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Chapter 11: Acoustic Roots: Delta Blues and Its Country Cousins
211
Open E and open D tuning
Open tunings have many technical advantages over standard tuning. The
most prevalent is that an open tuning provides a major chord across all six
strings, so holding the slide straight across at any fret yields a chord on any
set of strings.
Open E (E, B, E, G#, B, E, low to high) is close to standard tuning because the
top two strings are tuned the same, and many blues slide licks lie well in this
tuning, because they require only slight movement of a couple of frets above
or below to play an entire passage.
Open D is the same as open E but tuned a whole step (two frets) lower (D, A,
D, F#, A, D). Elmore James and Duane Allman (one of the greatest blues-rock
slide guitarists and founder of the Allman Brothers Band) played in open E.
Figure 11-13 shows a typical lick in open E.
Open A and open G tuning
In open A, the strings are tuned E, A, E, A, C#, E, low to high. This puts the
root of the chord on the fifth string and provides a major chord on the top
three strings. Also, having a minor third interval between the top two strings
allows for some idiomatic blues moves, especially the chromatic descending
lick in thirds.
Track 76
A7
with slide
T
A
B
4
5
5 5 5 5 5
5 5 5 3
5 4
5
*Open E tuning: E B E G B E, low to high.
Figure 11-13:
A slide lick
in open E.
4 5
5 4 5
5 3 0 3 0
5
5
3 5
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