Open tunings...part one

Open tunings are an invaluable part of the acoustic guitarist's repertoire of sounds. They do not replace the standard concert pitch as the main means to play a song, but they offer an alternative take on the available warp and weft for guitar music. Many guitar players use nothing other than open tuning styles, but to my mind this limits the range and tonality of the overall output, albeit sometimes giving rise to genius when in the hands of a Davy Graham or a Bob Brozman. To be precise, for a songwriter you need to use everything at your command to get the most out of an acoustic guitar, not simply as primary accompaniment, but also to complement recordings. For an instrumental player, the situation is slightly different - but even in their case, it is very much a question of making the best of what is available to enhance their sound.

The first open tuning I ever used was an open G (DGDGBD), and it is still a favourite of mine for more folky blues and country tunes. I wanted to learn to play slide guitar style, but I soon discovered that you could use it to play a very full flat-picking tune, and combine this with the use of the slide. I then also found there were other useful open tunings - DADGAD (very folk orientated), DADFsharpAD (Louisiana tuning - excellent for blues), and the adorable CGCGCE (lovely bass sound, nice bright top end - great for slide/pick combo playing). There are others of course, often simply adaptations or transpositions of those listed, and they are all great fun to learn and use.

More on this later...

What Would You Do

I have just released a new CD 'The Folks Underground' (which is the 4 song EP plus 6 more new tunes) - this is one of the tracks, and it's a song which had a strange history. Started life as a straight up blues, then on-the-beat major chords and harmonies, and then this. Somewhat re-written each time, it just shows how songs don't show themselves all at once!



Sitting doing nothing
Drink a cup of coffee
Staring into distance
Like a long dead dream
A man without ambition
His heartache in remission
Needing nobody's permission
To think about death

King of all he sees
He's got bruises on his knees
And is sat upon the floor
Beside an open door
That does not lead anywhere anymore

What would you do if it was you?

And your stone cold soul that you cling to
Has now left you all alone to burn in hell
The light, the air, the sun
Oh well, all of them are gone

What would you do if it was you?

Stay lost in contemplation
A servant to the nation
Empty, corrupt
And guilty pending charge
Unswerving and dogmatic
With a intellect quite static
Forward into battle
Leading from behind

A liar and a cheat
With a CV that's complete
With all the broken feet
Of each messanger left dead
He knows where to sit
And it's mostly on your face

What would you do if it was you?

And your stone cold soul that you cling to
Has now left you all alone to burn in hell
The light, the air, the sun
Oh well, all of them are gone

What would you do if it was you?

What sort of guitar should you buy?

Buying an acoustic guitar is very easy. There are thousands of them on offer from budget to crazy prices.

So which one do you buy?

Here's some basic advice - one which sounds nice.

Most of the generic models made in the far east are very much the same. Most of them are pretty well made these days - but that doesn't mean they are any good. They might have a solid top, and boast 'name' tuners - but you still get a box with strings. So you really have to play them. It's amazing how sometimes a guitar costing 150 quid can sound 10 times as good as one costing 2 or 3 times as much.

Electro-acoustic guitars specifically designed for plugging in usually sound rubbish unplugged. Buy a nice sounding guitar which just happens to have electrics in it.

Cedar topped guitars mature quicker, sound warmer, and have a much better dynamic response than all but the best spruce topped guitar. They do have a more compressed mid-range - so if you like light airy guitar, go for spruce.

Laminated guitars are just braced boxes. Solid tops are a actually a soundboard - in other words, it has 'acoustic' qualities.

Never buy a guitar because it looks nice. Take it from me, this is not a valid way to choose a musical instrument!

Solid backs and sides on a guitar will alter its tonality. This does not mean it is necessarily better!

If you go to my website, and look under links, you will find a list of guitar makers. I do not recommend any of these over any other - but it will give you an idea of what there is and what to look for.

The Folks Underground

This is the title track from my new four song EP 'The Folks Underground' - I recorded and re-recorded several tunes before I got to four I liked, but this one seemed to almost write itself. Or, more likely, it was in my head and I wrote it down quickly.

There are 3 guitars on this, one of which is a parlour guitar tuned to an open C. When you record a few guitar sounds, it's often very tempting to want to hear them all equally (if you like what you've done), but sometimes it's better to get them to segment together for a fuller effect. In this case, the dynamic of the song really decided that for me!

Why write a song?

You often hear people ask the question how do you write a song? - but rarely do they question why they should do it. That might seem like a crazy thing to say, but often it appears there is no accepted good reason to write a song. Music can obviously exist without lyrics, and certainly without meaningful lyrics. So why do it?

Songs exist for a reason - the first musical instrument was (probably) the voice. Music made by voices is more interesting with words, and more memorable if they have a story and maybe a rhyme scheme. And if you have no written language, that makes song a good way to pass on stories and information. It is an effective way to express an idea in a simple way.

Music nowadays (at least in modern westernised cultures) seems to be more a commodity than oral history. Occasionally it has been an art form. But still the song remains the most effective way to write down what you see or hear or think, and lift it above dry academic prose and mere sophistry.

Why write a song? I can't think of a reason not to do so!

Sweet Black Cloud

This song was recorded with 12-string and harmonica.

It was one of the few times I ever thought the guitar sounded in its recorded form like it did to me whilst I was playing it.

From CD/MP3 album 'You Know How It Goes' (2005)

12-string misery

The first proper acoustic guitar I ever owned was a 12-string. In fact, I still have it, although it long passed the point of no return as a viable instrument. Twenty years or so have taken their toll on the old thing; the actual construction is fine (it even has all the original tuners) but the soundboard is dead. It is a well made box with strings, and beyond all redemption.

For years, I would play no other acoustic. My heroes (Leadbelly, McGuinn, Fred Neil etc) were all 12 string guys. It was big and loud and chiming and I loved it. It was percussive and hard to play - 6 strings guys never stood a chance.

Nowadays (in fact for a while, if I'm honest) I am one of those 6 string folk - and I see what I was missing in terms of touch and expression. So much more adaptable, so much easier to tune. Much easier to find a case that fits. All much easier.

But still...I miss that jangle and bump. The ringing chords, the almost baroque playing style. The impossible quest to record them effectively twice in one day.

Misery and joy all at once...

Introduction

Everybody today has a plan or an angle. You have to shout your existence across the room to prove your self-image exists.

Well, actually you don't - and this blog is just some thoughts and ideas and general musings about my acoustic tunes. And stuff about guitars and mandolins and what have you. If you want to check out more about what I do, my website link is in the sidebar.

Anyway...