Open D Tuning
Tutor Richard Barrett | Gear used Atkin J45T Difficulty | 30 mins per example
LET’S CLARIFY THE TUNING USED
before we start. I’ve gone for classic open D (from low to high): D A D F# A D. This stacks up like an E major chord in regular tuning but dropped down a tone. Using open D as a starting point obviously means the goalposts have moved regarding fretting hand fingering and chord shapes, but what is lost in one sense is certainly made up for in opportunities for chords and melodies that would be virtually impossible in regular tuning. It’s also great for bottleneck and can be heard on many old blues recordings.
Rather than break this piece into excerpts, I’ve transcribed it in full, but it would be wise to break it down into sections as you work on it. The piece switches between strumming and flatpicking, so I’ve used a hybrid approach wherever simultaneous notes are played. In these instances, the pick takes the place of the thumb with a picking hand finger handling the higher strings. I usually use my third, but feel free to go with whatever is most comfortable to you.
Another option might be to fingerpick and strum without a pick at all, though steel strings can make a mess of your nails pretty quickly when strumming… Some sections are a great exercise for alternate flatpicking through arpeggiated chords – something that can feel counterintuitive at first, but this is the way a virtuoso such as Molly Tuttle (pictured) manages to articulate complex passages with little visible effort or fatigue.
I like to think of this piece as a combination of bluegrass, blues and folk that’s influenced by the aforementioned Tuttle and Jimmy Page as well as a little touch of John Renbourn. There is no backing track this time, so the dynamics and tempo are in your full control – one of the advantages and challenges of the acoustic guitar! I hope you enjoy this and see you next time.
Richard Barrett’s album, Colours, (complete with backing tracks), is available now from www.richardbarrettguitar.com