Do dark siders use alternative tuning much?

[baldbloke]

So,

 

I drive a lot between jobs. Often drive anywhere between 3 and 6 hours a day. So I make sure my mp3 player is fully charged and loaded with interesting things to listen to. (I squirt it through the fm radio via a little low power transmitter thingumyjig).

 

I listen to 99% acoustic music. Contemporary folk, traditional folk, celtic and old seventies rock from my youth. I've listened to so much music over the past couple of years, If playing guitar could be learned by osmosis, I'd be brilliant by now.

 

Anyway, When I hear a tune I have a fairly good idea if it's in standard or alternative tuning. Couldn't say which alternative tuning, but I know when it probably isn't standard tuning.

 

 

Now and again I hear electric guitar during the day. And I think to myself. "Hmmm, standard tuning again for that electric git tune". Rarely do I hear an electric guitar playing what I think is non standard tuning. It does happen, just not as often as acoustic. Perhaps it's just the seventies rock I listen to that is the reason for this. Is it a genre thing? Or maybe my ears are mistaken and I know jack {censored} about what I hear.

 

It got me wondering, not being an electric player myself, do leccie players tend to stick to standard most of the time. Is it mainly us woodheads that like to play around with tunings?

[sixgunner455]

Drop D is common. Bonnie Raitt uses open G for slide.

[martinipm]

I'm sure. Why else would Gibson invent the Robot guitar?

[seagullplayer77]

I don't know about typical, run-of-the-mill rock and pop bands, but lots of metal bands (not that I'd know anything about those, of course . . . ) use alternate tunings. Drop C comes to mind . . . some open tunings as well. Anything that gives them the flexibility to slide around a simple chord form and get gnarly sounding chords on the first couple of strings.

 

Here's a drop tuning for ya:

 

[YOUTUBE]PQUH9w5Ajtk[/YOUTUBE]

 

He's tuned to drop C (CGCFAD).

 

And for the record, I do listen to this kind of stuff from time. Not often, but occasionally. Everyone enjoys an occasional dabble with the dark side .

 

I think it's more common for rhythm guitarists to use the alternate tunings. My guess is that the guy playing lead keeps his guitar tuned to standard for licks, riffs, solos, and the like.

[baldbloke]

So leccie alternative tuning is more common than I thought.

 

Seagullplayer 77, my ears hurt now.

 

 

And on the subject of slide players: How about some Jerry Douglas. Alison Krauss once introduced him on stage as "the greatest dobro player the world has ever known". She may well be correct. I haven't a clue if it's standard, alternative or Martian tuning. But hey, it's a good tune.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mAdFAdYKXw

[recordingtrack1]

Led Zeppelin's the Rain Song is a great example of a weird tuning. Obviously it is a combination of electric and acoustic, but I couldn't help but comment on it. There are all kinds of versions of this song and I even know a version in Standard Tuning, which is passable. Also, there are about ten versions of tunings for it. However, the correct tuning for this song is DGCGCD

[baldbloke]

Now then, I was never much in to Led Zep in their time. Never really got exposed to them in the day. Exception being Stairway, of course. I recently loaded but soon deleted a compilation of Zep songs from my mp3 player. Tried 'em. Didn't much care for 'em. Excellent musicians but not for me, these days. Alternative tunings, for sure though.

 

What's still on my player leccie-wise? Floyd, Sabbath, Frampton, BJH, Boomtown Rats, Hendrix, Richard Thompson (Sometimes elec), Spandua Ballet.

[pk1fan]

Led Zep "Kashmir " is in DADGAD , killer song too .

[bsman]

Are you kidding? Keef has been playing almost exclusively in open G since dinosaurs roamed the earth...

[baldbloke]

 

So, Or maybe my ears are mistaken and I know jack {censored} about what I hear .

 

 

^

This.

 

You knowledgable folks have answered my question. It is now clear to me that my guesses as to standard or alternative tuning are based naivety and, perhaps, dogmatism. This much I now know. Back to school for me.