Hi Martin - Tim here -we've exhanged messages before! I'm in Australia...

To keep this ball rolling, I play alot of alternate tunings - in fact when I go back to standard tuning I sometimes feel a little lost.

Mostly Open D, Open G - I play slide a fair bit.

Also mucking around with DADGAD but I haven't got too far with it yet.

Sometimes open C, sometimes drop the E to Eb for Open Cm (I guess..)

Occasionaly Drop D, sometimes even GADGBE for some african tunes. A bit scary tuning the E up that high.

Also have been playing some lap slide, so using mostly GBDGBD, or Open G for that.

Do you have any good resources for DADGAD, I'd like to learn a bit more about it instead of just noodling about.

about DADGAD i didn't follow any book. just transcribed a lot of music and learn repertoire, mostly from celtic guitarrists as Pierre Bensusan, Tony Mcmanus and Soïg Siberil. afterwards i've watched deeply thousands of videos on youtube XD

Pierre Bensusan has one amazing book regarding DADGAD and guitar with excelent music written and very beautifully edited. i think it's called "The Guitar Book" or something like that. really worth any penny ;)

i'm amazed and intrigued by your GADGAE.  this 6th may be hard as hell!!!!

Hey Martin - looks like its just you and me, buddy!

The standard tuning, but with raised G: The G is just used as a drone and I kind of noodle around G patterns, mainly for West African tunes (or to be more accurate, my dodgy version of them). I came across this tuning when searching for Ali Farka Toure on youtube - a very basic, short 15 second clip by some guy - which got me started and took it from there and found it worked for some other tunes as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q9KABoXBTE

Hey guys,

Nice to run across this forum. I couldn't pass up this thread because of the open/altered tunings subject. I too when I was younger many years ago used to get up front at concerts and watch these artists work their acoustic magic, go home and wonder what the...? Some time back I discovered Mark Hanson's "The complete book of alternate tunings" and I was instantly addicted. Each tuning comes with the chord positions for that tuning. I believe that his website is called Accent on Music.Take a look when you get a chance to. The site lists many well knowns, some of their songs and the tunings used. Hope to some day soon own a CA of my own.

David in Arizona

I've been messing with a fairly ordinary tune of my own in open D (DADF#AD) and although pleasant, could never really give it something that would make it interesting. One day recently I suddenly had the idea of playing the same thing, but in DADGAD instead. Voila! Suddenly it (to me, at least) it gave the tune some momentum and a reason to be around, rather than just a piece of inoffensive noodling.....if that makes sense.

So..if you have a tune you've been working on and it needs at twist, try changing one string!

I tried the DGDGBD  form of open G because I inherited a banjo and thought some commonality might be helpful. However, it didn't really click (and I still can't/don't play the banjo). I do like to noodle around some in the open D family (DADFAD, DADF#AD, DADGAD). I don't actually know any songs in DADGAD, but some time back I had an epiphany. It seems like almost every time someone says, "it's like an X chord except you move/add a finger here, the result was Xsus4 or Xsus2. 

At the moment, I'm experimenting with using standard tuning and standard chord shapes, but played at  different positions (without barring). The chord voicing that results can be sort of like playing in an alternate tuning.

However, I sometimes throw in an Xm7add4 in standard tuning, so I might just be strange.

Hey PK, just came across this video of Tony MacManus playing in DAAEAE. Ever tried this tuning? Seems kinda fun but I'd probably end up doing the same thing over and over again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI7zSSRTw0c

Tim.

i indeed use this tunning and also played this tune and a bunch more. i was really a fan of Tony Macmanus. he is the best "celtic guitar player" around. this video is quite old. if you have the chance to see him live don't miss it! he also uses a lot of interesting tunes ti create the sounding of the bagpipes on the guitar. really worthy for everyone

Hi Paper-Kitten, we have chatted before about Brian Gore - he uses altered tunings, of course. It must be fun to "fool around" with altered tunings - I just learn the songs in the books as they are presented - Kottke/Hanson/Gore/McKee/Hedges/... - Trying to think harmonically in non-standard tuning is too weird for me at this point. It is a drag to re-tune all the time which keeps me from doing more of it.