Open G Tuning

If you're looking to kick your playing into a new gear, you should consider giving open G tuning a try. Like other alternate guitar tunings, open G gives guitar players a different feel and a way to approach the guitar in a fresh manner. Some of the greatest rock and blues songs ever written are played in open G even though many beginning guitar players might not realize it. This article will tell you how to get your guitar to open G and will then highlight some players and famous songs that utilize it.

Putting your guitar in open G is a snap. If you are new to putting your guitar in alternate tunings, you should probably have a tuner handy. You can either use a plug in tuner or a virtual online tuner. This will ensure that you get the guitar tuned correctly so it sounds good when you're finished.

The tuning for open G is DGDGBD. This differs from standard guitar tuning, which is EADGBE. Therefore, to put your guitar in open G, you will need to retune three of your six strings.

The first thing you need to do is tune the low E string (in standard tuning) on your guitar down to D. Next, tune your A string down to G. Your D string, G string, and B strings remain the same as in standard tuning, so don't mess with those. Finally, tune your high E string down to D. Double check each string with your tuner to make sure that everything is right on pitch.

The coolest thing about playing a guitar that is tuned to open G is that it allows you to utilize a pretty simple technique when playing. Most chords you play involve simply using your index finger and laying it across the top five strings. If you then add you third and fourth fingers to that one-finger chord, creating a chord shape that looks like a B minor in standard tuning, you create another chord that is a fourth above the original chord you played.

For example, if you lay your index finger across the guitar strings at the fifth fret, you create a D chord. If you then add your middle finger and fourth finger (like you're creating a B minor shape), you are now playing a G chord. If you lift you third and fourth fingers off, you're back to the D chord again. This ability to bounce back and fourth between these two chord shapes is a huge part of the appeal of open G tuning and creates the sound that the tuning is famous for.

A final tip involves the low string, which is tuned to D in open G. In most instances, this string is not really played. In some ways, open G is a five string guitar tuning as the majority of the playing that you will do will only occur on the top five strings. In fact, Keith Richards used to remove the low E string from his guitars that he tuned to open G.

The number of classic songs that use open G tuning might shock you. Here is a partial list of some of the classics and the players who are associated with them:

• Keith Richards – The rhythm guitar player from The Rolling Stones is the quintessential open G rock and roll guitar player. A few of the absolute classics are Start Me Up and Honky Tonk Woman.

• Joni Mitchell – Joni Mitchell wrote some of the most famous songs of the 1960s and 1970s like For the Roses and Little Green.

• Rich Robinson – As the guitar player for the Black Crowes, Rich Robinson is often considered to be the heir apparent to Keith Richard's style of guitar playing. Check out songs like Jealous Again and Twice as Hard to learn some classic open G rockers.

Open G tuning is so popular because it is a fun tuning to play in and it sounds great. Once you get the hang of it, you might not ever choose to go back to standard tuning again.

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