Has anyone tried GDGD tuning? Is there an advantage to it?
Has anyone tried GDGD tuning? Is there an advantage to it?
A common tuning among some old-time fiddlers.
It creates a series of drones that many people find attractive.
Look up "old-time fiddle tunings" and "sawmill tuning," and you can find many tunes that exploit the possibilities of alternate tunings.
Thread I started a while ago....
https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...of-GDGD-tuning
Charley
A bunch of stuff with four strings
Some Cape Breton fiddlers use "high bass" tuning, AEAE. Many Scottish tunes can be played on the A and E strings. The purpose of high bass tuning is that two fiddlers can play together, one an octave below the other, for more volume at pre-amplification dances. I've tried high bass tuning by myself, and found it difficult, less intuitive than I would have expected, though I suspect it comes easily to some others. I play some fiddle tunes in standard tuning, repeating the same pattern an octave apart. With a little practice, that's not hard to do if your ear playing is developed. I haven't tried it with mandolin.
Last edited by Ranald; Jul-25-2021 at 7:52pm.
Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
"I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.
GDGD is sometimes called sawmill tuning. Or Cross G.
I have tried it, and for some tunes it is great.
I have a mandolin I keep in what ever cross tuning I am working with. Right now it is in Dead Mans tuning or DDAD.
I’ve tried GDGD a few times, and the droning effect is quite impressive for awhile, and good for accompanying singing, but I found that I would begin to treat the mandolin like a guitar and not work on the instrument’s strengths, melody etc.
Bottle neck style likes open chord tuning that's 1V1V , no 3rd .
writing about music
is like dancing,
about architecture
I think this is AEAE. I'd say the big advantage is droning
Thanks everyone for the input, will I have to change out my upper strings, or can I just use the ones already there( A and E)
Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
"I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.
2010 Heiden A5, 2020 Pomeroy oval A, 2013 Kentucky KM1000 F5, 2012 Girouard A Mandola w ff holes, 2001 Old Wave A oval octave
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Videos: https://www.youtube.com/@hillbillychambermusic
Tuning down is easier on your instrument, but if you are going to play with a fiddle player you might want to change the strings to lighter strings if you go to AEAE.
THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!
Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
"I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.
THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!
pops1 (or anyone else following this thread): Did Mike Compton on the video posted above (courtesy of Ky Slim)actually tune up G & D to A & E (pretty sure no capo)? Can you tell by your very educated ears? So perhaps lighter strings or just cranked it anyway?
(As a total newb, I really like this song. Something to aspire toward in the future.)
Last edited by LRDave; Jul-27-2021 at 8:51pm.
Its Mike Compton, not "Cowen".
Charley
A bunch of stuff with four strings
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