Guitar Tunings

[twocorgis]

Our occasional member @alpep posted this to his Facebook page, and I think it's a good reference. I sure didn't know about the James Taylor tuning!

I'm sure our member @wileypickett can add a few to this list.

 

[davismanLV]

I play in a lot of open tunings, although I haven't been playing much at all lately. There's a video on You Tube where James Taylor talks quite a bit about how he tunes and why he tunes a certain way. Let me see if I can find it. Here we go.... this is just interesting.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Thanks!

Roy Rogers published a pamphlet with about seventy-five tunings. Fun!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

PS -

I wonder whether there's a black-on-white version somewhere.

 

[GGJaguar]

Very cool!

 

[HeyMikey]

I’m holding out for Wileypickett’s Encyclopedia of Alternate Tunings … Volume I and II. I hear he has discovered more than a few.

 

[Brad Little]

Reminds me of the flatpicker who went to a fingerstyle workshop. After he played his piece, several fingerstyle pickers came and asked him how the unusual tuning he was using was tuned. His response, "E-A-D-G-B-E."

 

[merlin6666]

I think that the James Taylor tuning is just a "sweetening" adjustment by a few cents for each string. There may be some fancy tuners that actually have this programmed.

 

[HeyMikey]

I think that the James Taylor tuning is just a "sweetening" adjustment by a few cents for each string. There may be some fancy tuners that actually have this programmed.

I generally just tune the low three strings slightly flat and it works pretty well. I think it also depends how light or heavy a touch you have.

 

[twocorgis]

PS -

I wonder whether there's a black-on-white version somewhere.

How's this?

 

[davismanLV]

How's this?

Sandy.... jeeze, you're awfully accommodating..... LMAO!!

 

[davismanLV]

My skill set limits me... but I usually do kinda flat on low (whatever) then less and less and then magically on pitch and then maybe a tiny bit lowish (tiny) bit lowish on the high one. Of course.... we need @wileypickett to chime in on this!! He's the king of this kinda stuff. If you've ever heard his music.... then WOW!!

Sorry for all the technical jargon you know?? My bad....

 

[twocorgis]

Sandy.... jeeze, you're awfully accommodating..... LMAO!!

Very simple to invert an image in Photoshop Elements. Even for somebody with feeble PS skills like me!

 

[Westerly Wood]

Dang, mine isn’t there.

 

[Maguchi]

Wow, that's a lot of tunings! I mostly stick to Standard, but occassionally dabble in Drop D, Open G or Open D. I even play slide guitar in Standard tuning.

 

[Bernie]

One tuning in the list is called 'New standard'...Have you been studying with Robert Fripp, or did you get this file from one of his pupils Sandy ?
I know the currently punky guitarist once thought a tuning he came out with was meant to become a new standard tuning, but it doesn't seem this time has happened so far (unless I missed some things)...
Then I wonder how this tuning (C-G-D-A-E-G) ended up being baptised 'New standard'...

 

[Rich Cohen]

Frankly, this many alternate tunings is impossible to tune into. I'm goin' tune out at this point! LOL.

 

[Brad Little]

In the '70s, I took a course in piano tuning and mechanics, and practiced the trade for a few years. IIRC, we were taught to "spread the fourths and shrink the fifths" in order to obtain an even temper. This is probably what some of the "sweetened" settings are for. I do know that when I transitioned from an "A" fork to an electronic tuner, it wasn't until I got a Peterson Stobo-flip and now Strobo-clip that I didn't have to tweak the tuning to my ear, and that's with the standard six string acoustic setting. May try the JT tuning on one guitar and see what it sounds like.

 

[West R Lee]

I think that the James Taylor tuning is just a "sweetening" adjustment by a few cents for each string. There may be some fancy tuners that actually have this programmed.

And I think we all, or at least many of us like the "B" string just a tad flat. I know I do. Someone once explained to me why standard tuning is a bit sharp at the B, but I don't recall the explanation. Anyone know off the top of their head? It's got something to do with string length as I recall, and is the reason for saddle compensation as I recall.

West

 

[Prince of Darkness]

And I think we all, or at least many of us like the "B" string just a tad flat. I know I do. Someone once explained to me why standard tuning is a bit sharp at the B, but I don't recall the explanation. Anyone know off the top of their hard? It's got something to do with string length as I recall, and is the reason for saddle compensation as I recall.

West

Seems a bit like this, which I have copied from the Zither-banjo website

"Why, on some makes of' zither banjos, the second fret is in two parts? The portion on which the first string is stopped being set back about a quarter of an inch. This originated, in the early days of the banjo when the note E on the first string, alternating with F and with open-string D, occurred frequently as players seldom used more than the first few frets. The keener-eared players noticed, however, that although D was perfectly in tune in the open-string G major chord, E was always sharp in the G,C,E chord in the first position. The setting back of the fret, of course, flattened the E to the right pitch and although this is not the proper remedy, one can understand why it was tried. However, this device remained in use on expensive instruments many years later, when players were using the full range of the fingerboard. To correct this a "tempered" tuning should be used: Tune the 1st string slightly flat so that when playing the open strings or barre chord the1st string will sound slightly flat but the 4.2.1.(F shape) and similar chords (where the 1st string is now only slightly sharp) will sound satisfactory. The 5th string by tuning it very slightly flat, to stop the note predominating too much every time it is played. ; However when the fourth string is tuned to D, do not flatten it to correspond to the first string but bring it exactly up to pitch."