Dropping the Standard?

Gray

Anyone got an opinion on the legitimacy of dropping the tuning on a guitar?

I heard from a friend of mine that changing the tuning of a guitar so its easier to produce chords, etc.. is like cheating. I know you get dropped D,C and half step, etc... but I've seen guys change the tuning of individual strings and all sorts of weird setups.

Is this a grey area of guitar or completely legal?

(old forum) Poll Results: Is changing the tuning on a guitar to make chords easier...

Just another tool the guitarist has at His/Her/Its disposal: 8
Infringes on your moral code as a guitarist: 0
Not something you want to do but when the need arises must be done to level the playing field: 1
Spykes "Special" Option: 1

Spanish_Fly

u can also drop ur G-String to High E
as done by Creed

Spyke

I really wouldn't consider it illegal.

For many years i was a firm believer in standard E tuning but i believe that alternative tuning actually helped me. Where i had hit a plateau in my skill level with standard tuning, drop D helped open up a new sound. I further aided this with a little experimentation with a capo - big difference there.

Now i play / write most of my pieces in full step drop C tuning, not because of the ease, but rather due to the sound. It aids my creativity.

If other can get a complimentary sound from totally erratic tuning (indv strings etc) then go for it - these guys are the pioneers in a way.

Kevin-C

Even though I voted for the "just another tool option", I am such a noob that at the moment I feel I should not cut any corners because my (very dumb) fret hand still has so much to learn.

But I honestly believe that when your playing and understanding of the fretboard reaches a certain level you should explore all the options available. I guess it comes from Jon Chappel's "Rock Guitar for Dummies", where he says that there are really no rules regarding rock, experiment, explore and above all enjoy!

Spyke

Yeah... no vote from me - I'm all for it. Where's my option! ?

AlanRatcliffe

Your friend has an odd concept there. By that logic, half of what Led Zeppelin played was cheating. ?

It's something else you use to broaden your playing horizons and inspire you into playing different things. Listen to Michael Hedges and you realise he was using altered tunings to reach notes you can't usually get. Also the tonality of an altered tuning is different, so you expand your tonal palette by incorporating them.

There is also the "improving on standard tuning" approach that Robert Fripp takes, where he uses his own altered tuning exclusively, because he can play scales and voicings with it that are impossible otherwise. And if you know Fripp, he's not one for shortcuts of any type.

Gray

Well I dont quite agree with him or disagree but that'll probably change once I explore more exotic tunings or play more extensively in the ones im aleardy accustomed too.

I quite enjoy dropping to D for 5th's and I've contemplated unique tunings and the results which could be produced.

I just wanted to see if it was shunned upon by others. ?

Spyke

Woo Hoo! I'm special! I get my own option!

(and don't even think about pulling the 'special' bit out of context!) ;D

arjunmenon

Alan is right on the button. Fripp once said that the only reason everybody plays in standard tuning is because its the easiest for chord fingering/positions/voicings etc. In his league of crafty guitar players, he teaches people to throw standard tuning out the window and start from scratch (this is probably the biggest unlearning/learning curve for guitarists).
On the flipside, people like Keith Richards et al have no clue how to play decently on standard tuning, and in that sense it probably is a good thing to go out and discover something that makes you a unique player.
On somewhat the same subject, a drummer friend once told me that Bill Bruford of YES fame used to rearrange his entire kit (e.g. snare in bass drum's place, tom in snare's place, crash in hi-hat's spot etc etc..u get the picture) and he could play any configuration...pretty well.