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I've often wondered what guitarists are thinking about when they use alternate tunings. I'm sure if you play in one tuning long enough you can conceptualize how

I've often wondered what guitarists are thinking about when they use alternate tunings. I'm sure if you play in one tuning long enough you can conceptualize how all the notes related to chords and keys, etc. But if you frequently change tunings, when you learn a song does it just become a matter of memorizing finger patterns, or do can your brain actually figure out the mapping such that you are thinking in terms of chords and intervals?

mabub24 5y ago
A lot of guitarists have no problem with playing open tunings because they can pretty seamlessly transcribe the notes along one string to the whole tuning, like how the 2nd fret of the low D string in open D is an E note so thus a finger across the whole fret is an "E chord". It's once you get into alternate tunings that are outside the "open tuning" norm that it becomes, at least for me, memorizing finger patterns and getting fine coordination locked in. The theory gets thrown out for "what sounds good" and "hmm that sounded about right".
eyelidlessness 5y ago
For me, once I’m playing it’s almost entirely muscle memory. Writing or learning, the tuning doesn’t matter at all it’s just developing that muscle memory. The thing nonstandard tunings does for me is it gives me a base state to work from that lets me use patterns and techniques suited to it. Drop D is very good for bass-heavy fifth chord stuff. CGD--- is really good for fingerstyle techniques. Other weirder tunings like some used by Michael Hedges let you rethink whole chord relationships.
PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
Pat Metheny noted recently (0) that although he loves to use alternate tunings, he feels that it takes at least 10 years to really know your way around a given tuning, and thus changing them around impairs your ability to really get deep into your performance/compositional process. (0) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEgalcH_-b4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEgalcH_-b4
- Zuider 5y ago
  Other players such as Nick Drake, composed on piano, and tuned the guitar to accommodate the composition.
analog31 5y ago
When I was a kid, I played cello and bass, which were tuned in 4ths and 5ths. I could go back and forth between the two instruments without batting an eye, including sight reading. I think you just develop two parallel mental circuits, and there are enough sonic and tactile clues that you don't forget which instrument you're playing. After high school I played bass exclusively for almost 40 years, and during the pandemic I got my cello out again. After several weeks, the old circuits started to re-attach themselves again. In my case I'm trying to play jazz on both instruments, which includes improv soloing. Let's just say that's a work in progress. There is still a lot of stuff I can play on bass, that I can't approach on the cello.

mabub24 5y ago

A lot of guitarists have no problem with playing open tunings because they can pretty seamlessly transcribe the notes along one string to the whole tuning, like how the 2nd fret of the low D string in open D is an E note so thus a finger across the whole fret is an "E chord". It's once you get into alternate tunings that are outside the "open tuning" norm that it becomes, at least for me, memorizing finger patterns and getting fine coordination locked in. The theory gets thrown out for "what sounds good" and "hmm that sounded about right".

eyelidlessness 5y ago

For me, once I’m playing it’s almost entirely muscle memory. Writing or learning, the tuning doesn’t matter at all it’s just developing that muscle memory. The thing nonstandard tunings does for me is it gives me a base state to work from that lets me use patterns and techniques suited to it. Drop D is very good for bass-heavy fifth chord stuff. CGD--- is really good for fingerstyle techniques. Other weirder tunings like some used by Michael Hedges let you rethink whole chord relationships.

PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago

Pat Metheny noted recently (0) that although he loves to use alternate tunings, he feels that it takes at least 10 years to really know your way around a given tuning, and thus changing them around impairs your ability to really get deep into your performance/compositional process. (0) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEgalcH_-b4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEgalcH_-b4

Zuider 5y ago
Other players such as Nick Drake, composed on piano, and tuned the guitar to accommodate the composition.

analog31 5y ago

When I was a kid, I played cello and bass, which were tuned in 4ths and 5ths. I could go back and forth between the two instruments without batting an eye, including sight reading. I think you just develop two parallel mental circuits, and there are enough sonic and tactile clues that you don't forget which instrument you're playing. After high school I played bass exclusively for almost 40 years, and during the pandemic I got my cello out again. After several weeks, the old circuits started to re-attach themselves again. In my case I'm trying to play jazz on both instruments, which includes improv soloing. Let's just say that's a work in progress. There is still a lot of stuff I can play on bass, that I can't approach on the cello.