Non standard tuning songs

Berasapj

Hi,

I think it could be a good idea to open a topic where we post songs that are not in a standard tuning so we can have kind of an index/a place to visit when we tune our guitars in a different way.

Drop D (DADGBE)
-Outshined
-Habit
-MFC
-Everlong
-Go
-Garden
-Leash
-Brain of J
-Dead Man
-No Way
-Harvest Moon
-Slaves and Bulldozers
-Jesus Christ Pose
-Face Pollution
-Room a Thousand Years Wide
-New Damage
-Let Me Drown
-Spoonman
-Black Hole Sun
-Kickstand
-Rhinosaur
-No Attention
-Switch Opens
-Boot Camp
-Fat Bottomed Girls (Queen)
-Dear Prudence (Beatles)
-Norweigan Wood (with a Capo on 2) (Beatles)

Double Drop D (DADGBD)
-Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young)
-Blackwater (Doobie Brothers)
-Ohio (CSNY)
-Going to California (Led Zeppelin)

Open D (DADF#AD)
-Even Flow
-Oceans
-Nothing as it Seems
-1/2 Full

Open A (EAEAC#E)
-Deep

Open G (DGDGBD)
-Faithfull
-Honky Tonk Women
-Brown Sugar
-Can't You Hear Me Knocking
-Start Me Up
-Tumbling Dice (Capo IV)
-Happy (Capo IV)
-If You Can't Rock Me
-Respectable
-Before They Make Me Run
-Sway
-Rip This Joint (Capo II)

Celtic Tunning (DADGAD)
-Going To California
-Given To fly
-Kashmir
-White Summer \ Black Mountain Side

Variation on Open G (GGDGBD)
-Daughter
-Blood

Open A (CGCGGE)
-Head Down
-Half; Pretty Noose
-Burden in my Hand

Dropped C#
-All or None

The weird ones
-Nothingman (EADGCE)
-Given to Fly (DADGAD)
-You Are (CGDGBE)
-Bushleaguer (BGDGBD)
-The Day I Tried To Live (EEBBBB)
-My Wave (EEBBBB)
-Somewhere(EEBBEE)
-Rusty Cage (BADGBE)
- Searching With My Good Eye Closed(BADGBE)
-Holy Water (BADGBE)
-4th of July (CFCGBE)
-Mailman (CGDGBE)
-Limo Wreck (CGDGBE)
-Never the Machine Forget (CGDGBE)
-Like Suicide (DGDGBC)
-Uriah Heep (The Wizard) (c#-A-F-C-G-C)
–Snuff Drop B Standard (Slipknot) [C# F# B E G# C#]

"G6" tuning (DGDGBE)
-Superunknown (DGDGBE)
-Fresh Tendrils (DGDGBE)
-Dusty (DGDGBE)
Never Named (DGDGBE)
Overfloater (DGDGBE)

EEBEBE
-Who you are
-No excuses

Drop D flat (DbAbDbGbBbEb)
-We Die Young
-Them Bones
-Dam that River
-Rain When I DIe
-A Little Bitter
-Sludge Factory
-Died

Open E (low to high:E B E G# B E)
-She Talks To Angels (The Black Crowes)

Johnny Aggro

Love the following:

Open D

oceans


E
B
B
E
B
E

Who you are/My wave/No excuses

deftones

Given to Fly - DAGDAD
Faithful - DGDGBD
Even Flow - Drop D
Daughter - DBGDGG
Brain of J - DADF#AD

I think for all of the songs one guitar is in standard tuning , and i'm pretty sure that Oceans is in DADF#AD

Bezza

If we're talking Pearl Jam songs:

Dropped (DADGBE)
Go
Garden
Leash
Brain of J
Dead Man
No Way

Open D (DADF#AD)
Even Flow
Oceans
Nothing as it Seems
1/2 Full

Open A (EAEAC#E)
Deep

Open G (DGDGBD
Faithfull

Variation on Open G (GGDGBD)
Daughter
Blood

Dropped C#
All or None

And the weired ones
Nothingman (EADGCE)
Given to Fly (DADGAD)
You Are (CGDGBE)
Bushleaguer (BGDGBD)

Bezza

Also pretty much all Alice in Chains is Half a step down from standard tuning

EbAbDbGbBbEb

Then for some songs Drop D tuning from that

DbAbDbGbBbEb (We Die Young, Them Bones, Dam that River, Rain When I DIe, A Little Bitter, Sludge Factory, Died)

Berasapj

Thank for all the contributions, but it is not just PJ we can post songs for any group

magga1976

She Talks To Angels ~ The Black Crowes in Open E (low to high:E B E G# B E)
Killer song

Berasapj

magga1976 wrote:

She Talks To Angels ~ The Black Crowes in Open E (low to high:E B E G# B E)
Killer song

Thanks! Added to the main list

SatansFuton

If you're in Open G, you can play MANY Stones songs, that's Keith's bread and butter.

Honky Tonk Women
Brown Sugar
Can't You Hear Me Knocking
Start Me Up
Tumbling Dice (Capo IV)
Happy (Capo IV)
If You Can't Rock Me
Respectable
Before They Make Me Run
Sway
Rip This Joint (Capo II)
Also both of the new songs....just to name a few. And many songs that weren't Open G, are (or were) played Open G live. Street Fighting Man and Jumpin' Jack Flash on Ya-Ya's for example, both played Open G, capo IV.

DriftingByTheStorm

I didn't see this one, and the tuning cracks me up (also, it's easy as shit to play, IF you can get it in tune):

Soundgarden - Mind Riot
tuning: EEEEEE
i shit you not.

Honestly,
you should have a whole fucking section just for soundgarden.
if it isn't detuned, they ain't playin' it.

And some bands, like Alice in Chains, and Guns n Roses
just write their name, and then write "tune down half step".


More crazy soundgarden shit:
EEBBBB The Day I Tried To Live; My Wave
EEBBEE Somewhere
BADGBE Rusty Cage; ...My Good Eye...; Holy Water ("dropped b")
CFCGBE 4th of July
DGDGBE Superunknown; Fresh Tendrils; Dusty; Never Named; Overfloater ("G6" tuning)
CGDGBE Mailman; Limo Wreck; Never the Machine Forget
DGDGBC Like Suicide
CGCGGE Head Down; Half; Pretty Noose; Burden in my Hand ("open C")



A million and one drop-D's (DADGBE)
Outshined; Slaves and Bulldozers; Jesus Christ Pose; Face Pollution; Room a Thousand Years Wide; New Damage; Let Me Drown; Spoonman; Black Hole Sun; Kickstand; Rhinosaur; No Attention; Switch Opens; Boot Camp

Ridiculous Factoid:
Number of Songs on Soundgarden's Superunknown - FIFTEEN
Number of Songs in Standard Tuning - ONE (Fell on Black Days)

DriftingByTheStorm

also,
this list means *nothing* without the following


Zeppelin's "Going to California" DADGBD ("double drop D")



Also in Double Drop D (of note to me, at least)
Cinnamon Girl - Neil Young (der)
Blackwater - Doobie Brothers
Ohio - CSNY


more shit:
DADGAD
Zeppelin - Kashmir; White Summer \ Black Mountain Side (goodluck playing it, lol)

Random Awesome Song In Fucked Up Tuning:
Uriah Heep - The Wizard - c#-A-F-C-G-C

Songs in Drop D that havent been mentioned that are awesome:
FAT FUCKING BOTTOM GIRLS - Queen
Dear Prudence - Beatles
Norweigan Wood - with a Capo on 2 to boot - Lennon was copying "A Hard Rain's gonna fall" by Dylan.

2-feign-reluctance

Love Open G. My buddy Matt and I went through a serious alt tuning phase...

DriftingByTheStorm

List of "all" Neil Young songs using non-standard tunings, courtesy of Hyperrust
Neil's Song Tunings

rearviewross

DriftingByTheStorm wrote:

Soundgarden - Mind Riot
tuning: EEEEEE
i shit you not.

WTF. I am going to have to try that.

rearviewross

Slipknot - Snuff

Great fucking song. I play this one a lot. Played it out a few times. People love it. Translates to acoustic really well.

Drop B Standard [C# F# B E G# C#] low to high
[Db Gb B E Ab Db] (in case you don't know #s)

brianlux

SatansFuton wrote:

If you're in Open G, you can play MANY Stones songs, that's Keith's bread and butter.

Honky Tonk Women
Brown Sugar
Can't You Hear Me Knocking
Start Me Up
Tumbling Dice (Capo IV)
Happy (Capo IV)
If You Can't Rock Me
Respectable
Before They Make Me Run
Sway
Rip This Joint (Capo II)
Also both of the new songs....just to name a few. And many songs that weren't Open G, are (or were) played Open G live. Street Fighting Man and Jumpin' Jack Flash on Ya-Ya's for example, both played Open G, capo IV.

After playing for more years than I care to admit, getting Keith's "Happy" down got me stoked about playing in open G capo IV. Muddy Waters "Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a great place to start in Open G (no capo) as well.

Berasapj

Berasapj wrote:

Hi,

I think it could be a good idea to open a topic where we post songs that are not in a standard tuning so we can have kind of an index/a place to visit when we tune our guitars in a different way.

Drop D (DADGBE)
-Outshined
-Habit
-MFC
-Everlong
-Go
-Garden
-Leash
-Brain of J
-Dead Man
-No Way
-Harvest Moon
-Slaves and Bulldozers
-Jesus Christ Pose
-Face Pollution
-Room a Thousand Years Wide
-New Damage
-Let Me Drown
-Spoonman
-Black Hole Sun
-Kickstand
-Rhinosaur
-No Attention
-Switch Opens
-Boot Camp
-Fat Bottomed Girls (Queen)
-Dear Prudence (Beatles)
-Norweigan Wood (with a Capo on 2) (Beatles)

Double Drop D (DADGBD)
-Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young)
-Blackwater (Doobie Brothers)
-Ohio (CSNY)
-Going to California (Led Zeppelin)

Open D (DADF#AD)
-Even Flow
-Oceans
-Nothing as it Seems
-1/2 Full

Open A (EAEAC#E)
-Deep

Open G (DGDGBD)
-Faithfull
-Honky Tonk Women
-Brown Sugar
-Can't You Hear Me Knocking
-Start Me Up
-Tumbling Dice (Capo IV)
-Happy (Capo IV)
-If You Can't Rock Me
-Respectable
-Before They Make Me Run
-Sway
-Rip This Joint (Capo II)

Celtic Tunning (DADGAD)
-Going To California
-Given To fly
-Kashmir
-White Summer \ Black Mountain Side

Variation on Open G (GGDGBD)
-Daughter
-Blood

Open C? (CGCGGE)
-Head Down
-Half
-Pretty Noose
-Burden in my Hand

Dropped C#
-All or None

The weird ones
-Nothingman (EADGCE)
-Given to Fly (DADGAD)
-You Are (CGDGBE)
-Bushleaguer (BGDGBD)
-The Day I Tried To Live (EEBBBB)
-My Wave (EEBBBB)
-Somewhere(EEBBEE)
-Rusty Cage (BADGBE)
- Searching With My Good Eye Closed(BADGBE)
-Holy Water (BADGBE)
-4th of July (CFCGBE)
-Mailman (CGDGBE)
-Limo Wreck (CGDGBE)
-Never the Machine Forget (CGDGBE)
-Like Suicide (DGDGBC)
-Uriah Heep (The Wizard) (c#-A-F-C-G-C)
–Snuff Drop B Standard (Slipknot) [C# F# B E G# C#]

"G6" tuning (DGDGBE)
-Superunknown (DGDGBE)
-Fresh Tendrils (DGDGBE)
-Dusty (DGDGBE)
-Never Named (DGDGBE)
-Overfloater (DGDGBE)

EEBEBE
-Who you are
-No excuses

Drop D flat (DbAbDbGbBbEb)
-We Die Young
-Them Bones
-Dam that River
-Rain When I DIe
-A Little Bitter
-Sludge Factory
-Died

Open E (low to high:E B E G# B E)
-She Talks To Angels (The Black Crowes)

Thanks to everybody for your contributions! Added to the main list

SatansFuton

I forgot to add a little note on Honky Tonk Women. If you're playing along to The Stones, it's fine to play regular Open G to live versions, but the studio version is a little sharp due to the tape being sped up. You'll want to tune it right between G and G# for the G strings, D and D# for the D strings, etc.

rearviewross

SatansFuton wrote:

I forgot to add a little note on Honky Tonk Women. If you're playing along to The Stones, it's fine to play regular Open G to live versions, but the studio version is a little sharp due to the tape being sped up. You'll want to tune it right between G and G# for the G strings, D and D# for the D strings, etc.

On the opposite end of The Stones Spectrum of rock, I think Pantera is similar. I believe Dime always turned his guitar slightly sharp on each string. D# plus 40 cents for example. Early Van Halen was similar.

DriftingByTheStorm

rearviewross wrote:

Early Van Halen was similar.

[it occurs to me that their may be some mis-speaking or miscommunication going on above, but to clarify]

Pretty sure early Van Halen is in the same camp as the entire GnR and AiC catalogue ... which is to say, Eb Tuning (down half a step on all 6 strings)

Also, pretty sure from the cursory read that i just did on Pantera tuning (have to confess they are a bit heavy for my taste, so i am not intimately familiar) that they are tuning a quarter step DOWN as well.

[snipet from first link at Ultimate Guitar for google search "pantera tuning" = "its a quarter step down from D tuning, pantera would always tune a quarter step down or so from whatever tuning they were playing in."]

But I can for sure tell you that early Van Halen plays in Eb tuning.
Dance The Night Away is one of my all time favorite songs to wanker guitar to,
and it is absolutely tuned down a half step across the board.

instead of EADGBE, it's Eb.Ab.Db.Gb.Bb.Eb. You could also regard this as D# tuning, but either way, you are tuning your strings (every one of them) DOWN a half step from their normal EADGBE tuning.

ps.
if you want an example of tuned UP a half step (or Capo on I if you're lazy) Buddy Holly's Cryin Waitin Hopin, or even more impressive (guitar solo rules) is the Marshall Crenshaw version from La Bamba. [of course in this live video, you NEVER get a cut of the fretboard, except during the solo, until LITERALLY the last chord of the song ... but you can tell from that even, because he is fretting a D chord in the normal 2nd fret "open" D chord position, and yet, unless your guitar was tuned up a half step, you would be flat from him a half step]

rearviewross

DriftingByTheStorm wrote:

rearviewross wrote:

Early Van Halen was similar.

[it occurs to me that their may be some mis-speaking or miscommunication going on above, but to clarify]

Pretty sure early Van Halen is in the same camp as the entire GnR and AiC catalogue ... which is to say, Eb Tuning (down half a step on all 6 strings)

Also, pretty sure from the cursory read that i just did on Pantera tuning (have to confess they are a bit heavy for my taste, so i am not intimately familiar) that they are tuning a quarter step DOWN as well.

[snipet from first link at Ultimate Guitar for google search "pantera tuning" = "its a quarter step down from D tuning, pantera would always tune a quarter step down or so from whatever tuning they were playing in."]

But I can for sure tell you that early Van Halen plays in Eb tuning.
Dance The Night Away is one of my all time favorite songs to wanker guitar to,
and it is absolutely tuned down a half step across the board.

instead of EADGBE, it's Eb.Ab.Db.Gb.Bb.Eb. You could also regard this as D# tuning, but either way, you are tuning your strings (every one of them) DOWN a half step from their normal EADGBE tuning.

ps.
if you want an example of tuned UP a half step (or Capo on I if you're lazy) Buddy Holly's Cryin Waitin Hopin, or even more impressive (guitar solo rules) is the Marshall Crenshaw version from La Bamba. [of course in this live video, you NEVER get a cut of the fretboard, except during the solo, until LITERALLY the last chord of the song ... but you can tell from that even, because he is fretting a D chord in the normal 2nd fret "open" D chord position, and yet, unless your guitar was tuned up a half step, you would be flat from him a half step]

From an interview with EVH -

GP: How do you tune up before a show?

EVH: I tune all my guitars myself. We tune a quarter-step down, so it�s like right between E and Eb; this is for vocal reasons. I used to tune down to D, but Mike couldn�t get his bass tone. He�d get too much slap. When we go in the studio, man, I don�t strobe tune or anything. I just pick the guitar up and if it�s in tune, I say, �Mike, tune to me,� and we play. Why does it have to be the same? Who says it has to be tuned to E? Why the rules? Fuck the rules! I mean the main reason I get all the weird stuff I do on guitar is because I don�t do it by the rules.


Re Dimebag Darrell
http://www.guitarworld.com/guitar-stren ... ell-part-2

DriftingByTheStorm

rearviewross wrote:

DriftingByTheStorm wrote:

rearviewross wrote:

Early Van Halen was similar.

[it occurs to me that their may be some mis-speaking or miscommunication going on above, but to clarify]

Pretty sure early Van Halen is in the same camp as the entire GnR and AiC catalogue ... which is to say, Eb Tuning (down half a step on all 6 strings)

Also, pretty sure from the cursory read that i just did on Pantera tuning (have to confess they are a bit heavy for my taste, so i am not intimately familiar) that they are tuning a quarter step DOWN as well.

[snipet from first link at Ultimate Guitar for google search "pantera tuning" = "its a quarter step down from D tuning, pantera would always tune a quarter step down or so from whatever tuning they were playing in."]

But I can for sure tell you that early Van Halen plays in Eb tuning.
Dance The Night Away is one of my all time favorite songs to wanker guitar to,
and it is absolutely tuned down a half step across the board.

instead of EADGBE, it's Eb.Ab.Db.Gb.Bb.Eb. You could also regard this as D# tuning, but either way, you are tuning your strings (every one of them) DOWN a half step from their normal EADGBE tuning.

ps.
if you want an example of tuned UP a half step (or Capo on I if you're lazy) Buddy Holly's Cryin Waitin Hopin, or even more impressive (guitar solo rules) is the Marshall Crenshaw version from La Bamba. [of course in this live video, you NEVER get a cut of the fretboard, except during the solo, until LITERALLY the last chord of the song ... but you can tell from that even, because he is fretting a D chord in the normal 2nd fret "open" D chord position, and yet, unless your guitar was tuned up a half step, you would be flat from him a half step]

From an interview with EVH -

GP: How do you tune up before a show?

EVH: I tune all my guitars myself. We tune a quarter-step down, so it�s like right between E and Eb; this is for vocal reasons. I used to tune down to D, but Mike couldn�t get his bass tone. He�d get too much slap. When we go in the studio, man, I don�t strobe tune or anything. I just pick the guitar up and if it�s in tune, I say, �Mike, tune to me,� and we play. Why does it have to be the same? Who says it has to be tuned to E? Why the rules? Fuck the rules! I mean the main reason I get all the weird stuff I do on guitar is because I don�t do it by the rules.


Re Dimebag Darrell
http://www.guitarworld.com/guitar-stren ... ell-part-2

I know.
Read what you said:

rearviewross wrote:

SatansFuton wrote:

I believe Dime always turned his guitar slightly sharp on each string. D# plus 40 cents for example. Early Van Halen was similar.

It sounds like you are confused here.

What EVH is clearly describing (and what I have stated) is that he has all strings tuned DOWN a half step.
So that his EADGBE tuning is effectively EbAbDbGbBbEb

What you picked up on with Dimebag's tuning is that his E string is D# (or Eb, whatever you want to call it) but what you SAID was "I believe Dime always turned his guitar slightly sharp on each string." ... i'm letting you know that this is INCORRECT. He is slightly FLAT on each string.
The only reason you would call anything in the tuning "sharp" as opposed to "flat" would be if you were for some reason trying to knit-pick the SYMANTICS of the tuning, given that Eb IS D#. Either way the strings are tuned DOWN not UP.

I wasn't trying to be a dick, or start an argument. I was just going for a subtle point of clarity.

DriftingByTheStorm

and i guess if we are knit-picking, we are both wrong. lol
cuz his dumb ass tunes a QUARTER of a step down, which is pretty much not even transcribeable.

Looks like they USED to drop all the way to D.
Which is news to me.
so EADGBE would have been way back when, DGCFAD ("D Standard Tuning", though to my mind there is nothing "standard" about that. lol)

rearviewross

No tension here. You are right. My original statement was not clear. I am so used to playing a half step down. What I meant was he tunes down a half step and then tunes up slightly, by 40 cents.

EVH clearly says he tunes a quarter step down not a half step. Now I don't know when that interview was given and you are right, he played a half step down I think on most things, but he did play in that quarter step tuning on some songs I believe. I think I have read Aint Talkin bout Love is tuned like this.

I don't play any Pantera or Van Halen and it sounds like you know more about theory, I know none, really. This is just information that I had heard in the past.

Berasapj

A little guide to different tunings

http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/tuning/ ... ing-chart/

Hope you find it interesting

rearviewross

Berasapj wrote:

A little guide to different tunings

http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/tuning/ ... ing-chart/

Hope you find it interesting

Cool. Thanks for sharing.

FrankieG

This is a great list that I wish could be sticky-ed.

FrankieG

Mostly all gaslight anthem songs are D-standard. (1 step down)

QUOTSA - No One Knows - C Standard (2 steps down)

simmers33

This list reminds me ... I need more guitars

webbo

Great thread! Stones parts in Leash and Go are open D though, Mikes in dropped D for that tune. Cheers!

Tristelune

All or none isn’t in Dropped C# but in standard tuning capo IV

Weirdest (but sounds awesome) is Seasons in Open F5 (FFCCCC) (last 2 C strings being 1 octave higher) lots of wrong tunings floating around for this one that sound ok but make it harder.