Happy Saturday Alt Tuning Land! Yes, it’s Saturday which means today’s alternate tuning blog post will be a bit different than the Monday – Friday posts I’ve done through the month of January 2016.
Since this blog post closes the first chapter of my first month attempting to play, write and blog about a new alternate tuning every day (6x/week) in 2016, I thought I would take a moment to reflect…
….okay!
Yesterday’s tuning was Open C#m6 Tuning:
- String 1 – C#
- String 2 – A#
- String 3 – E
- String 4 – C#
- String 5 – G#
- String 6 – C#
Today, we’re going to explore Open A M7 Tuning, which changes the A# on String 2 of yesterday’s tuning to an A, in turn changing the chord from C#m6 to A Major 7.
In the following video, I play a song called “Plastical” which I wrote this morning while experimenting and improvising in C# Hungarian Minor in C#m6 tuning. The song has a classical feel but I’m using a pick, so the name “Plastical” seems to fit perfectly! Or does it…
…and what’s with all the … dots?
Below are 6-string fretboards that show the scale notes, numbers, scale degrees and intervals I’m playing so you can follow along in this really interesting alternate tuning!
Be inspired my fellow alt tuners. Write “openly” from the new tuning I share, and please share your own music with us so WE can be inspired!
I would love for you to comment below and share your favorite tunings, or whatever you wrote using one of ours!
May these daily alt tunings continue to inspire you as you explore songwriting beyond the limitations of standard tuning. If you’d like to learn more about making alt tuning a part of your songwriting, give me a call at 888-7-GUITAR or reach out to me here.
~Scott Quillin
Did you know? Scott started playing guitar when he was 14 years old back in 1982. A Pittsburgh native, Scott resides in Rhode Island where he teaches guitar, bass, music and songwriting. He also records and mixes songs for local bands and artists as well as his own music. He writes and records nearly every day and has a real passion to help others hear their “inner voice” and express that in songs.
You can listen to more of Scott’s music at https://soundcloud.com/scottquillin.
