Tricks with Open G

ZoSo0789

New member
Can anyone tell me a few tips and tricks when using Open tunings? Right now I'm messing around with Open G (DGDBGD) in particular. Stuff like.....
- soloing tricks with slides (what frets and strings can make a cool finger picking melodic solo)
- Fingerings to use to make different kinds of chords (more bluesy stuff like 7ths) instead of just barre chords for the standard note
- anything bluesy
-anything stylistic like..... Duane Allman, George Thorogood, Hubert Sumlin, Robert Johnson, and even Keith Richards I guess
- what frets to do some cool walk downs on the turn around chord ala delta blues style

anything to help me expand would be cool :)
 
Re: Tricks with Open G

i dont use open tunings enough to have many tricks. but the octave artifical harmonic is a cool slide trick.

lay the slide at a fret (we will use the 3rd on the high e for example but almost any will work) pluck the harmonic at the octave (15th fret in our example) then slide up to that fret while the harmonic is ringing. when done right it will sound the harmonic up an octave
 
Re: Tricks with Open G

You ought to check out some of Bob Brozman's instruction DVD's. He'll take you through that tune note for note in open G and teach you the original Robert Johnson version pretty much exactly as originally performed. All the tricks...and then some. He has a two DVD instruction video. Great stuff.
 
Re: Tricks with Open G

If you learn the basic Keith Richards thing in open G, you can have hours of fun and play a ton of Stones songs. Make sure you have a capo.
 
Re: Tricks with Open G

You ought to check out some of Bob Brozman's instruction DVD's. He'll take you through that tune note for note in open G and teach you the original Robert Johnson version pretty much exactly as originally performed. All the tricks...and then some. He has a two DVD instruction video. Great stuff.

Is this the DVD you're talking about, Lew?

- Keith
 
Re: Tricks with Open G

Is this the DVD you're talking about, Lew?

- Keith

Yep. That's volume I. You can buy it as a set of vol. I and II and save a little cash. Super well worth it for aspiring bottleneck players and for those wanting to learn their way around the guitar in open tunings like D and G.
 
Re: Tricks with Open G

In open G the triad is on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings. So if you want to play a seventh you would want to place a finger on the 3rd fret of the 1st string to play a dominant 7th. (this would be G 7th) What I like to do is place my index finger on the 1st and 2nd string on the 2nd fret and slide up to the 7th. I also use suspended 4ths. If you play a full bar on any fret, just drop a finger down on the 2nd string one fret above the barred fret. Its a cool vibe and you can hammer on with this to get a tempo going.

In open D the triad is on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th string, so the fingerings change some, but in many cases you can just move your basic fingerings over one string and they will work. When you want to play the suspended 4th you drop the finger down on the 3rd string. Try it you will see what I mean.
 
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