Alternate Tuning Guide for Contemporary Folk Music
This document lists alternate tunings used by contemporary singer/songwriters
discussed by the subscribers of the folk_music@nysernet.org list
server. The songs listed here are all vocal songs with acoustic guitar
accompaniment, the few
exceptions being guitar instrumentals that appear on recordings that are
predominantly vocal recordings. For information on tunings, chords and
tablature for instrumental acoustic guitar music or
music by artists not covered here, check the
online guitar resources
listed at the end of this document.
There you will also find a few references to printed
information on alternate tunings.
This is a single document with internal links, so you can easily copy
and print the whole thing if you want to. Enjoy!
This document was last updated on 9 Feb 2000.
Contents
The alternate tunings listed here are arranged alphabetically by artist;
and under each artist chronologically by album and then by song title.
Entries for unrecorded songs (i.e. live performances of original material
or covers) also appear. Since many of the artists covered here so often use
alternate tunings, this list sometimes also lists songs that use standard
tuning, especially if a capo is used. All tunings are listed low
(6th string) to high (1st string). Capo settings, where appropriate,
appear in parentheses after the tuning.
Some tunings listed here are from "official" sources; others are
educated guesses of devoted fans. To distinguish these, each
tuning is prefaced by a character as follows:
* Denotes a tuning from an "official" source.
+ Denotes a guess that a fan feels pretty secure about.
? Denotes a guess that a fan is not too secure about.
References to the source of the tuning information, be it from
an official source or a fan, are given by initials in square brackets.
A key to the source abbreviations appears at the end of this file. If the
source can provide additional information about performing the
song, the initials are followed by a "+" sign. This information may be
anything from brief notes about some chords to full tablature.
Some tunings are so common that they have names or abbreviations in
this list:
Std Standard tuning, EADGBE
Drop D DADGBE, "Dropped D"
Open C CGCGCE
Open D DADF#AD
Open G DGDGBD
Open E EBEG#BE (can be played as Open D, capo 2)
Also, in some tunings it may be ambiguous whether a string is to be
tuned above or below its normal pitch. In this case, the octave
in which each pitch lies may be indicated; for reference, standard
tuning is EADGBE (octaves: 223334).
In a few places, textual information about the artist's use of tunings
appears in their tuning list.
The "*" tunings that are not from the BBMH songbook have been provided
by Bob himself. Thanks a lot, Bob!
- Matters of the Heart
- A Song About Baseball
- *Drop D (capo 1) [BBMH]
- Mountain Cathedrals
- *Open C [BBMH]
- Songs From Bright Avenue
- Here On Bright Avenue
- *DADDAD (capo 2)
- Angels Around Your Bed
- *DADGAD (capo 2)
- Small Graces (imminent release!)
- Small Graces
- *Open G
- The Only Risk Worth Taking
- *CGDGBE (capo 2)
- Altar In The Field
- *DADGAD
- ???
- Ghost of a Dog
- +DADBGE [AS]
Most of these tunings are partially inferred from live performances.
In live performances, Jonatha Brooke (guitarist and writer for The Story)
uses two guitars. One is a small-body James A. Olson SJ cutaway, custom
made for her by James, a Minnesota-based luthier. This guitar
stays mostly in standard tuning, although she occassionally retunes
it to tunings not too different from standard tuning.
The other guitar is a larger-bodied Guild with a carved back. She
keeps this one tuned as follows, low to hi: Eb Bb Eb F Bb Eb.
This is an open Eb sus 2. The hi string is sometimes dropped
down to D, making it an open Eb maj 9 (no 3).
In this list, some tunings are denoted as "+Guild" or "+Olson", to provide
an idea of the tuning based on what guitar Jonatha was seen playing at a
live performance. Readers who can resolve the remaining ambiguity
(eg, whether the Guild tuning has the 1st string at D) are encouraged
to submit changes.
- Grace In Gravity
- Grace In Gravity
- +Olson
- The Alarm Is On Love
- +Olson (?1st, 3d and 4th strings tuned down)
- Always
- +Guild
- Easier Than Saying That You're Sorry
- +Guild (capo 2)
- Dog Dreams
- *std [BTST+]
- Just One Word
- +Guild (capo 5)
- The Angel In The House
- So Much Mine
- +std [TJL+]
- Barefoot Ballroom
- +Guild (capo 3)
- At the Still Point
- +Olson
- The Angel In the House
- +Guild (capo 3)
- Fatso
- +Olson (capo 2)
- Love Song
- +Guild (capo 4)
- ???
- Buckets of Rain
- ?DGDF#AD (capo 4) [AS]
A collection of MCC lyrics, chords, and tab is available in Adam Schneider's
Tab Collection (see Web Resource guide, below).
Among the resources there is an
extensive
table listing tunings and capo settings
for most of Chapin's songs (including the settings of
her accompaniest and lead guitarist, John Jennings). Thanks, Adam!
- State Of The Heart
- Goodbye Again
- +DAC#EAE (capo 4) [AS]
- Shooting Straight In The Dark
- Going Out Tonight
- +Std (capo 5) [JP]
- The Moon & St. Christopher
- +DADGBC (capo 5) [AS]
- Come On Come On
- Come On Come On
- +DGDF#GD (capo 3) [AS]
- I Am A Town
- +DAC#EAE (capo 3) [AS]
- Stones In The Road
- Stones In The Road
- +DADF#GD [AS+; TJL/JP+]
- John Doe No. 24
- +DADF#AD (capo 9) [AS]
- Fat City
- Steady On
- Steady On
- +Open G (capo 2) [MA]
- Diamond In The Rough
- ?DADGBD (capo 8) [DM]
- Fat City
All tunings for this recording are from the "Fat City" songbook [SCFC+].
- Polaroids
- *Drop D (capo 4)
- Tennessee (Shawn Colvin and John Leventhal)
- *CGDGBbD (capo 7)
- Tenderness On The Block (Warren Zevon & Jackson Browne)
- *Open G (capo 5)
- Round Of Blues (Colvin and Larry Klein)
- *Std (capo 6)
- Monopoly
- *Drop D (capo 3)
- Orion In The Sky (Colvin and Larry Klein)
- *CGDGCD (capo 2)
- Climb On (A Back That's Strong) (Colvin and John Leventhal)
- *Std (capo 1)
- Set The Prairie On Fire (Colvin and Elly Brown)
- *Drop D (capo 2)
- Object Of My Affection (Colvin and John Leventhal)
- *Open G (capo 4)
- Kill The Messenger
- *Drop D (capo 5)
- I Don't Know Why
- *Std (capo 2)
- Cover Girl
- Every Little Thing (He) Does Is Magic (Sting)
- +DADF#AD (capo 1) [DM]
- Satin Sheets (Willis Alan Ramsey)
- Open G (capo 5) [JP]
- You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Bob Dylan)
- Std (capo 5) [JP]
- Red Bird, Blue Sky
- Wake Up Song
- ?D#G#C#F#A#D# (std, down 1/2-step) [TJL]
- Thankful Boys and Girls
- +C#F#C#F#A#C# (open G, down 1/2-step) [TJL]
Transcriptions of some of Ani's songs are available at
the Righteous Babe
Records web site.
- Not A Pretty Girl
- Shy
- +EEBABD (capo 2) [LM]
- Out Of Range
- Out Of Range
- *GGCGD(D?) [Reported in May/June 1995 Performing
Songwriter; only 5 strings listed!]
+GGCGCD [LM]
- Unrecorded songs and covers
- Dilate
- +AADGAD (6th string is the A below the usual E) [LM]
- Cradel And All
- +EEBGBD [communicated by LM]
- First Warm Wind
- First Warm Wind
- +DADGAD (capo 4) [TJL+]
All tunings are from The Songs of Bob Franke; see [SOBF] below for
further information. All altered tunings listed in that book appear
here; tuning and capo information for a few of Bob's most famous
songs that use standard tuning is also included.
- One Evening In Chicago (1982)
- Bob Franke's Dream Come True
- *DADGAD
- Hard Love
- *Std (capo 3)
- That's What the Waltz Is For
- *Drop D (capo 2)
- Thanksgiving Eve
- *Std (capo 3)
- For Real (1986)
- For Real
- *Std (capo 3)
- Beggars to God
- *Std
- Brief Histories (1989)
- A Still, Small Voice
- *Drop D (capo 1)
- Nectar of Life
- *CGDGED (capo 3)
- In This Night (1991)
- Catfish
- *Open D
- The Man Behind the Curtain
- *CGDGBD (capo 5)
- After the Fall
- *Drop D (capo 1)
- A Road Worth Walking Down
- Free At Last
- +Open D [TJL+]
- A Road Worth Walking Down
- *Open G [BTST+]
- Landloard
- Lay Down This Weight
- +CGDGBD (capo 2 or 3) [DAB]
- A Road Worth Walking Down
- *Open G [BTST+]
- One Fair Summer Evening (live video/CD)
- Love At The Five And Dime
- +Open G (capo 3) [TJL; JP; AS]
- Working In Corners
- +DGDGAD (capo 2?) [TJL]
- Flyer
- Adam Schneider has compiled a
list of tunings for songs from Flyer.
[PB] reports that Richie Havens primarily uses Open D, sometimes
tuning the F# down to F to get an open D minor. Sometimes he tunes
the 1st string down to a C to get an open major or minor dominant seventh.
Stropes Editions maintains
a complete list of Michael's tunings, and also sells top-quality
transcriptions of a number of Michael's instrumental compositions.
Many of the tunings below were submitted by Hedges fans before
Stropes Editions existed, but all tunings have been verified
using the Stropes Editions database.
- Watching My Life Go By
- Face Yourself
- *B F# C# D A D
+BADGAD [PS]
- I'm Coming Home
- *DADGBB
- Woman of the World
- *DADEBA [BM] (1st string is *lower* than 2nd)
- Watching My Life Go By
- *DADGCC [MG]
- I want you
- *CGDGAD
- The Streamlined Man
- *FGDGGD
- Out on the Parkway
- *EG#EF#BB
- Holiday
- *CGDGAA
- All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan)
- *DAEEAA [MW]
ASCII tab for a version in DADEAE is archived at OLGA [PLK]
- Running Blind
- *DADGBD
- Taproot
- i carry your heart (words by e. e. cummings)
- *BbFCEbFBb [TR; PS; MSW]
[PS] suggests using the "more amenable" CGDFGC (full step higher)
- Road to Return
- Sister Soul
- C# G# C# F# G# C
- India
- *AEBDEA
+BbFCEbFBb (as above, 1/2 step up) [TR]
- Follow Through
- *B F# C# F# F# F#
- ?CGDGAE (as on the *Windham Hill Live* video) [TJL]
- Strings of Steel
- Pinball Wizard (The Who)
- *B F# C# E A A
?CGCFBbBb (live?) [MG]
- Come Together (Lennon/McCartney)
- *DGDGGD
- She Drives Me Crazy
- *CCDF#AD (octaves: 233334) [RC]
Michael Hedges's String Gauges
[From: Matt Guthrie (HotType1@aol.com):]
Michael uses D'Addario strings. They're all electric
strings since they sound better with the Sunrise pickup and the EMGs in the
electric harp-guitar. NW = nickel-wound and PL = plain. I'm not sure what the
"S" is before the string types for the harp-guitar.
Martin D-28:
E - NW056 (1.42mm)
A - NW046 (1.17mm)
D - NW034 (0.86mm)
G - NW026 (0.66mm)
B - PL017 (0.43mm)
E - PL013 (0.33mm)
Lowden/Martin low-strung guitar:
E - NW064 (1.63mm)
A - NW049 (1.24mm)
D - NW038 (0.97mm)
G - NW030 (0.76mm)
B - NW020 (0.51mm)
E - PL015 (0.38mm)
Kline harp-guitar:
E - SNW046 (1.17mm)
A - SNW036 (0.91mm)
D - SNW026 (0.66mm)
G - SPL017 (0.43mm)
B - SPL013 (0.33mm)
E - SPL010 (0.25mm)
All five harp strings are NW064 (1.63mm).
[Clarification from: Chifuru 'Chief' Noda cn@hopper.unh.edu]
The "S" prefix I believe stands for "Steinberger-type", meaning the
string has a ball at both ends of strings so that it can be anchored on a
head-less design.
A collection of Indigo Girls lyrics, chords, and tab is available in Adam Schneider's
Tab Collection (see Web Resource guide, below).
Among the resources there is an
extensive
table listing tunings and capo settings for most of the Indigo Girls'
songs (both Amy's and Emily's settings). Thanks again, Adam!
Phil provided the "*" tunings; thanks, Phil!
- What A Day
- I Will Sing
- *EG#EG#BC# (open E6) [PKNL, TJL+]
- Love Broke Thru
- As The Ruin Falls (words from a poem by C. S. Lewis)
- +DGCFAD (std, down a full step) [TJL]
- Wild Horse
- +DGCFAD (std, down a full step) [TJL]
- Emerging
- Just the Same
- +Drop D [TJL+] (for the live acoustic version)
- Ph'lip Side
- Spend My Life With You
- +Drop D [TJL]
- Town To Town
- Life, Love and You
- *Open G
- Way Back Home
- It Could've Been Me (Phil Keaggy and Sheila Walsh)
- *Open G
- Maker of the Universe
- +DGCFAD (std, down a full step) [TJL+]
- Here and Now
- +DGCFAD (std, down a full step) [TJL+]
- Unrecorded Songs
- Paka
- *EBC#GBE
- In the Square
- I'm Fine
- ?std (capo 3) [TJL]
- Tango
- Tango
- ?Drop D (capo 2) [TJL]
?DADGAD (capo 2) [TB]
- Metal Drums
- *std [AG Mar/Apr 92, with music]
- Time Was
- ?Drop D (capo 3) [TJL]
- Solo Flight
- ?Drop D (capo 3) [TJL]
- Chained To These Lovin' Arms
- *Drop D [BTST+]
- Angels Running
- Good Thing
- ?CGCGCD (capo 5) [TJL]
- Might As Well Dance
- ?CGCGCD [TJL]
- Booth of Glass
- +CGCGCD (capo 5) [TJL]
- Winter Wind
- +Drop D (capo 3) [DK+, TJL+]
Mary McCaslin maintains
a web page describing some
of her tunings. She not only presents tunings and identifies the
songs she plays in those tunings; she also discusses a bit of "theory"
behind her tuning choices, and presents chord charts.
Thanks, Mary!
McLaughlin fan Mark Dalton maintains his own
Billy McLaughlin
Web Site which includes a page of
Billy
McLaughlin's Favorite Tunings, sorted both by tuning and by
CD/song. Stropes Editions
also maintains a list of Billy's tunings.
- Second Hand Story
- Second Hand Story
- +Open G (capo 4) [TJL+]
Note that the solo acoustic version on the Waterbug
American Impressionist Songwriters CD is
played capo 3.
Howard Wright has collected over 90 of
Joni Mitchell's tuning. Howard's complete collection is at
the Guitar Tunings
page at the Official Joni Mitchell web site.
An amazingly well-organized and comprehensive collection of Joni tunings
and guitar chords and tab can be found at The Joni Mitchell Discussion List Guitar Page.
Started by Sue McNamara, this site is now run by Marian Russell, Howard Wright, and Mark Domyancich,
and includes contributions by many guitarists from around the world. Tunings and
transcriptions are easily accessible via a form.
Many of Joni's tunings, as well as chords and tablature for some songs, have also been archived in
acoustic/j/joni_mitchell/tunings at OLGA mirrors; if you can find an
operating mirror, that's where to look (a good way to track down such
tab sites is via the GuitarNotes Music Page).
Most such material is probably more easily accessible at the sites mentioned above.
The "*" tunings were provided by Carrie herself, by way of fan Amy Skalinder
(72460.3333@compuserve.com).
- An Angel At My Shoulder
- Only One Shoe
- ?DADGCD [DM]
- Hold On
- ?DADGAD (capo 4) [DM]
- The Bird or the Wing
- Holy Ground
- *std (capo 2)
- The Bird or the Wing
- *CGDGBE
- Tenderly with You
- *std
- The Love Letter
- *CADGBC
- The Yes of Yes
- *std
- Wisdom is Watching
- *std
- I'm Not Going to Let You Break My Heart
- *std
- Closer to Home
- *Open D
- The Prelude
- *DADGCD
- Distance
- *CADGBC
The "starred" tunings were all obtained from Ellis. He refers to the
DADGF#D tuning ("3000 Miles" live version, "Drop Of Your Name",
"All My Heroes Were Junkies") as "McNevin tuning,"
having "stolen" it from Michael McNevin. Note that the 3rd string
is higher in pitch than the second string in this tuning;
Ellis notes that he prefers a slightly thicker-than-normal 2nd
string (0.018) to facilitate dropping it to F#.
Ellis calls DADEBD tuning ("Conversation With A Ghost", "Look At The
Wind Blow") "Ellis tuning," it being a favorite
original creation of his.
On his 1998 release, Translucent Soul, Ellis uses
a high-strung guitar---a guitar strung with only the high strings
of a 12-string guitar set. This is known as "Nashville tuning" when
the strings are in standard tuning, but Ellis usually uses it in
D tunings, but three half-steps down from D (in the key of B).
Many capo settings are observed from live performances, and are sometimes
a fret below the settings used for studio performances.
Thanks, Ellis!
- Say Something
- Conversation with a Ghost
- *DADEBD (capo 4)
- Look At The Wind Blow
- *DADEBD (capo 6)
- Just the Jester Fool
- +std (capo 3?) [DAB]
- Angel
- +std [DAB]
- Thin Man
- *Open D
- Washington D.C.
- *std (capo 1)
- New Light on your Halo
- +std [DAB]
- Friday Night
- *std (capo 3)
- Blizzard
- +DADEBD [TJL]
- Jumpin' a Train
-
- Say Something
-
- Stories
- All Things Being The Same
- *Open D (capo 1)
- 3000 Miles
- Studio version: *DADGBD (capo 5); i.e., double-dropped D
Live version: *DADGF#D (capo 4)
- Here She Is
- *Open D (capo 2)
- Autobiography of a Pistol
- *std (capo 1)
- River
- +Open D [DAB]
- Last at the Table
- *EADGBD (capo 1); i.e., high dropped-D
- Last Call
- *CGDGBD (capo 1); i.e., open G with a C bass
- Who Killed John Lennon
-
- King of 7th Avenue
- *Open D (capo 2)
- Looking for my Friends
-
- Don't Breathe
-
- Carnival of Voices
- Trolley Car
- +Open D (capo 2) [TJL]
- Weightless
- +DADGBD (capo 2) [TJL]
-
- Translucent Soul
- Take Me Down
- *CGDGBD
- The World Ain't Slowin' Down
- *Open D (high strung, 3 half-steps down)
-
- Angel In Manhattan
- *DADGBD (high strung, 3 half-steps down)
-
- Translucent Soul
- +CGDGBD [TJL]
-
- This is Boston, Not Austin (Black Wolf Records
Compilation)
- Paperback Man
- +CGDGBD (recorded capo 4, capo 3 live) [TJL]
- *CGDGF#D (recorded capo 4, capo 3 live)
- Unrecorded Songs
- The Ballad Of Mr. Lonely (Find Your Own Cloud)
- +Open D [DAB]
- Weightless
- *DADGBD (capo 2 or 3); i.e., double-dropped D
- All Around Me I See Ghosts
- *std (capo 5)
- Paris In A Day
- *Open D (the recorded version is quite different from the live
one, and will be in *CGDGBD)
- Drop Of Your Name
- *DADGF#D
- All My Heroes Were Junkies
- *DADGF#D (capo 2)
- The Marsha Clark Song
- *std (capo 1)
- Ashes To Dust
- +std (capo 2) [DAB]
- Mr. President
- +Open D [DAB]
- Black Shiny Shoes
- +DADGF#D [DAB]
- Trolley Car
- +Open D (capo 1) [DAB]
- Big Times In A Small Town (Compilation)
- Nod Over Coffee (Mark Heard)
- *Open E [BTST+]
- Dog Eared Dream
- Angry Words
- ?Drop D (capo 2 and capo{3456} 4) [SW1]
- Rita
- ?Std (capo 3) [SW1]
- Flying
- ?Drop D or ?DADGAD (no capo) [SW1]
- Moonbeam
- ?DADGCD [JTL]
- Endless Sky
- Endless Sky
- *Drop D (capo 3) [BTST+]
These tunings were obtained from Dana (thanks, Dana!).
- Elemental Lullabye
- Scarecrow
- *DADGAD (capo 2)
- Child's Game
- *Open G
Lynne provided these tunings herself (thanks Lynne!). She cites
Joni Mitchell's "Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire" as the inspiration
for her altered Open G tuning, CGDGBD.
- A Child Once
- Restless Thief
- *CGDGBD
- A Child Once
- *CGDGBD
- Helium Wings (upcoming release)
- Surprise
- *Open D
- Good Enough
- *CGDGBD (capo 3)
- They Call the Wind Maria
- *std (capo 2)
- The Thousand Shades of Grey
- *CGDGBD (capo 2)
- Ferris Wheel
- *DADGAD (capo 5)
- Big Love
- *std (capo 3)
- How This
- *std (capo 2)
- White Flag
- *DADGAD (capo 4)
- Going Home
- *CGDGBD (capo 3)
- Snapshot
- *DADGAD (capo 3)
- The Road From Here to There
- *CGDGBD (capo 6)
- This is Boston, Not Austin (Compilation by Black Wolf
Records)
- Surprise
- *Open D
Note: Martin Sexton plays some of his songs in DGCFAD tuning, that is,
standard tuning down a full step.
- In the Journey
- In the Journey
- +Open G [TJL+]
- Silence Now
- +DADGAD [TJL]
- Performing Songwriter Editor' Choice, Vol. 2
- Caught In The Rain
- +Open G [TJL]
The "starred" tunings were verified through a student of Martin's.
- Red Roses
- Dreamtime
- *DADGAD [TJL+]
- Any Spare Change
- +DGDGAD (capo 4) [TJL+]
- Icarus (Anne Lister)
- *CGCGCD (capo 3) [TJL+]
- The Turtle and the Asp
- +DADGAD (capo 2) [TJL+]
- Smoke and Mirrors
- Hard Love (Bob Franke)
- *CGCGCD (capo 3 or 5) [TJL+]
These tunings were provided by Troll For Trout guitarist/writer
Michael Crittenden. The band has two guitarists, and many of
their arrangements have each guitarist playing with a different
capo setting on electric or acoustic, and often in different tunings.
You can find out more about the music of
this Grand Rapids, MI band by visiting the
Troll For Trout Web Page
or by sending email to Michael at
Troutcamp@aol.com.
- Perfect Existence
- Hands
- *std (Gibson J45) and *EBEF#BC# (Seagull Model 6)
The slide solo is in Open E (EBEG#BE)
- Rushes and Ripples
- *EBEF#BC# (capo 7; Seagull Model 6) and *std (capo 4; Strat)
- Falling At Your Feet
- *std (Seagull) and *EBEAF#D (12 string, "Nashville" style---upper
octaves only)
- International Harvester
- Poppy Fields (Get it Back)
- *DAEAAE (Seagull Model 6), Strat std.
- Thirst
- *EBEF#BC# (Seagull Model 6), Strat std.
- Forest
- *Std. (Seagull), Std. capo 5 (Martin J-45), Slide guitar Open G
- Rancho Relaxo
- Rancho Relaxo
- *DAEABE (capo 1)
- Riversong
- *Eb Bb Eb Ab Bb Eb (capo 3)
Official tunings for songs from Wilcox's three A&M recordings are from
the article, "Tuning In: The Guitar Secrets of David Wilcox," by
James Jensen, in the Nov/Dec 1994 issue of *Acoustic Guitar* magazine.
These have GSDW as their reference.
There is a songbook available that provides not only tunings, but also
chord diagrams and tablature for many of Wilcox's songs. The full
reference appears in the reference section below [DWSB]. Songs included in
the songbook are noted here by an asterisk following the title.
The Completely Unofficial David Wilcox FTP Site hosts some
tablature or chords
for other Wilcox songs; see the reference section for connection information.
Wilcox sometimes uses capos that are modified to allow some strings to
ring thru uncapoed (see interview exerpts at the end of this section). In
this list, use of such a capo is indicated by noting the strings capoed
in curly braces.
You'll find an alternative list, sorted by tuning, at Bill Boroson's
David Wilcox
Guitar Tunings page.
- Nightshift Watchman
- The Nightshift Watchman
- *Open G (capo 5) [reported on WLIST; perhaps 6th is C??]
- ?Open C [TJL+]
- Come Away to Sea
- ?DADGBD (capo 2) [TJL]
- ?CGCFCE (capo 4) [GSDW; a tuning mentioned in passing]
- High Hill (song and tuning by Jaime Morton)
- +CGDGAD (capo 4) [DW]
- Do I Dare
- +DADGAD (capo ?) [TJL+]
- Sunshine On The Land
- +Drop D (capo 1) [DW]
- How Did You Find Me Here?
- Eye of the Hurricane*
- *Open C (capo 3) [AG Mar/Apr 92 with tab; GSDW]
- Language of the Heart*
- *Db Ab Db Gb Ab Db (ie, DADGAD 1/2 step down) [MOB; TJL+; GSDW]
- Rusty Old American Dream*
- *Open C (starts capo 2, ends capo 3) [GSDW]
- How Did You Find Me Here*
- *DADEAD (capo 6) [GSDW]
- Leave It Like It Is*
- *std (capo 4) [GSDW; TJL+]
- Saturday They'll All Be Back Again
- *std (capo 4) [GSDW]
- Jamie's Secret
- *Drop D [GSDW]
- It's Almost Time*
- *CGDGBD (capo 1) [GSDW; TJL+]
- Just A Vehicle*
- *CGDGBD [GSDW]
- Common As The Rain
- *Drop D [GSDW]
- The Kid
- *CGDGBD (capo 1) [GSDW]
- Home Again (For the Very First Time)
- Burgundy Heart-Shaped Medallion*
- *EAC#EAC# [AG Mar/Apr 92; GSDW]
- Farther to Fall*
- *DADGAD [MOB; GSDW]
- Going Somewhere
- *Drop D [GSDW]
- Wildberry Pie
- Two discrepant tunings published:
- *Open D (capo{345} 6 and capo 1) [MOB; AG Mar/Apr 92]
- *DADF#AD [GSDW]
- Let Them In
- Wilcox himself doesn't remember this tuning! AG editors guess:
+CGCGCD [GSDW]
- Distant Water*
- *CGDGBD [GSDW]
- Top of the Roller Coaster
- Two discrepant tunings published:
- *EBbDFBbC (capo{12345} 5 and capo 1) [MOB]
- *EbAC#EAB (capo{12345} 4) [GSDW]
- Covert War*
- Two discrepant tunings published:
- *CADGBE (capo{12345} 6 and capo 1) [PS Sep/Oct 93; GP 4/92]
- *CGDGAD (capo{12345} 6 and capo 1) [MOB; GSDW] or
(capo{12345} 7 and capo 2) [DWSB]
- Advertising Man
- *std [GSDW]
- Last Chance Waltz
- *Drop D [GSDW]
- She's Just Dancing
- Two discrepant tunings published:
- *D#AC#EAC# (capo{12345} 6 and capo 1) [MOB; AG Mar/Apr 92]
- *EbAC#EAB (capo{12345} 6 and capo 1) [GSDW]
- Chet Baker's Unsung Swan Song*
- Two discrepant tunings published:
- *CADGBE (capo{12345} 5) [PS Sep/Oct 93; GP 4/92]
- *CGDGAD (capo{12345} 5) [MOB; GSDW]
- Mighty Ocean
- *DADF#AD [GSDW]
- Big Horizon
- New World*
- +Open C (capo 6) [GSDW; listed capo 5, but definitely capo 6]
- Someday Soon
- *GCGACG [GSDW]
- This bizarre tuning is accomplished by using special strings.
The 6th string is a double-wound bass string that is so big
the holes in the peg and bridge had to be enlarged to fit it.
This is tuned to the G *below* the usual open low E. The 5th
string is a normal *6th* string, tuned to the C below the
usual open low E. The first string is replaced with an electric
guitar string and tuned up to the G above the usual open hi E.
- That's What the Lonely Is For*
- *CGDF#AD (capo 2) [GSDW; TJL+]
- Show the Way*
- *Open C (capo 5) [GSDW (listed capo 6); TJL+]
- Block Dog
- *Open C [GSDW; JP notes recorded version is 1/2 step lower: BF#BF#BD#]
- Break In the Cup
- *CGDGAD (capo 3) [GSDW]
- ?DGDEGD (capo{12345} 3) for old live performances [TJL]
- It's The Same Old Song
- *Open C [GSDW]
- Farthest Shore*
- *BGDF#AD [GSDW]
- Strong Chemistry*
- *DADGAD [GSDW; tab included]
- Make It Look Easy
- *BGCGCD (capo 3) [GSDW]
- Please Don't Call
- *CGEbFCD [GSDW]
- Big Mistake
- *std (capo{345} 5, capo 3) [GSDW]
- All The Roots Grow Deeper
- *Drop D
- Hold It Up To the Light
- *Open C (capo 1) [GSDW; no capo setting listed]
- Missing You
- *CGDGBD (capo 2) [GSDW]
- Big Times In A Small Town (Compilation)
- Little Piece At A Time
- *Open C [BTST+]
- Unrecorded Songs and Covers
- Seeds (Pat Alger)
- ?Open D (capo 6) [TJL]
- Give Yourself to Love (Kate Wolf)
- +Drop D [TJL+]
- Johnny's Camero
- *Drop D or *Open C, depending on location in the set [MOB]
- The Long Road (Cliff Eberhardt)
- +AF#DF#AD [DW]
- +AADF#AD (Open D with 6=A) [TJL+]
- Somewhere Over New York City (Jim Infantino)
- +std [DW]
- Old (Peter Nelson)
- +DADF#AD [DW]
- Blow 'Em Away (Chuck Brodsky)
- +DADGAD (capo 2) [DW]
Comments on Wilcox's Tunings and Capo Usage
----David Wade [DW] notes:
Keep in mind that DW plays the same same song in different tunings often.
I've heard him come on out on stage and say,"I wanted to start the set
with this song, but it's in a real weird tuning, and I didn't want to
start in that tuning, so I started playing around backstage with the song
in another tuning and said 'Hmm...that'll work!', so here's the song in
the new tuning."
----Excerpt from Acoustic Guitar, Mar/Apr 92 (Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers):
These days he uses a dizzying number of tunings, mostly variations
of open C, open G, and open D. As examples, he mentions DADGAD,
D minor (DADFAD), DADEAD, and open G with a lowered sixth string
(CGDGBD)---and that's just the beginning. He likes EAC#EAC# for
classical-style pieces, such as "Burgundy Heart-Shaped Medallion"
on *Home Again*. Wilcox says one of his current favorites is a
variation of open C: CGDGAD....
As if the tunings aren't enough to keep him on his toes, Wilcox has
experimented since 1978 with cutting capos to let some strings
pass through.... His discovery of Kyser capos allowed him to cut
capos so that he could let not only a bass string pass through,
but also treble strings. Now he has four Kysers: one standard; one
that barres all the strings except the sixth; one that barres all the
strings except the first and second; and one that barres only the
third, fourth, and fifth strings. On some songs ("Covert War,"
for instance) Wilcox plays chords where he straddles a cut capo
with his left hand, fretting some notes above the capo in standard
fashion as well as *below* the capo on the sixth string, which
passes through the cut section of the capo....
On stage, one would expect Wilcox' ever-changing tuning and capo
combinations to cause plenty of waiting and retuning agony for the
audience, but it's not so. The Kyser capos rest on the headstock of
his guitar and go into place with a one-hand swoop, and Wilcox is
surprisingly agile in changing tunings on stage. "I started playing
in a concrete stairwell where you could really hear the guitar," he
recalls. "I remember, I would hear it be a little out of tune, and
I would try moving one string and moving another.... You know how
when you are starting, whenever you tune, you tune strings higher,
so that the guitar gradually gets sharper and sharper. I could hear
it so well, and I just had the time to really listen, not to
concentrate on what my fingers were doing. It's more than just
matching tones---you listen for that harmonic to really kick in,
listen for the tones to really reinforce each other.
"The interesting thing is, if I play one guitar for a couple of weeks,
I can learn how to tune that guitar really fast. But if I play
another guitar, I have to start over because it's slightly different.
And I'm talking about even the same kind of guitar. I have these
two Larivee guitars. If I switch from one to the other, I can't tune
as fast."
Excerpt copyright 1992, String Letter Press.
----Excerpt from Guitar Player, April 1992 (James Rotondi):
Wilcox favors composing from open tunings, an inheritance from influences
like Joni Mitchell, John Martyn, Nick Drake, and James Taylor. To keep
his material fresh, he likes to sample the unknown: "If I'm writing
something just with what I know, the song can come out relatively
unmoving. But if I make up a new tuning and get really lost, I can
find a new way home, and I'll have the surprise, the joy, of hearing
brand-new things."
... His plucks, hammer-ons, pull-offs, strums and slaps on his custom-built
Olson acoustic strung with D'Addario Bluegrass strings display his patience
with phrasing and reverence for the guitar's tonal possibilities. "In
every tuning there are certain chords that really ring," David says.
"At a certain capo position there will be this resonance where the guitar
is just the right size. My current favorite tuning is BAEG#BE...."
Excerpt copyright 1992, Guitar Player Magazine.
----Excerpt from Performing Songwriter, Sep/Oct 1993 (Lydia Hutchinson):
To make sure he stays in the learning mode, Wilcox composes in a dizzying
number of tunings. "They free me from preconceived notions about technique,"
he explains. And just to keep things even more interesting, he experiments
with cutting Kyser capos to let some strings pass through. In the past,
Wilcox has used up to four capos that sit on his headstock, gliding them
into place with the swoop of his hand.... These days, however, his capos
have gone into hibernation while he challenges himself to find those new
sounds without them....
LH: With all of the tunings that you use, is there a trick to tuning quickly?
DW: It comes little by little when you learn your way from one tuning to
another, and gradually make paths in the forest in terms of how you think
about getting from one to another. But a lot of it is just, like anything,
dividing it into its simplest components and taking the time to focus
on each component. If you want to be able to switch from one tuning to
another really fast, you can pretty much learn it in your wrist. You
learn how much you crank each string and study how many turns it might
take for a certain string to go from this pitch to that pitch. You know,
a quarter turn for this and a half turn for that. So if you just kind
of learn that, it comes out very close and you just strum it through
and adjust it here and there.
Excerpt copyright 1993, Performing Songwriter Magazine.
Tunings listed here for the songs on BW's first two albums are taken from
the official lyric sheets, available from:
Red Guitar Blue Music
PO Box 644
Northampton, MA 10161
Tunings for songs on later albums appear in the liner notes to those albums.
They are all listed at
A guide to the music and
musings of Brooks Williams, a web site maintained by Clark
Weatherby.
- North From Statesboro
- Faces of Light
- *DADGAD (capo 2)
- Frenzy at the Feeder
- *DADGAD
- Aquainted With the Night
- *std
- Good Man Down
- *std
- Postcard From Gulfside
- *std
- On the Rollin' Sea (Joseph Spence)
- *Drop D (capo 2)
- Big Blue Wonder
- *std
- Jericho
- *Open D
- Promises/What the Builder Left Behind
- *DADGAD (capo 2)
- Pavillions (Until the Time Is Right)
- *std
- We Will Dance Someday
- *DADGAD (capo 2)
- Over the Hill (John Martyn)
- *DADGAD
- Geography
- *Drop D
- Bush Pilot
- *DADGAD
- Engulfed
- *std
- Blues to Stay
- *DADGAD (capo 2)
- How the Night-Time Sings
- Blues is First
- *Drop D (capo 1)
- Jubilee
- *DADGAD
- How the Night-Time Sings
- *Drop D (capo 2)
- Los Padres
- *Open D
- Happy All the Time (adapted from Joseph Spence)
- *Drop D (capo 4)
- Hard Love
- *std
- What Do I Need to Do?
- *std
- Look What the Cat Dragged In
- *std
- Railwalker
- *DADGAD
- Dusty Road
- *DADGAD
- The Monte Vista
- No tuning listed
- Streets of Heaven
- *Open D
- Reina's Lullaby
- *std
- When I Reach
- *DADGAD
- Weather the Storm
- *DADGAD (capo 2)
- Great Dream of Heaven
- *DADGAD
- Back To Mercy
- See liner notes
- Inland Sailor
- See liner notes
- The Honesty Room
- When I Was A Boy
- +DADGAD [TJL+]
Songbooks
- BBMH
- Bob Bennett: Matters of the Heart
(c) 1982 by Cherry Lane Music Company, Port Chester, NY,
Book Number A0055PV, $5.95 (probably o/p).
Contains music with chord diagrams, a few in alternate
tunings.
- BTST
- Big Times in a Small Town --- Christine Lavin Presents
The Vineyard Tapes
(c) 1993 by Cherry Lane Music Company, Port Chester, NY,
ISBN: 0-98524-799-2, $19.95.
This book contains piano arrangements and chord diagrams (some
in alternate tunings).
- DWSB
- The David Wilcox Songbook
(c) 1994 by CPP/Belwin, Inc., Miami, FL.
ISBN: 0-910957-53-3, $17.95.
This book contains lead sheets with chord diagrams in alternate
tunings, and tablature.
- SCFC
- Shawn Colvin --- Fat City
(c) 1993 by Cherry Lane Music Company, Port Chester, NY.
ISBN: 089524-736-4, $14.95
This book contains lead sheets with chord diagrams (many in
alternate tunings).
- SOBF
- The Songs of Bob Franke
(c) 1992 by The Folk Project.
A compilation of music for Bob's songs, compiled by fans
in The Folk Project, "an organization of musicians, dancers,
and other enthusiasts based in northern and central New Jersey."
Melodies, lyrics, tunings, and chord names (but not diagrams) are
provided
for all four recordings listed above, and for Bob's Epiphany
Cantata. Notes on the songs, and a discography, are also
included. For copies, send $15.00 plus $2.00 for postage to:
Telephone Pole Music Publishing Company
106 Winona Street
Peabody, MA 01960
Periodicals
For further information about these and other periodicals that cover
folk music, see the
Guide to Folk Music Periodicals
on FolkBook.
- AG --- Acoustic Guitar Magazine
- PS --- Performing Songwriter Magazine
- GP --- Guitar Player Magazine
Newsletters, Fan Clubs, and List Servers
- MOB --- Midnight Ocean Bonfire (David Wilcox Newsletter)
- PKNL --- Phil Keaggy Newsletter
- TR --- Taproot, the Michael Hedges listserver
- WLIST --- wilcox-list@hubcap.clemson.edu, David Wilcox listserver
Guitar-Toting Fans
- MA --- Mike Allinger (ga12@cornell.edu)
- PB --- Peter Beck (aallbeck@ix.netcom.com)
- DAB --- Daniel A. Borer (st941968@PIP.CC.BRANDEIS.EDU)
- TB --- Travis Brown (travis@silk.net)
- RC --- ??? (ROSECURTIS@aol.com)
- MG --- Matt Guthrie (HotType1@aol.com)
- BJ --- Brian Jarboe (brianj@clark.net)
- DK --- David Kamerer (kamerer@ksu.ksu.edu)
- JTL --- Jon Lea (jonlea@nwu.edu)
- TJL --- Tom Loredo (loredo@spacenet.tn.cornell.edu)
- LM --- Leigh Marble (Leigh_Marble@brown.edu)
- BM --- Billy McLaughlin (performer, helped with Hedges tab book)
- DM --- Delano Mirales (DMireles@aol.com)
- JP --- Josh Pincus (jpincus@baka.com)
- PS --- Phil Schappert (butrfly@cml.com)
- AS --- Adam Schneider (schn0170@maroon.tc.umn.edu)
- DW --- David Wade (dw111@netcom.com)
- MW --- McClain Watson (JW2998@conrad.appstate.edu)
- SW1 --- Stan Wood (swood1@ix.netcom.com)
- SW --- Steve Wimmer (msw@isumataq.eskimo.com)
- PLK --- Paul K? (plk@taylor.ucsd.edu)
- MSW --- Steve W? (msw@eskimo.com)
These sites contain chords and tablature for acoustic and electric guitar
music, some of which is in altered tunings.
Web Servers
- Adam
Schneider's Guitar Files
- Contains collections of guitar chords and tablature for
songs by Suzy Bogguss, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Indigo Girls, Nanci Griffith,
Mary Karlzen, Christine Lavin, Suzanne Vega, and Lucinda Williams; as well
as miscellaneous entries for other artists.
- Guitar Music Archive Search
- A web-based search engine and index for the On Line Guitar Archive
(OLGA) mirrors described below. A great way to access OLGA.
- FolkBook:
An Online Acoustic Music Establishment
- The place on the web to find out about contemporary
singer/songwriters performing acoustic music. Hosts this list
and links to other acoustic guitar resources.
Anonymous FTP Archives
- Dean Gaudet's Acoustic Guitar
Archive
- This site archives acoustic guitar tablature posted to
the USENET guitar news groups listed below. The original archive was at
csclub.uwaterloo.ca in the directory /pub/u/dgaudet/guitar.
This site has recently been phased out, and the archive has been
moved to OLGA and its mirrors.
A README and Index file document the archive.
- OLGA: On-Line Guitar Archive
- This archive was originally known as
The Nevada Guitar Archives,
due to its location at the University of Nevada's anonymous ftp server,
infamous for being hard-to-access. Fortunately, there are now a number of
mirrors around the world that make the resources of this huge archive
more accessible. The archive contains guitar music (chords or tablature)
for thousands of songs, and other guitar-related information, including some
lessons and software for a variety of platforms. The original archive
had a predominantly electric focus; but Dean Gaudet's Acoustic Guitar
Archive is now part of OLGA.
README files will guide your explorations and
provide information about submissions. I believe
The Music Archives (see below) mirrors this site pretty closely.
The Nevada Archive itself is at
ftp.nevada.edu in /pub/guitar. One of the most popular and accessible
USA mirrors is AOL's OLGA Mirror
at mirrors.aol.com; an accessible
European mirror is at
ftp.uu.net.
Adam Schneider has compiled a web-accessible
list
of links to OLGA mirrors.
Finally, the Guitar
Music Archive Search site (mentioned above) provides a web-capable
search engine for OLGA.
- The Music Archives---Guitar
Directory
- The Music Archives. Connect by anonymous ftp to ftp.uwp.edu;
guitar music is in /pub/music/guitar. This is a general music
archive, containing lyrics, discographies, music, and other resources of
interest to musicians and lovers of music. Numerous
README files will guide your explorations and
provide information about submissions.
- The Completely Unofficial
David Wilcox FTP Archive
- This site hosts tablature and chords for Wilcox songs, many of them
copied from posts to the David Wilcox list server. Some Lyle Lovett
songs are archived there, too.
USENET Newsgroups
- rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic (RMMGA)
- The USENET news discussion group on acoustic guitar,
with many daily posts of queries, answers, and comments
on all facets of the acoustic guitar, including posts of tablature.
- alt.guitar.tab and
rec.music.makers.guitar.tablature
- More general guitar tablature groups, focussing more on electric guitar,
but occassionally including acoustic guitar music.
RMMGA was formed in part as an
acoustic-focussed alternative to these groups.
Articles
- "50 ways to leave standard tuning"
- Mark Hanson, Frets Magazine, Oct. 1986.
Books and Booklets
- The Alternate Tunings Guide for Guitar by Mark Hanson;
Amsco Publications, NY (1991); US ISBN 0.8256.1251.9; $4.95
-
A small-format booklet (sized to fit in a guitar case)
describing about eight common tunings: Standard, Drop D,
DADGAD, Open D, Open G, G6 (DGDGBE), and Lute and Viheula
tuning (EADF#BE). Describes how to tune the guitar to get in
each tuning, and provides a scale fingering and several chord
fingerings in each tuning, as well as a discography. The booklet
also includes a list of several dozen songs that use other
alternate tunings.
- The Complete Book of Alternate Tunings by Mark Hanson;
Accent on Music; ISBN: 52187 72648
- A much-expanded version of the pocket guide mentioned above,
including extensive discographies for the tunings.
- Alternate Tunings for Bass by Lee Barry;
Song of Apollo Publishing, P.O. Box A3914, Chicago, IL 60690
- Lee's book discusses 15 unique tunings for 4-string electric bass.
You can reach him online at
leeba@interaccess.com.
For more information, visit his
Alternate Tunings For Bass web site.
Please send comments, additions, or corrections to
Tom
Loredo (loredo@spacenet.tn.cornell.edu). When submitting
a new tuning, please note the source (if it isn't you!), and the
appropriate prefix for the tuning (?, +, or *), as described in
the Introduction. Also, note whether you can
provide additional information about the song (chord fingerings, tab).
I'd also appreciate any help you can provide verifying tunings
labeled with a "?" or "+", particularly if you can ask the artist
and get an "official" tuning.
New Tuning Form (NOT YET FUNCTIONAL!)
Thanks for your interest in FolkBook, the Alternate
Tuning Guide, and guitar music in general. The more folks
we get singin' and pickin' and strummin' this music, the nicer the
world will be!
This list got its start (in text form) in May 1994, and has been assembled
with the assitance of the subscribers
of the folk_music list server and the RMMGA newsgroup. Also,
Bob Franke generously granted permission for including the tunings from his
songbook. Thanks, folks!
loredo@spacenet.tn.cornell.edu
This list is copyrighted (1994, 1995) by Tom Loredo, and may not be
reproduced commercially without permission. Of course, the tunings
themselves are not copyrighted, and can be shared freely.