Why is a guitar tuned the way it is?
My girlfriend and I were talking about it, and wondered why they didn’t make "standard" tuning a full chord (C, A, G, D)… Seems like it would make it easier for people to just pick up and play. Any musical theorists out there that know why it’s tuned the way it is?
I’ve thought a lot about this because I play guitar in standard tuning and also in other "open" tunings. I also listen to lots of guitar players. So here’s my theory, see if it makes sense to you ok.
First, you are right. When a guitar is tuned to an open or full chord, it is easier to play. I’ve read that originally, guitars were commonly tuned that way. One of the most popular open tunings, DGDGBD, is sometimes referred to as "Spanish Tuning". If you know your guitar history, you know that much of the guitars’ roots are in Spain.
When guitar is played as a solo instrument, as it originally was, it’s sometimes easier to have fuller chord voicings in an open tuning, because tuning to a chord provides more open and complementary harmony– a bigger sound, than in standard tuning. The disadvantage is the ability to change keys. Open tunings usually favor playing in one key.
It’s seems like the standard tuning was developed to make the guitar more versatile within an ensemble context– playing with a band or an orchestra. Standard tuning also assists playing in all keys. Notice however that many solo blues guitar tunes in standard tuning are in the key of E. Notice also that standard tuning includes two open E notes (strings #1 & 6). This is why the key of E is often used to play solo blues in standard tuning. The dominance of E provides opportunity for bigger chord voicings and bass tones by way of open drone notes.
Open full chord tunings are also favored by slide players, because more notes are in harmony straight across the fretboard– and as we all know, slides are straight.
So to summarize, standard tuning makes the guitar more versatile within a band context and allows greater key flexability. It also provides a single "standard" from which to begin learning, and for which standard sheet music and learning materials can be developed. If the standard tuning were an open chord tuning, it would also be less likely to be the correct key of everyone wanting to use the guitar to accompany their vocal range.
Open full chord tunings allow the guitar a richer fuller sound in a solo performance within tighter key boundaries. However, there are dozens of valid open tunings.
I hope this helps you. Feel free to experiment tuning your guitar in different ways. Many players start by de-tuning their low E to D. There are many books & diagrams for tunings. Just remember to log what tuning you’re in when you create a cool tune, because keeping track of which songs use which tunings can get pretty crazy.
I once read that Joni Mitchell has used around 90 different tunings throughout her song catalogue. Ani DiFranco and Ben Harper also use various open tunings. Keith Richards of The Stones usually plays in an open tuning too, which is why whenever you hear a bar band playing a Stones tune, the guitar chords usually don’t sound right. That’s because Keith’s tuning creates different chord voicings than standard tuning.
I hope this helps. As you can see, I’ve probably thought about this too much actually. It’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it.
July 20th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
I donno what you mean. it just gotta be tuned in a way u want, coz maybe some ppl find it cool to play with it untuned and it will sound cool. can you realize how many cool songs Can be played with ur untuned guitar? i can its such a new world… u can try anything u want.. i guess that’s why its made the way it is..
References :
July 20th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
I’ve thought a lot about this because I play guitar in standard tuning and also in other "open" tunings. I also listen to lots of guitar players. So here’s my theory, see if it makes sense to you ok.
First, you are right. When a guitar is tuned to an open or full chord, it is easier to play. I’ve read that originally, guitars were commonly tuned that way. One of the most popular open tunings, DGDGBD, is sometimes referred to as "Spanish Tuning". If you know your guitar history, you know that much of the guitars’ roots are in Spain.
When guitar is played as a solo instrument, as it originally was, it’s sometimes easier to have fuller chord voicings in an open tuning, because tuning to a chord provides more open and complementary harmony– a bigger sound, than in standard tuning. The disadvantage is the ability to change keys. Open tunings usually favor playing in one key.
It’s seems like the standard tuning was developed to make the guitar more versatile within an ensemble context– playing with a band or an orchestra. Standard tuning also assists playing in all keys. Notice however that many solo blues guitar tunes in standard tuning are in the key of E. Notice also that standard tuning includes two open E notes (strings #1 & 6). This is why the key of E is often used to play solo blues in standard tuning. The dominance of E provides opportunity for bigger chord voicings and bass tones by way of open drone notes.
Open full chord tunings are also favored by slide players, because more notes are in harmony straight across the fretboard– and as we all know, slides are straight.
So to summarize, standard tuning makes the guitar more versatile within a band context and allows greater key flexability. It also provides a single "standard" from which to begin learning, and for which standard sheet music and learning materials can be developed. If the standard tuning were an open chord tuning, it would also be less likely to be the correct key of everyone wanting to use the guitar to accompany their vocal range.
Open full chord tunings allow the guitar a richer fuller sound in a solo performance within tighter key boundaries. However, there are dozens of valid open tunings.
I hope this helps you. Feel free to experiment tuning your guitar in different ways. Many players start by de-tuning their low E to D. There are many books & diagrams for tunings. Just remember to log what tuning you’re in when you create a cool tune, because keeping track of which songs use which tunings can get pretty crazy.
I once read that Joni Mitchell has used around 90 different tunings throughout her song catalogue. Ani DiFranco and Ben Harper also use various open tunings. Keith Richards of The Stones usually plays in an open tuning too, which is why whenever you hear a bar band playing a Stones tune, the guitar chords usually don’t sound right. That’s because Keith’s tuning creates different chord voicings than standard tuning.
I hope this helps. As you can see, I’ve probably thought about this too much actually. It’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it.
References :
Listening to lots of different guitar music, experimenting and reading lots of interviews in ACOUSTIC GUITAR and GUITAR PLAYER magazines.