IMPORTANT NOTE: Before studying the material on this page, read through my Open D Tuning page. There you'll find some helpful information on chord patterns/substitutions and theory that I won't be repeating here.INTRODUCTION TO OPEN G TUNING

Have you ever tried to figure out the chords to the Rolling Stones song, "Wild Horses"? They appear easy enough. At first you seem to hear a G major, then an A minor. There's also a B minor in there, and a D major. But when you play these chords in standard tuning, they just don't sound right. Sure, you can sing the song using these chords, but there's something about the harmonies that's just not right.

The reason that the chords sound right and not right at the same time lies in the tuning. The acoustic guitar which begins the song and continues throughout is tuned to Open G. So while the chords are basically G major, A minor, B minor, and D major, the voicings of those chords made possible by the altered tuning are such that you can never achieve the same sound in standard tuning, which can be pretty frustrating!

I love Open G tuning. It's a favorite among slide guitarists, because it gives you a wide open major chord on any fret, and it allows an easy alternating bass because the root (the main note of the chord, G if it's a G chord, for example) is on the fifth string while the fifth (D if it's a G chord, for example) is on the sixth and the fourth. The presence of the fifth on two separate strings an octave apart enables you to achieve a nice variety in the bass when playing the tonic chord, and easily play a bass line for the IV chord in the I IV V pattern without changing positions. Both slide and non slide players also appreciate the fact that open G also enables you to play a standard blues line (more on that later) with relative ease!

I also love Open G because in addition to enabling you to play major chords very easily (just barre any fret) it also, for the more adventurous non slide player, makes possible complex voicings that can be used as substitutions for standard major and minor chords.

A word of caution here, though. Non slide applications of Open G tend to be more difficult than other altered tunings. So if this is your first experience with altered tunings, by all means, give it a try. But if you find it too difficult, try your hand at open D or DADGAD first (click below for lessons on these tunings). When you've mastered those, then come back here and try Open g again. You'll find it a lot easier once you are more familiar with the whole concept of altered tunings!

TUNING YOUR GUITAR

If you have an electronic tuner, simply tune your strings to the following:

DGDGBD

If you're tuning manually, start by loosening your sixth string until it sounds like your fourth string, but an octave lower. Next, loosen your fifth string until it sounds like your third string, but an octave lower. Then, loosen your first string until it sounds like your fourth string, but an octave higher. And that's it! Notice that this tuning involves only the LOOSENING of strings in standard tuning, so there's no additional stress placed on the neck of your guitar. Another advantage!

CHORDS

Ok, let's start with something really easy. Just strum all of the open strings and you get a beautiful G major chord. If you barre all of the strings on the fifth fret, you'll get a C major. And if you barre the seventh fret, D major will be the result. In fact, you can barre any fret on the guitar and get a major chord. These are the kinds of chords most frequently used by slide players in open G because, of course, the slide is capable of covering all six strings across any given fret.

Strum all the strings. Sounds nice and open, doesn't it? That's because of all the open fifths (Gs and Ds). In this chord, the root (or scale tone upon which the chord is based, (in this case, G) is found on the fifth string.

Now let's try a substitution for the IV chord in the key of G, which would be C major:

The root of this chord (or the C) is on the fifth string. So that the root sounds at the bottom of the chord, do not play the sixth string when strumming.

You'll also notice that this chord is formed by adding two additional fingers to the G chord formation. So, try playing the G chord, and then simply adding the ring and middle fingers to form the chord above, which substitutes for C. This way, you can change back and forth between chords much more quickly, and the exercise will help to build finger independence.

The root of this chord, or the D, is on the fourth string. Again, so that the root sounds clearly at the bottom of the chord, only play four strings when you strum. This, by the way, is a "straight" D chord, unlike the C, which is really a substitution for a "straight" C major.

Now, try putting the whole pattern together. Strum four Gs, four Cs, and four Ds, and repeat the sequence several times. Keep your strumming even and try not to lose time between chords. If you are losing time, slow down your strumming until you can play the whole thing evenly, taking no more time with your strums between chords, than you do within chords. Remember: Evenness is much more important than speed. The speed will come as your muscles develop. So practice slowly, gradually building up speed as you get better.

APPLYING THE I, IV, V, CYCLE TO SONGS

As with any altered tuning, you can play many songs using just these three chords. If you've worked out songs based on the I IV V pattern in other open tunings, try the same songs using this pattern in Open G. They sound quite different, don't they?

THE BLUES SCALE

We've all heard and appreciate the talents of many fine blues guitarists, from Eric Clapton to B.B. King. And while the style of each is unique to player, there is one component of their playing that each shares. It's what makes their music definable as blues as soon as we hear it, and it underlies all of the personal variations that define individual style. What is that component? It's the blues scale.

While there are many special "licks" that stylistically distinguish one blues guitarist from another, each bases his or her music on what's come to be called the blues scale. Basically, it goes like this:

I IIIb IV V VII I

Played in both an ascending and descending order, the above pattern of notes underlies virtually all blues solos (and many rock and jazz solos as well). In fact, the notes need not be played in strict order. You can mix them up to create those special, unique licks.

Having said this, I must also add that the above is somewhat of a simplification. For example, the third tone is not always flat in a blues solo. And there are many passing tones that can be inserted around the pattern illustrated above. But, before you break the rules, you have to learn them. And the above pattern will produce a bluesy sounding solo.

In the key of G, this blues pattern translates to:

G Bb C D F G

And it's easy to play in open G, which is why many blues players have embraced this tuning.

Now, try it in reverse, beginning with the last note and ending with the first. Then try it both ways without stopping.

Notice that I have not included any notes on the fifth and sixth strings. That's because we're going to be using those strings (and the fourth string as well, at times) to produce an alternating bass to go under the blues scale!

USING AN ALTERNATING BASS IN OPEN G

The term alternating bass means alternating the root tone in the bass line with another tone, most frequently the fifth. In the key of G, this would be G and D. Fortunately, this is quite easy to do in Open G tuning.

Let's try it. You'll remember from before, that the open fifth string in Open G will produce the root tone G, and the open fourth and sixth strings will produce the fifth, D, in two different octaves. Therefore, in order to get an alternating bass line in the key of G in Open G tuning, all we need to do is to play the fifth, fourth, and sixth strings open, in the following order:

5,4,6,4

Try that a few times, using the thumb of your right hand to pluck the strings. (For more on the right hand fingerpicking position, click on my fingerpicking page below.)

Ok, now, the above gave us the alternating base line for the G or I chord of the I IV V pattern in Open G tuning. To get the alternating bass line for the C or IV chord, simply place the index finger of your left hand on the second fret of the fourth string, and alternate between the open fifth and the fretted fourth:

5,4,5,4

The alternating bass line for the D chord or V chord, couldn't be easier. Just alternate between the open sixth and the open fourth (remember? They're both open Ds!):

6,4,6,4

Now, try this exercise using all that we've covered above:

1|---------------------|---------------------|
2|---------------------|---------------------|
3|---------------------|---------------------|
4|----0----0-----------|-----0-----0---------|
5|-0-------------------|--0------------------|
6|------0--------------|--------0------------|

1|---------------------|---------------------|
2|---------------------|---------------------|
3|---------------------|---------------------|
4|-----0-----0---------|-----0-----0---------|
5|--0------------------|--0------------------|
6|--------0------------|--------0------------|

1|---------------------|---------------------|
2|---------------------|---------------------|
3|---------------------|---------------------|
4|-----2-----2---------|-----2-----2---------|
5|--0-----0------------|--0-----0------------|
6|---------------------|---------------------|

1|---------------------|---------------------|
2|---------------------|---------------------|
3|---------------------|---------------------|
4|-----0-----0---------|-----0-----0---------|
5|--0------------------|--0------------------|
6|--------0------------|--------0------------|

1|---------------------|---------------------|
2|---------------------|---------------------|
3|---------------------|---------------------|
4|-----0-----0---------|-----2-----2---------|
5|---------------------|--0-----0------------|
6|--0-----0------------|---------------------|

1|---------------------|---------------------|
2|---------------------|---------------------|
3|---------------------|---------------------|
4|-----0-----0---------|-----0-----0---------|
5|--0------------------|--0------------------|
6|--------0------------|--------0------------|

Practice the above very slowly and very evenly, almost until you can do it without thinking! Next, we're going to put some notes above these alternating bass lines, which must remain steady!

Ok, here it is. A little fingerpicking blues solo in Open G using the material you've learned above. Practice it very slowly at first, building speed very gradually. The left hand fingering here alternates between second and third position. Use second position (index finger to pinky covers second to fifth fret) when using the alternating bass line for the C or IV chord. Use third position (index finger to pinky covers third through fifth fret) for everything else. Good Luck!

STRUMMER'S BLUES

1|---------------------|---------------------|
2|----3----------------|----3----------------|
3|-4-----4--0----------|-4------4----0-------|
4|-------0-----0-------|--------0--------0---|
5|-0-------------------|-0-------------------|
6|----------0----------|-------------0-------|

1|---------------------|---------------------|
2|----3--5--3--6-6--5--|--3------------------|
3|-4-------------------|---------------------|
4|-------0----------0--|-------0--------0----|
5|-0-------------------|--0------------------|
6|-------------0-------|------------0--------|

1|---------------------|---------------------|
2|---------------------|---------------------|
3|-3--3--2--0----------|-3--3--2--0----------|
4|-------2-----2-------|-------2-----2-------|
5|-0--------0----------|-0--------0----------|
6|---------------------|---------------------|

1|---------------------|---------------------|
2|----3--5--3--6--6--5-|-3-------------------|
3|-4-------------------|---------------------|
4|-------0-------------|----0-----0----------|
5|-0-----------------0-|-0-------------------|
6|-------------0-------|-------0-------------|

1|---------------------|---------------------|
2|----3-----3----------|---------------------|
3|-4-----4-------------|-------0--2--3--3--2-|
4|-------0-----0-------|----2----------------|
5|---------------------|-0-------------------|
6|-0--------0----------|---------------------|

1|---------------------|---------------------|
2|---------------------|---------------------|
3|-0-------------------|---------------------|
4|----0------0---------|---------------------|
5|-0-------------------|-0-------------------|
6|-------0-------------|---------------------|

Remember: The blues is flexible. With the exception of keeping the bass line steady (each note right on the beat) feel free to experiment with some syncopation on the melody notes, and HAVE FUN!

MORE CHORDS

Here are some more chords in Open G tuning for you to have fun with. I'm including only the more interesting ones because, hey, if you wanted straight sounding chords, you'd be playing in standard tuning, right?

And, as always, fool around with some standard tuning chord formations while you're tuned to Open G. You'll be surprised (and sometimes delighted) with the results.

WILD HORSES

I began this lesson by mentioning that when trying to figure out the chords for the Stones' "Wild Horses," standard tuning chords just did not sound right, but Open G chords did!

While copyright restrictions prevent me from giving you the chords for the song, I can tell you what chords that song (and thousands of others) uses and the Open G tuning equivalents. Then, if you go out and buy the sheet music, and plug in the Open G forms for the indicated chords, you'll have an authentic sounding arrangement:

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MORE TO COME

Look for additional pages on other subjects to come soon. Thanks for visiting Strummer1's Acoustic Guitar Pages

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