Ry Cooder slide tunings
David Bell
>>things he had not been able to figure out (he also said he didn't think that
>>there was much point in trying). In the same interview he told a story about
>>Keith Richards trying to figure it out using a briefly unattended Cooder
>>guitar, but didn't manage it.
>>
>>-Tony
>These tunings are well documented. If anyone is interrested send me mail
>and I will dig out the articles I have on the subject.
>Dave Bell
I have had many requests for this information, so I think posting is
justified. The following information is from the March 1980 Guitar Player
magazine.
He mainly uses 2 different tunings, G and D.
He uses the 'G' tuning mainly for rhythm, and uses a capo to get different
keys. The tuning is as follows:
From low to high : D, G, D, G, B, D
For slide guitar he uses the 'D' tuning, as follows:
From low to high: D, A, D, F#, A, D
He also said he was experimenting with a 'Bm' ar 'D6' tuning, which is as
follows:
From low to high: D, A, D, F#, B, D
BTW, the Jan '91 issue of Musician mag has a Robert Johnson feature with
input from many different artists including Cooder, Clapton and Richards.
In the Cooder interview he said that Johnson used the same 'G' tuning that
he does, sometimes capoed.
When told that Clapton couldn't figure out the Johnson tuning, Cooder said
something to the effect that Clapton only plays in standard tuning and
dosn't know anything about open tunings.
Hope this is of some help ! Bye for now.
--
Dave Bell
Sea Change Corporation |Q. How do you get a rock guitarist to
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | turn down ?
UUCP: ...!uunet!attcan!seachg!db|A. Put a chart in front of him !
aboi...@amherst.bitnet
> When told that Clapton couldn't figure out the Johnson tuning, Cooder said
> something to the effect that Clapton only plays in standard tuning and
> dosn't know anything about open tunings.
Surely Clapton doesn't play slide in standard tuning, does he? Not that he does
that much nowadays anyaway, but he used to...
-Tony