Category: Alternate Tunings

Ease into Alternate Tuning with a Blues in Open D Minor taught by Mary Flower

Why try alternate tunings? The simple act of changing the tuning of your guitar—even by just one string—can have a magical effect: it’s almost as if you have a new instrument. All kinds of sounds become available that you couldn’t play in standard tuning and familiar fingerings produce surprising results.

guitar player David Gilmour sitting in a field

Acoustic Classic: A DADGAD Arrangement of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”

One of the pleasures of DADGAD and other open tunings is letting open strings add lush extensions to chords, as in this arrangement of "Wish You Were Here."

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
June 4, 2023

Woodshed: How to Play a Dropped-D Gospel Theme as Recorded by Bahamian Guitar Legend Joseph Spence

Listen to any Joseph Spence song and you’ll find unexpected nuance and detail, no matter how many times you have heard it.

Nick Millevoi
May 12, 2023

Lesson Up-The-Neck Octave Exercises for Acoustic Guitar Players

Learn to Play in Dropped-D Tuning

Once you’ve arrived at dropped-D tuning, indulge yourself with the huge D chord you now have at your disposal.

Dylan Schorer
May 5, 2023

Steve Baughman playing his Circa Guitars 7/8 dreadnought

“Dans Kef” – Learn to Play a Mysterious Celtic Arrangement for Solo Guitar

“Dans Kef” is in a sort of modified Orkney tuning I call Celto-Hawaiian, because it can sound like it’s from the islands. The tune is in fact a good case study in how to build your own Celtic arrangement.

Steve Baughman
May 2, 2023

blues tunings acoustic guitar how to alternate blues tunings

Which Alternate Tunings are Most Commonly Used in Blues?

The two principal open tunings used in blues guitar playing have old, vernacular American names: Vastopol and Spanish.

Steve James
September 22, 2022

Ease into Alternate Tuning with This Open D Minor Blues Guitar Lesson

In this guitar lesson, get a taste of open tunings by lowering your strings to open D minor, then playing a handful of chord shapes and applying them to a bluesy etude.

Mary Flower
April 6, 2022

guitar chord shape, with a warped effect to evoke alternate tuning vibes

Add Some Color with Open-G Tuning, Dropped-D, and Other Easy Alternate Guitar Tunings

Alternate tunings on guitar can open the door to new sounds, generate complex chords with easy fingerings, and extend the range of the instrument

Acoustic Guitar Editors
March 18, 2022

Peppino D'Agostino demonstrates musical examples in alternate tunings on acoustic guitar

Guitar Lesson: Try this Alternate Tuning to Play Gorgeous New Chord Voicings

Let your ears guide you and you’ll find that alternate tunings will allow you to create chord voicings that are impossible in standard tuning.

Peppino D'Agostino
March 11, 2022

DADGAD Guitar Essentials | Acoustic Guitar Champions

This is the perfect guide for getting to know DADGAD, whether you're just starting out in alternate tunings or have a bit of experience under your fingers.

Acoustic Guitar Editors
January 1, 2022

Open Tuning Lesson: How to Play the Blues in DADGAD

As you play through these examples, you’ll get a good sense of the abundance of bluesy possibilities inherent in this tuning.

Al Petteway
November 26, 2021

Video Lesson: Exploring Dropped-D Fingerpicking

Fingerpicking and dropped-D tuning fit together like hand and glove. For evidence, just consider the long list of fingerpicking classics played in dropped D, which includes Jorma Kaukonen’s “Embryonic Journey,” Pete Seeger’s “Living in the Country,” the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence,” Bert Jansch’s “Black Water Side,” Bruce Cockburn’s “Wondering Where the…

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
March 14, 2021

Learn Four Classical and Traditional Songs in Open Tunings

These approachable pieces will be great additions to your fingerstyle repertoire.

Adam Perlmutter
February 3, 2021

Learn J.S. Bach’s “Minuet in D Minor” in DADGAD Tuning

Here's a fun introduction to Bach’s works that’s playable without much classical training—and enjoyable to listen to

Teja Gerken
July 24, 2020

A smiling Laurence Juber with guitar. Photo by Kenna Love

Laurence Juber: A DADGAD Lesson with the Fingerstyle Master

Juber is one of the world’s most celebrated fingerstyle guitarists, a two-time Grammy winner, who, over the course of more than two-dozen solo albums, has developed a distinct personal voice on the steel-string acoustic.

Adam Perlmutter
September 1, 2019

World Premiere: Learn to Play Kinloch Nelson’s ‘Solitudes’

You won’t be able to play this piece effectively unless you approach it with a meditative spirit and, most important, a delicate touch.

Adam Perlmutter
July 19, 2019

Orville Johnson demonstrating open g tuning on guitar

How to Go from Standard to Open-G Tuning

Here's how to get into open G tuning on guitar and then play a basic I, IV, V chord progression using the open G chord.

Orville Johnson
July 7, 2019

‘Copeland’s Fancy’: Learn a Spirited Country-Blues Number in Open D

The sound of Leonard Copeland’s guitar has remained iconic, and this piece by Steve James reflects that.

Steve James
March 15, 2019

‘Spanish Fandango’: Learn a 19th-Century Acoustic Classic in Open-G Tuning

Henry Worrall scored his biggest hit with this tune, a bright melody in triple meter, played in open-G tuning.

Steve James
October 18, 2018

Learn Nathan Salsburg’s “B.B.”: A Melodic Instrumental with an Unusual Origin

Having accidentally overindulged on a giant bowl of rice and beans, Nathan Salsburg sat down uncomfortably with his guitar one night and got to work. Despite his dyspepsia, a new composition soon announced itself: “Bean Bloat.” By the time Salsburg recorded the tune for his most recent album, Third, he…

Adam Perlmutter
September 17, 2018

Laurence Juber’s Solo Acoustic Arrangement of The Beatles’ “Day Tripper”

Though Juber plays the original guitar riff with a bit more finesse than the Beatles did, he maintains the proper spirit and unrelenting groove.

Adam Perlmutter
August 16, 2018

‘Midsummer Moon’ – Watch Al Petteway Perform an Atmospheric Open-C Instrumental

Some 20 years ago, Al Petteway tuned his guitar to an open Csus2 chord—low to high, C G C G C D—and started exploring this rich alternate tuning.

Adam Perlmutter
March 22, 2018

Acoustic Classic: George Harrison’s ‘Within You Without You’ Arranged for Guitar

Like the Indian traditions it’s based on, “Within You Without You” has no chord changes—the melody unfolds over a drone.

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
December 22, 2017

Learn a Traditional Hymn in DADGAD Tuning

In 1984, Steve Baughman was putting himself through college, working as a security guard in an old folks’ home, when he heard one of the residents play “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” on the piano. Baughman was struck by the bombastic quality of this old Charles Wesley hymn, which he…

Adam Perlmutter
November 4, 2017

The Magic of DADGAD

The magic happens immediately upon strumming the open strings and, with only one finger, the three most commonly used chords in the key of D can be played in a new way.

Al Petteway
March 26, 2017

Fingerstyle guitarist Steve Baughman plays "Danny Boy"

Learn to Play the Orkney-Tuned Irish Classic ‘Danny Boy’

I encourage you to focus first on getting the melody down. Once you have that in your blood, you may feel free to explore your own bass lines and arpeggios.

Steve Baughman
January 18, 2017