Maybe you guys have already broached this - I wouldn’t know coz I’m new - but I’m interested in any alternate tuning you guys use (Drop D is so common, it doesn’t really count, IMO). ATM, as a result of my fretting hand being cut up, I’m using CGCFAbc, and it’s opened up some crazy stuff…
The guitarist in my band brings three guitars. The first is for open E and E minor tunings, the second is for standard tuning and drop-D, and the third is a nylon string in a weird open D, tuned D-A-D-A-D-F#.
I keep a guitar in a drop-D tuning, but I altered it to DAEGBE. I like it because I can still find where to go for soloing and stuff, but it also allows me to make barred 5ths on the top 3 strings, i.e. power chords.
Let’s see - for ‘Foxglove’, I use an open ‘C’ tuning - CGCGCE. For ‘Going to the Country’, I crank the 6th string up to a G, giving GADGBE.
For most lute/vihuela music, I drop the ‘G’ to an ‘F#’ - EADF#BE, occasionally dropping the 6th down to a low ‘D’.
For a few pieces, I drop the ‘A’ to a ‘G’ as well, giving DGDGBE.
I’ve also played around with raising the 6th string to ‘F’ for a piece in F major or Bb, and down to ‘Eb’ to play in Eb or Ab.
I’ve tried straight thirds - E Ab C E Ab C - and straight fourths - EADGCF - but I’ve never enjoyed them enough to leave a guitar tuned that way.
And I’m doing more and more repertoire with a baritone classical that’s tuned down a fourth - BEADF#B, enough so that I need to buy a guitar to keep in that particular tuning.
Never did work on Carlo Domeniconi’s ‘Koyunbaba’, which is in an open C# tuning - C# G# C# G# C# E . It’s somewhere on my to-do list; I think I listened to it while reading the score once or twice - that must count for something.
Oh, and sometimes, I’ll bring the B up to C, or drop both the D and the G down a semi-tone, giving EADGCE or EAC#F#BE. In each of those cases, it changes where the ‘bump’ lies, making some chord shapes easier.
Some great things here I would never’ve thought of. The other alt. tuning I’ve used with some success is CGCFBbeb. Just changing from Bb to Bb aug in that tuning is pretty cool.
I’m on vacation - I’ll try to find this thread when I’m back and geek out a bit…
…but I just played a 1935 Martin D-18 - just wow.
I’m not worrrrthy…
I mean, '35 Martin?
And “For most lute/vihuela music…”?
I’m seriously out of my league here.
Slide players tend to use open G – that is, DGDGBD.
I’m trying to remember the exact tuning for “Suite Judy Blue Eyes”; I think it’s DADDAD. Yes, that’s dropping the G all the way down to D.
This makes the open chord unresolved whether it’s minor or major, so kind of a floaty, modal sound.
Playing other people’s songs.
I had a guitar set up for System of a Down tuning - dropped D but a tone down CGCFAD. Their stuff* doesn’t require much in the way of convoluted fretting either (just fast), which may help with the wounded hand.
And open/bottleneck tuning for Zeppelin’s In my Time of dying - open A EAEAC#E. If you want to play Page’s parts you need the slide on your ring finger, since he frets some parts with his little finger.
Playing original stuff I guess anything goes, look up Robert Fripp’s crafty tuning. obviously I could do that for you but it’s going home time, maybe tomorrow 
- at least the early stuff. For all I know they play reggae now.
Dude, if were anyone to be taken seriously, I would be playing lute and vihuela music on a lute, theorbo or a vihuela. The fact that I’m playing those pieces on a guitar just marks me as a f@cking dabbler…
A lot of Celtic music is played with DADGAD tuning. I went to a workshop with Laurence Jumar from Wings, and he used it. Cool start for improvising.
Someone mentioned an open G tuning. That’s used for dobro as well, and is similar to the gDGBD tuning of the 5-string banjo.
With the banjo, I just recently got into the D tuning f#DF#AD. Lots of fun.
David
In my music department, there’s a few resident composers that work with microtonal systems, with different frets making quartertones and the like…wondering if anyone here is that adventurous!
:eek: wouldn’t know where to start! :eek:
The aptly named mictronalguitar.com is an idea! I also have a few facebook friends I can bother if you’re interested. I’m a keyboardist myself, so I know Equal Tempered, Mean tone, and bluegrass. Those are my three tuning systems. 
[QUOTEI’m a keyboardist myself, so I know Equal Tempered, Mean tone, and bluegrass. Those are my three tuning systems. :D[/QUOTE]
How many bluegrass players does it take to tune a banjo?
It’s NEVER been done.
David
My joke was more subtle, so phbbbbt! to you. 
This would make alternate tunings much easier…
“My joke was more subtle, so phbbbbt! to you. :p”
Ain’t nothin’ subtle about a banjo
David