Talk:Open tuning

Suggestion for change of title
Somebody on another Talk page (See here Talk:Open D tuning) has suggested that a number of the tunings mentioned here are not really 'open tunings', as such. Effectively, they argue that 'open tuning' is actually a subcategory of 'alternative tuning', since the former term only applies to a tuning which forms a major chord when barred at any fret.

My suggestion, if no one objects to that argument, is as follows: to rename the current Open tuning article as Alternative tuning (guitar) and then have subheadings within that article dealing briefly with the different types of alternative tuning: open; modal; etc, which can obviously then be used as jumping-off points for the more detailed articles on the individual tunings themselves. R Lowry 10:31, 24 February 2006 (UTC)


 * I don't object to the renaming, just so long as open tuning redirects there or links there prominently. I tend personally to use open tuning to mean any alternate tuning; They all represent some open chord after all, and for example steel guitar tunings are named after the open chords they represent, such as C6, C9, E6 and E9, despite these full 8 or more string chords being very rarely used. Andrewa 03:11, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

Jimmy Page plays The Rain Song in standard tuning, not the tuning erroneously listed in this article. I can't reference the interview in which he states this but, if you make the opening chord a G5 picking from thin strings to thick, you'll see he's right! User Unknown


 * I agree to the suggestion of renaming and redirection of the 'open tuning' article. I believe that Open tuning is always an alternative guitar tuning, however alternative guitar tuning is not always an open tuning. JWinTX 07:57, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

I too have no objection to the proposed change - it seems logical to me, and as long as the content isn't diminished or obscured and links from elsewhere still work, then that's great. FWIW, thirty six years ago I detuned my ancient Spanish flamenco guitar to the chord of Eminor and then explored fingerings and picking, and it's taken until today for me to discover it's called "Crossnote E" :). AncientBrit 19:31, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

I came here expecting information about open tuning for a fiddle. It would be nice to see the information here and I don't think it would be appropriate on a guitar tuning page.


 * That is a good reason for Open Tuning to decamp to a specific guitar title. Open tuning might need to become a disambiguation page rather than a redirect. Being only a guitar person really, I'd be interested if anyone else is aware of what other instruments would consider Open tuning to be part of their vocabulary too. Spenny 17:24, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

It is much more easy to look for in information atomized in small subjects. Then you can make links btween subjects. Easy to find. Easy to make maintenance. In other case a subject can grow at the point to become impossible to administrate. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.67.140.154 (talk) 21:06, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

I think it would be best to move Open Tuning to Alternate Guitar Tunings. Alternate Tunings could refer to any instrument, and people will erroneously land on the section for alternate guitar tunings. Rabidsoccerball 21:00, 12 December 2007 (UTC)