Hi all,
We have the various "Adventures in" threads focused on pieces played in various tunings like Vestapol, Spanish, and Cross-note, but we also have such threads on two tunings in which only one string has been changed from standard tuning: Dropped-D, DADGBE and EAEGBE tuning. Over the past few years I've noticed that one occasionally encounters other tunings in which only one string has been changed from the norm; such tunings are much more rare, and I thought it might be interesting to give some examples here and see if folks have discovered any others not shown here.
First off, we have Precious Bryant, playing "Georgie Buck" in FADGBE in C position. Raising the sixth string to F makes it so that she doesn't have to do a thumb wrap when the song goes to the IV chord, since she has the low root there on the open sixth string. Uncle bud of this site first remarked upon her using this tuning. Present-day player Del Ray has used this tuning too, but to play in F. Here is Precious Bryant:
Next we have Smoky Babe, with "If I Had Listened to What My Mama Say", from his Arhoolie album, "Way Back In The Country". Smoky Babe played this song and one other from the same album's program, "I'm Going Away", out of E position in EADF#BE tuning. The tuning enables hammers on the third string to both the minor third and the major third, and makes possible a variety of sounds that are far removed from the normal E position in standard tuning sound. Here is "If I Had Listened To What My Mama Say":
Alec Seward was fond of using EADGCE thing to play in C, in an otherwise standard tuning. You can hear him living on that open second string, C, and its unusual tone sounding through his I and IV chords. Here, from his album "Creeper's Blues", he is joined by Larry Johnson on harmonica for "Evil Woman Blues":
I just recently purchased the Testament CD, "It Must Have Been The Devil", which featured the Bentonia, Mississippi guitarist, Jack Owens, joined by the harmonica player Bud Spires. Jack Owens is known primarily for being one of the Bentonia players noted for playing in cross-note tuning, but included in the CD's program is a track not on the original LP release, "I Love My Baby", on which I was pleasantly surprised to hear Jack Owens playing in a version of Spanish tuning in which one string's pitch had been altered from the normal Spanish tuning, so that if you were going to Jack's tuning from Spanish tuning in Open G, you would tune to the following pitches: CGDGBD. So it is that Jack Owens tuned his sixth string down a whole step, making a low root for his IV chord available. In terms of sound, boy, was it worth it! He sounds like a million bucks. This is the Spanish tuning equivalent of using Dropped-D tuning to play in A. Here is "I Love My Baby", with apologies to non-U.S. weenies who may not be able to view the video:
INTRO
Oh Lord, love my baby, tell the world I do
Sometime I b'lieve my, Lord, baby love me too
Sometime I b'lieve my, Lord, be my baby loves me too
Lord, I'm gwine, I'm goin', baby, tell the world I'm gwine, Lord,
I'm gwine, I'm gwine, and I'll tell the world I'm gwine
Sometime I b'lieve my, sometime I b'lieve my, baby (guitar finishes line)
Lord, I love my baby, tell the world I do
Sometime I b'lieve my, baby love me, baby love me
Sometime I b'lieve my, Lord, b'lieve she loves me too
(Guitar begins verse)
Oh, stop your, pretty baby, stop your low-down ways
You don't quit your, pretty baby, stop your, stop your low (guitar finishes line)
(Guitar begins verse)
Lord, you don't quit your foolish, baby, stop your low-down ways
Lord, you don't stop your foolish, baby, stop your (guitar finishes verse)
(Guitar begins verse)
Lord, you don't stop your foolish, baby, Lord, quit your low-down (guitar finishes verse)
GUITAR SOLO
(Spoken: I done forgot 'em.)
Has anyone encountered any other one-string variations of tunings commonly in use for playing Country Blues? If you have, I hope you'll post them in this thread.
All best,
Johnm
We have the various "Adventures in" threads focused on pieces played in various tunings like Vestapol, Spanish, and Cross-note, but we also have such threads on two tunings in which only one string has been changed from standard tuning: Dropped-D, DADGBE and EAEGBE tuning. Over the past few years I've noticed that one occasionally encounters other tunings in which only one string has been changed from the norm; such tunings are much more rare, and I thought it might be interesting to give some examples here and see if folks have discovered any others not shown here.
First off, we have Precious Bryant, playing "Georgie Buck" in FADGBE in C position. Raising the sixth string to F makes it so that she doesn't have to do a thumb wrap when the song goes to the IV chord, since she has the low root there on the open sixth string. Uncle bud of this site first remarked upon her using this tuning. Present-day player Del Ray has used this tuning too, but to play in F. Here is Precious Bryant:
Next we have Smoky Babe, with "If I Had Listened to What My Mama Say", from his Arhoolie album, "Way Back In The Country". Smoky Babe played this song and one other from the same album's program, "I'm Going Away", out of E position in EADF#BE tuning. The tuning enables hammers on the third string to both the minor third and the major third, and makes possible a variety of sounds that are far removed from the normal E position in standard tuning sound. Here is "If I Had Listened To What My Mama Say":
Alec Seward was fond of using EADGCE thing to play in C, in an otherwise standard tuning. You can hear him living on that open second string, C, and its unusual tone sounding through his I and IV chords. Here, from his album "Creeper's Blues", he is joined by Larry Johnson on harmonica for "Evil Woman Blues":
I just recently purchased the Testament CD, "It Must Have Been The Devil", which featured the Bentonia, Mississippi guitarist, Jack Owens, joined by the harmonica player Bud Spires. Jack Owens is known primarily for being one of the Bentonia players noted for playing in cross-note tuning, but included in the CD's program is a track not on the original LP release, "I Love My Baby", on which I was pleasantly surprised to hear Jack Owens playing in a version of Spanish tuning in which one string's pitch had been altered from the normal Spanish tuning, so that if you were going to Jack's tuning from Spanish tuning in Open G, you would tune to the following pitches: CGDGBD. So it is that Jack Owens tuned his sixth string down a whole step, making a low root for his IV chord available. In terms of sound, boy, was it worth it! He sounds like a million bucks. This is the Spanish tuning equivalent of using Dropped-D tuning to play in A. Here is "I Love My Baby", with apologies to non-U.S. weenies who may not be able to view the video:
INTRO
Oh Lord, love my baby, tell the world I do
Sometime I b'lieve my, Lord, baby love me too
Sometime I b'lieve my, Lord, be my baby loves me too
Lord, I'm gwine, I'm goin', baby, tell the world I'm gwine, Lord,
I'm gwine, I'm gwine, and I'll tell the world I'm gwine
Sometime I b'lieve my, sometime I b'lieve my, baby (guitar finishes line)
Lord, I love my baby, tell the world I do
Sometime I b'lieve my, baby love me, baby love me
Sometime I b'lieve my, Lord, b'lieve she loves me too
(Guitar begins verse)
Oh, stop your, pretty baby, stop your low-down ways
You don't quit your, pretty baby, stop your, stop your low (guitar finishes line)
(Guitar begins verse)
Lord, you don't quit your foolish, baby, stop your low-down ways
Lord, you don't stop your foolish, baby, stop your (guitar finishes verse)
(Guitar begins verse)
Lord, you don't stop your foolish, baby, Lord, quit your low-down (guitar finishes verse)
GUITAR SOLO
(Spoken: I done forgot 'em.)
Has anyone encountered any other one-string variations of tunings commonly in use for playing Country Blues? If you have, I hope you'll post them in this thread.
All best,
Johnm