Open Tunings For Rhythm Guitar

Open tunings...

Have you heard of them?

Have you tried them?

Why aren't you using them if you already know about them?

In the video, we'll talk about open tunings, what an open tuning is, some popular open tunings that are typically used, why guitar players use open tunings, and how you can easily use open tunings. 

First, let's talk about what open tuning is. Open tuning is when you tune your guitar strings to the notes of a chord. That's it. Notes aren't always in the same order that you finger them on the fretboard, but all of them are there. 

Some popular open tunings that are typically used are E major, A major, and G major. There's also one from the low to high strings, DADGAD, which is a Dsus 4 chord. There's also a tuning that goes from the low strings to the high strings, and the notes are DGCGCD. That tuning isn't as popular, but Jimmy Page used it in The Rain Song.

Why do guitar players use open tunings? 

The two most common reasons are:

So you can finger chords that your fingers can't typically do. 

Play slide guitar much more effortlessly. 

In the video, we don't cover playing slide guitar, but it is interesting to note that many famous slide guitar players use open tunings. Some of them are Duane Allman, Robert Johnson, Robby Krieger, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Ry Cooder, Bonnie Rait, Elmore James, Blind Willie Johnson, Johnny Winter, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Page, Mick Taylor, Lowell George, Blake Mills.

In addition to specific guitar players, many guitar-based songs were most likely written and then recorded in open tunings. Although we don’t do into it in this video open D (D A D F# A D) is a very popular open tuning.

Here are some songs you may be familiar with that were all written in open D:

Loser – Beck

Even Flow - Pearl Jam

The Cave – Mumford & Sons

Thunder – Boys Like Girls

Daughters (Acoustic) – John Mayer

Into The Mystic – Van Morrison

Ivy – Taylor Swift

Big Yellow Taxi Joni Mitchell

Matilda – Harry Styles

Shelter From The Storm – Bob Dylan

Oxford Town – Bob Dylan

Paris, Texas – Ry Cooder

A Life of Illusion – Joe Walsh

Street Fighting Man – The Rolling Stones

Graduate – Third Eye Blind

Crippled Inside – John Lennon

Your Love is forever - George Harrison

I'm sure I could spend months researching popular songs, finding out if they were written and recorded with open tunings, and my list would surely overlook many. It would be hard to create such a list. The point is that there are a lot. Here are just a few open-tuning songs by Led Zeppelin:

Ten Years Gone 

Kashmir 

Friends 

Going to California 

When The Levee Breaks 

The Rain Song 

I only mentioned a few slide guitar players and songs, but you should have a good idea now that playing in open tunings is very popular for guitar players. In my experience, some guitar players are resistant to playing in open tuning because they feel they have to learn all new shapes for their fingers to play the same chords they already know. It just seems like too much work. I am telling you now if you feel that way, it shouldn't be that complicated.

There are two very easy ways in which you can use open tunings. One is to use one finger, fret every string on the same fret, and move up and down the guitar neck. The other is you could take one finger, put it on one string and move it up and down the guitar neck while you're playing all the other strings on your guitar. Not all the notes will sound great, but most of them are, remember where they are, and you could have fun all day long. 

If you are looking to learn another excellent rhythm guitar skill, you can check out my FREE lesson on how to weave lead guitar melody lines to your rhythm guitar playing here: https://rhythmguitarlessons.net/Pro

Have you ever heard extra notes played between chords and wondered, "Why do THESE notes sound good?" or "How can I do that?".

Most guitar players struggle to find the right notes to play between chords to make their songs sound better.

The fact is, it's easy to do once you learn how. And the result is your guitar playing sounds much more complex than it is...

This is good news for you:

I've created a brand new eGuide (yes, it's free), where I show you an easy way to connect chords with single-note melodies to sound like a pro.

The best part is it's 100% FREE (no strings attached)!

Download your copy instantly so you can instantly make your rhythm guitar playing sound better. https://rhythmguitarlessons.net/Pro

About Mark Turko: Mark Turko is a professional guitar player and instructor with over 30 years of experience and teaches guitar lessons online.

About Mark Turko: Mark Turko is a professional guitar player and instructor with over 30 years of experience and teaches guitar lessons online.