thanks to you Sensei. 😌

The acoustic Tuesday show has brought new meaning and excitement to Tuesdays! It doesn’t rank up there higher than Friday or the Weekend, but Tuesday is now a favorite day for guitar learning!

Great lesson/education.....thanks.....

I thought I stumbled on the DAD#FAD tuning on accident, back 4 yrs ago. My classical guitar has been stuck on that ever since. Love it!!

I was first introduced to alternate tunings listening to Mumford and Sons. “Not with Haste” was played at my wedding and I began being obsessed with the potential alternate tunings give you!

Hello Tony! Saying hello from New York here while on quarantine here :)

Great lesson. I finally got into open or alternative tunes and wished I had done it years ago. For new users, do open G first! Easiest and like a banjo. Basically, Keith Richards from Honky Tonk women through Sticky Fingers & Exile on Main Street and so on. Zeppelin also used it. Next do Open D. If you capo on second fret, you get Open E or Dylan on Blood on the Tracks. DADGAD, Led Zeppelin Going to California. Then Open E, but watch the string gage or you will break strings. Duane Allman, Derek Truck slide guitar! Ron Wood’s Stay with Me! Keith Richard used it until he moved to Open G. Stephen Stills does amazing tunings worth seeing. Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake are the masters of alternative tunings!!!

Man, that guitar sounds wonderful!

Kashmir as well in my case, cool video , thanks for sharing

Guitarist Pierre Bensusan uses DADGAD tuning all the time. It's the only tuning he uses as far as I know. Great video which has inspired me to explore some open tunings I've not used before. Thanks so much!

A couple of months ago I got myself a resonator. One of the things I always wanted to try was the old song Sleepwalk by Johnny and Santo. I soon learned that standard tuning wasn't going to do it, not at my level of playing anyway. So it wasn't long before I discovered open D tuning and and it worked! A couple of sliding barre chords and I actually sounded like I knew what I was doing!

Love open tunings, First discovered DADGAD back in the 70's learning to play Stan Rogers music. Love Nick Drake but really fell in love with open C (just straight open C) listening to the Tragically Hip's "Ahead by a Century." If you haven't listened to that tune, it makes some of the most beautiful sound I've ever heard come out of a guitar, look it up. BTW, this channel is awesome, so glad I found it.

"Stumbled upon" Led Zepellin & yeah Joni Mitchell; got into DADGAD & others including a few of my own

If you haven’t yet, would love to see an episode dedicated to Townes Van Zandt!! Love the content btw!!

My introduction to DADGAD began with the aforementioned Davy Graham and his song "Angi" - I then went on a magical mystery tour - man - of other songs by Davy and other folkies and of course there's always Jimmy Page and Frank Zappa. Danny - Brother in time, all the best to you.

Fun seeing Mark Agnesi again. I've been watching re-runs of the Johnny Cash Show - this last weekend he was playing that Grey-Burst Grammer! I'd highly recommend fellow guitar geeks checking out this older TV show (ran from ~1969-1971) - incredible list of guest stars from all genre's: Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Linda Ronstadt, Louis Armstrong, The Monkees, Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young, George Jones, Jerry Reed, Pete Seeger, and so many more.

An episode that starts quoting Nick Drake name and with a beautiful Bourgeois at screen is for me. Thanks for this very pedagogic video.

This is fantastic

“If I Laugh” by Cat Stevens. Played in Open E.

Tony, You da Man! Mahalo...

Sure Joni Mitchell offered access to alternate tunings in my music life, but David Wilcox (from Asheville, NC not Canada) really opened them up for me. Listen to Hurricane in C. He even sings songs about cars (Johnny's Camaro or Rusty Ole American Dream) and Guitar Shopping, I would love to hear a show with you two as you have similar spirits.

Coming from drop D on electric, DADGAD was a natural progression for me. Fun tidbit, when I took my son to see Casper Babypants (the lead singer and guitarist from the Presidents of the United States of America) I asked him what he tuned his 3 string guitar to and his reply was "Dad, of course." :)

dude, you make it look so easy, i get demoralized by how much i suck when i try to make something simple sound cool

This is awesome. This is about to have me lock myself in my room for hours on end.

Thanks 🤙🤙

Hea Tony. very nice thanx. i got into alt. tunings when i started playing slide, it was a must. And my lightning will be in Chicago tomorrow good luck. your friend Guy B.in Tampa.

Nice cover story on Denny, inspiring for sure. The world is a better place when that happens.

Alex De Grassi deserves an honorable mention here. He is THE master of open alternate tunings.

What got me into open tunings was messing around with the 5 string banjo. The most common tuning is open G on banjo. Open D and mountain Minor next. Realized early on that it was easy to transfer to guitar . Though I first found open D while Messing with DADGAD. Couldn’t really get my head around it. Then I decided to tune the G string to an F# and life got easy. I love finger picking in those keys. Use them most on my baritone guitar. Another tuning I use on my 6 string banjo is capo 2nd fret. GADADG. great for pickin Irish. Old time and folk tunes. Two finger chords. Fun.

My first alternate tunings were by the band Radiohead : Nice Dream, with a modified B string (EADGaE) and The Tourist with a modified D string, up to an E (EAEGBE). I didn't hear any other songs using these simple, yet great tunings.

Late to the party on this one but it was when I purchased a weissenborn guitar that I started working with alternate tuning, starting with DADGAD. Weissenborn is a lot of fun and lends itself well to alternate tunings since it is played mostly using a slide. BTW: cool pinball machine! Did you get one? My dad had a pinball machine in his house for decades. I think it was like a Happy Days one (the old TV show).

My favorite alternate tuning is sometimes called "orkney tuning," and is a sort of modified DADGAD. Low to high, it's: CGDGAD . So if you lower the two lowest strings in DADGAD, you get Orkney. Or whatever this is called. Check out Dave Evans, whose stunning arrangements of O'Carolan's beautiful harp pieces make use of this tuning. The album is "Irish Reels, Jigs, Hornpipes, and Airs." Some other guitarists are featured on this record.

Hey, Tony. Regarding alternate tunings...For me, it was Cinnamon Girl from a Decade songbook (both E's dropped to D). We're talking pre-pre-internet ;) .

I am just learning guitar. I was happy to discover OPEN G TUNING. Everything I play now sounds better. Now after watching this video I want to experiment with the other alternate tuning.

I first learned alternate tunings with Stephen Still "4+20" - it's tuned in DADDAD (I think). Side note - I never knew LZ's Rain Song was in an alternate tuning (I learned it from "Led Zeppelin Complete" songbook)! Tom Sands is AWESOME! I'm always learning something from just the offhand comments he makes. Looking forward to him making a special guitar for someone in Montana this year! BTW: He drinks Whisky (no e)!

I like this guy, wish he'd been around in 1987 when I started, instead of having to spend weeks learning stuff and driving myself around the bend. This is a good bloke to learn from, splendid stuff.

As noted by Richard Albers, Black Mountain side was a direct lift by Led Zep from Bert Jansch's version of the traditional song Blackwaterside, which he in turn learnt from Annie Briggs. Bert used DADGAD a lot, but interestingly, not for this tune, which he played in dropped D. However, his contemporary, Al Stewart, thought it was in DADGAD, learnt it in that tuning and taught it to Jimmy Page. It is a simplified imitation of Bert's version.The Bert Jansch Foundation is dedicated to Bert's music, which it furthers through grants to young musicians, workshops and transcriptions.

Tony, Nice lesson. 2 things. When talking DADGAD a good mention would be Pierre Bensusan. Second if you have a chance listen to David Wilcox, a modern Master of Alternate Tunings. PS: I love that you inspire guitarists. Keep up good work.

Mitch King Coming back Open C tuning, but I gravitate towards Open D, learning just the one alternate tuning for now

Excellently explained!! 👍👍👍 I've heard alternate tunings for a long time but simply didn't find out that's what they were - I just played by ear. Which doesn't make life easier if the guitarist you're listening to tuned his instrument completely elsewhere 🤣🤣🤣

I'd have to say "Cello Song" by Nick Drake. I've seen James Taylor do some of his own alternate tunings as well. Also, I might be incorrect, but the DADGAD I think comes from different Celtic regions, but I'm not too sure.

Love the D minor tuning ❤

Just saw your nice Video!! My song would be crosses by Jose Gonzalez. Even though i changed my acoustic guitar tuning to DADGAD, without knowing that it actually is a used tuning. I just thougt it sounds great back than and until today, my acoustic is in that tuning.

You left out open “C”. One of John Fahey’s favorites. That’s what turned me on to open tunings. Sunflower River Blues in particular.

@protinsplatt1379

3 жыл бұрын

yes missed that too

@CaptainDynamite110

3 жыл бұрын

Funeral song for Mississippi John Hurt is my personal favorite open C song!

@danbgt

3 жыл бұрын

@@CaptainDynamite110 That is one of the best. I also really like Kensington Blues by Jack Rose. The second tune I learned in open C. I hope to master it. Some day. 😂

@DaveTaste

2 жыл бұрын

Make a video then.

Peter Frampton with Penny for your thoughts was my intro musical piece with alternative tuning. and I think Wings of change. i could never figure out that song.

Davey Graham She Moved Through the Fair . He claimed that that tune and Irish Folk music got its roots from Chinese Music. I began open tuning in E to play Duane Allman . Little Martha to start. And Black Crow’s She Talks to Angels. Open G to play Stones tunes. DADGAD to play Zeppelin Kashmir. I will absolutely be trying these other tunings you display here. Very cool. Thank you. Liked and Subscribed

Two songs have gotten me into alternate tunings. Songs I love to sing and noticed how the guitar player was strumming something different: “Sweet Afton” by Nickel Creek Learned DADGAD for that one. And “Watch Over You” by Myles Kennedy/Alter Bridge A beautiful, sad song he plays in Open G tuning.

I discovered alternate tunings out of necessity, kind of. I'd play a lot late at night and never had spare strings. So every time I broke one I had to buy new strings the next day. But in order to keep on playing I tuned my guitar to a chord and play melody lines on one or two strings. At some point I tried some chord shapes and moved them around a bit. And suddenly my guitar sounded like Nick Drake. I had wondered for quite some time how he managed to create the sound that he did. Now I knew. Later I found out that there are many open tunings and that they were actually quite common in blues and folk music. I'm talking 1970's/1980's here. With no teachers around, learning this stuff was a slow proces of luck and random discoveries.

Davy Graham gettin' some rare love. I digg it! Davy really did some great stuff with DADGAD and really brought people around to that sound. But he just still seems so unknown. Led Zeppelin doesnt hurt for sure though kasmir was released in 1975. Still a few years after Davy had recorded a bunch of albums(Folk, blues and beyond in 1965, Midnight Man in 1966, large as life and twice as natural in 1968 and hatin 1969) using DADGAD all over the place on those albums. And yes there are covers all over those albums but they are also loaded with his own original stuff. Regardless, Davy doesnt often get the love and appreciation that he deserves. At least I think so. He had some personal problems that really he never overcame and it's sad because he could have even done so much more. But what we did get, when he was there and he was on, he was great and doing things many had never heard done in that way before. It shocks me how few acoustic guitar players know who Davy actually even is, theyve never even heard of him. They have heard of or know of DADGAD tuning, but theyve never heard of Davy. That's just sad, because he should absolutely be known and remembered. It's also funny how someone like Nick Drake goes from being a complete unknown to a more than well known folk guitarist because of one very short but very well placed song of his that was chosen to be in this volkswagon ad/commercial. When I saw that commercial all those years ago I went out and bought every album of his. So for me in a moment Nick Drake went from someone I had never heard of to someone I loved, who I listened to every day, who was suddenly one of my favorite acoustic artists.

Open G - was used (and is until now) on the russian seven string guitar (D2 G2 B2 D3 G3 B3 D4) developed end 18th century.

I echo the black crows “she talks to angels”....but I was too young to know how bad it was for my guitar to be tuned up to open E. That was the first time I needed a bridge repair!

LED Zeppelin definitely. Kashmir and Rain Song! Both very beautiful songs on guitar! Thanx for the video!

Thumbs up for having the balls to actually say Page 'borrowed' DADGAD, and earlier music from people like Davey Graham, Burt Jansch etc, as real musicians know the truth (ie that Page was a complete thief). Double dropped D and dropped D tunings are excellent too imo, used by John Renbourn and Bert Jansch. John Martyn used alternate tunings to great success. Nick Drake tunings are just amazing, and he also used BEBEBE too. Cosby Still & Nash also used some odd tunings, like EEEEBE for example, lovely.

@FBXL5

2 жыл бұрын

Pagey just brought this to the masses and yes he did borrow them thank goodness.

@FBXL5

2 жыл бұрын

What song did they use eeeebe on?

@DjNikGnashers

2 жыл бұрын

@@FBXL5 Suite Judy blue Eyes. It was actually EBEEEE I made a mistake. kzread.info/dash/bejne/m4d8squQp9Sfc5c.html

For me the songs that help me discover alternate tunings were She Talks to Angels and Hotel Illness by the Black Crowes.

I'm a stubborn standard tuning player of about 40 years for my own amazement mainly but double drop D and a fairly recent song by Damien Dempsey called It's All Good turned me around.

@funkyfishcloneloverofmusic3825

Жыл бұрын

Yeees, double drop D is an extremely cool sounding to. Then, one still has all the inner four strings as usual for the soloing, if any, or just regular chord shapes skipping the outer D's, in cases were they'd be harming the chord voicing