I've been fooling around with alternate guitar tunings for a little while, and I thought I'd post a list of tunings that Dylan uses--IMHO--for various songs, since some guitar-pickin' rmd'ers might find it of interest. Apologies for the length of this to those who aren't interested.
Not all of these are dead certain, though I'm pretty confident about a lot of them. I've arranged them by tuning. There's 5 or 6 different tunings, some used much more than others. Blood on the Tracks, if you include the New York takes etc. available on Bootleg Series and Biograph, is almost an entire an album of E- tuned songs, and you can see how some great material (Up to Me) was left off, and other material reworked, simply because of the similarities of chord progressions and sonorities. That's a guess, of course, but I count ten songs (out of various takes) from the BOTT sessions that use this tuning.
The alt. tunings are used largely in the early material and in solo stuff. This comes partly from the roots/blues and folk tradition which often relies on these tunings, and on which Dylan was basing a fair amount of his material in the early years. Also the alt. tunings can contribute a fuller sound to a solo player. Add just a bass and drums and the need for a richer bottom end can disappear, I guess. BOTT is the big exception to this, of course. And some of the material on GAIBTY is alt. tuned, but on that album he's going back to solo roots music (WGW curiously doesn't use them from what I can tell, except possibly Broke Down Engine). These aren't hard and fast rules, just thoughts. The tunings also makes things easier to play :-)
A lot of these tunings change if you start listening to bootlegs or live versions, some converting to standard, and other standard tuned songs using alt.s, but I won't even attempt to go into that. Since he changes the arrangements of songs so frequently, the tunings aren't guaranteed to hold for anything but studio versions. And guaranteed is the wrong word.
All tunings refer to original studio release versions unless otherwise noted. Standard tuning is EADGBE, low (6th) string to high (1st) string. Just so we're all agreed :-)
I've included the root chord and occasionally the first chord of the song, particularly where that differs from the root. The chord notation is standard internet variety, using numbers to indicate fret positions on each string, so that (low to high string) a regular D chord is written xx0232. "x" means the string isn't played, "0" means open, "2" means the string is fretted 2 frets up from the nut or capo etc.
*Note: I find it much healthier for my guitar if I tune to D and use a capo on the 2nd fret whenever an E tuning is called for. And just so anybody who's never used alt. tunings before doesn't lose an eye, all these tunings mean you tune the string *down* from the standard. Unless you're using E tuning without the capo trick. In which case, I'm not responsible for injuries or damages. :-)
Open E: tune guitar to EBEG#BE. Or save your strings and neck and tune to open D (DADF#AD) and capo at the 2nd fret. I'm assuming a D tuning here and indicating capo positions in parentheses.
Highway 51 (capo 2) root: 000000 In My Time of Dyin' (4) 000300 Tangled Up in Blue (Bootleg Series) (2) 050000 or 000000 1st crd: xx0897 Call Letter Blues (Bootleg Series) (2) 000000 Idiot Wind (Bootleg Series) (2) 050000 1st crd: xx5450 If You See Her Say Hello (Bootleg Series) (2) 050000 Simple Twist of Fate (2) 050000 You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome (2) 050000 Shelter From the Storm (2) 050000 Buckets of Rain (2) xx0000 1st crd (slide): 000 10 9 xYou're a Big Girl Now (Biograph version) (2) 050000 Up to Me (2) 054000 Step It Up and Go (3) 0000xx
*050000 can also be 054000 etc.
Open G: tune guitar to DGDGBD
Quit Your Low Down Ways 000088 Frankie and Albert x0000x Arthur McBride (capo 2) x0000x Blackjack Davey (capo 4) (some people may give me a hard time about this but it's right, and I'll post the chords to prove it if I ever get down to writing them out :-) ) x00330
Dropped D: tune guitar to DADGBE
Fixin' to Die 000232 See That My Grave is Kept Clean 000232 Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (2) 000232 Mr. Tambourine Man (3) 000232 House Carpenter 000232 Seven Curses (1) 000232
Double Dropped D: tune guitar to DADGBD
Hollis Brown (1) 000230 It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) (2) 000230 Rocks & Gravel (OK, snuck a boot in, Gaslight ver.) 000230
Dropped C: don't know if that's actually what it's called but I'm calling it that. Tune guitar to CADGBE.
Love-0/No Limit (4) 032010 It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (BIABH vers.) (4) 032010 It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Biograph vers.) (2) 032010
BTW, for the most part, I don't have these written out, TAB format or otherwise, if you're thinking of asking (though questions and comments are welcome). Most are just in my head. I don't even play *all* of them, but have noted tunings while listening to the music and fooling around with the guitar. No guarantees and the list isn't comprehensive.
Cheers,
Andrew Mullins
[posted to newsgroup and cc:d to original author]
In article <4i4hul$9no_001@pc-mullins.Concordia.CA>, Andrew Mullins [deleted for brevity]
Wow! Thanks for posting this. This is the kind of information I have been looking for, for a long time on the newsgroup and
the web. Most of the so-called "tablature" on the OLGA sites consists only of chord changes and totally neglects this
important topic, since it is obvious that Dylan used a lot of alternate tunings.
If anyone has more information like this squirreled away please post or send to me via email. Thanks! I am learning some
Dylan tunes and trying to pay attention to the tunings used. Otherwise they just don't sound right.
>Dropped C: don't know if that's actually what it's called but I'm calling it that. Tune guitar to CADGBE.
>Love-0/No Limit (4) 032010 Dropped C-- never heard of it but I noticed the low bass notes on IANBB (Biograph). So that's why Dropped D didn't sound
right to me. Do you have a full tab of this and maybe Mr. Tambourine Man?
TIA
*** Posible Bounced News ***
Drop C sounds great for "All Over Now BB". Glad I discovered it here.
Never used it before. I think John Martyn talked about it once, one
in a list of alternative tunings like DADGAD and his special Modal
tunings, but I relegated it as being too impractical.
C is one root position chord electric guitarists tend to avoid;
and I'd have expected the low E on most light-medium strung acoustics
to flap if tuned down a major third. But struck -reasonably- carefully
it doesn't - and it adds a wonderful low bottom to the C chord.
Presumably the G chord is voiced:-
i) conventionally as a 5 string chord - G/B.
ii) 7/6 5/5/ 0/4 0/3 0/2 or
yes ?
--
J o h n
--
In article <328385908wnr@jperry.demon.co.uk>,
John Perry (John@jperry.demon.co.uk) wrote:
>Presumably the G chord is voiced:-
>
>i) conventionally as a 5 string chord - G/B.
yes, you can play it that way.
>ii) 7/6 5/5/ 0/4 0/3 0/2 or yes, either of those, too. I offer one other possibility, which I can't verify
(I'm at work, no guitar or sound system around), but I'm pretty sure I remember
hearing. Play it as a G/D =220003 or (especially in the Biograph version) a
G7/D =220001. Tune well though, or the G/D sounds like hell.
The reason for dropped C tuning is more obvious in the Biograph version than
the
BIABH one. The main "riff" running throughout the song in the Bio ver. is a
repetitive C/Csus4/C/Csus2/C pattern. He doesn't use this in the BIABH
vers. though I am fairly sure I remember hearing *some* Csus4's at least.
Biograph version (capo 2nd fret)
G7/D C Csus4/C/Csus2/C
repeated
You must leave now take what you need you think will last
G7/D C Csus4/C/Csus2/C
But whatever you wish to keep you better grab it fast
Dm F/C C Csus4/C/Csus2/C
Yonder stands your orphan with his gun
Dm F/C C Csus4/C/Csus2/C
Crying like a fire in the sun.
E/B F/C G7/D
Look out the Saints are comin' through
Dm F/C C Csus4/C/Csus2/C
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.
(Note: *add F/C's in subsequent verses)
G7/D *F/C C C/Csus4/C/Csus2/C
The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense
G7/D *F/C C C/Csus4/C/Csus2/C
Take what you have gathered from coincidence
low to high
CADGBE = 000000
C=032010
Csus4=033010
Csus2=030010 hammer back to C
G7/D=220001 or use G7/B X20001 or G/D, G/B etc.
F/C=X33211 or use 033211
E/B=X22100
Dm=xx0231 or even better use 2x0231 (get that thumb working)
X=string not played It's been awhile since I've seen Don't Look Back but I think this is where
I first got the idea of using drop C, since Dylan looks like he starts
with a C chord, which I'd always used, but I had never got that low bass
note before. I'm interested in reviewing the exchange with Donovan,
as described by someone in an earlier post, so I'll have to rent it
again (and order a copy at the same time).
Also the Biograph version is from Manchester '66 a.k.a. the infamous
Royal Albert Hall boot (no?), and is followed on the boot by Desolation
Row if I remember right. On Biograph you can hear Dylan tuning the
low E string back up at the end of Baby Blue. If you continue on the
RAH tape you hear him tune the E string up and then play D-Row in
dropped D.
Lastly, that C octave between the 6th and 5th strings that you get in
dropped C is pretty distinctive, sounds different than the fifth (D to A)
you get between the 6th and 5th strings in dropped D.
That's my theory, anyway. BTW, the expressions of appreciation for the
tunings post are much appreciated. Thanks to all.
Andrew Mullins >Royal Albert Hall boot. Its followed on the boot by Desolation
>Row if I remember right. On Biograph you can hear Dylan tuning the
>low E string back up at the end of Baby Blue. If you continue on the
>RAH tape you hear him tune the E string up and then play D-Row in
>dropped D.
Spot on Andrew.
I don't own Biograph, but I've got the Contemp-Fix-Kiss CD
and even with Dylan (I presume) turning away from the mic to
alter tunings it's just as you say. You can hear the capo work
down the neck....
1) She Belongs To Me is played using the G shape capo @ 5th
2) 4th Time Around is played in Drop C capo @ 4th
You get a very nice sounds playing C to Fmaj7/A
Second chord is played on the top 5 strings,
X03210
3) Visions of J. is standard tuned G capo @ 2nd
Then you hear the 6th string dropping for
4) All over Now BB
Drop C tuning capo'd @ 2nd
The verse changes C-G, are played C to G7/B 5) Desolation Reau
Drop D uncapo'd
6) Etc.
--
J o h n
>It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (BIABH vers.) (4) 032010
>It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Biograph vers.) (2) 032010
From: John Perry (John@jperry.demon.co.uk)
Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan
Subject: Drop C
Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 00:56:36 +0000
7/6 x 0/4 0/3 0/2
Date: Tue, 19 Mar 1996 18:52:46 GMT
From: Andrew Mullins (mullins@ARTSCI.CONCORDIA.CA)
Subject: Re: List of Tunings for Dylan Songs
> 7/6 x 0/4 0/3 0/2
>
>
>yes ?
Montreal
mullins@artsci.concordia.ca
Date: Tue, 19 Mar 1996 20:19:18 +0000
From: John Perry (John@JPERRY.DEMON.CO.UK)
Subject: Tunings
[G7/B X20001]