Here’s a question…
What do Mark Knopfler, Keith Richards, a dobro, Eagles of Death Metal, and Joni Mitchell all have in common?
Send your answers on a postcard.
…Kidding, keep reading as I’ll reveal this nifty little thing in a moment.
First, though, I want to talk about the blues and specifically the 8-bar blues.
This is like the less well-known brother of the 12-bar blues.
Whereas the 12-bar blues gets all the limelight like Charlie Sheen.
The 8-bar blues is a bit like Emilio Estevez (Charlie’s brother).
…But the 8-bar blues is pretty awesome.
It features less to remember, there are variations of this way of playing the blues and plenty of songs that use this format.
…But as we all know, playing any sort of blues can take a little time for the novice.
That brings me to the question at the beginning of this email which was:
What do Mark Knopfler, Keith Richards, a dobro, Eagles of Death Metal, and Joni Mitchell all have in common?
The answer is ‘Open G tuning’.
At some point, all of those have used this very cool tuning.
(I wonder if there is anything else that connects all of those too though!)
I’ve dabbled with Open G tuning for quite some time.
…But lately, I’ve taken more of a shine to it.
Partly because it is fun and it opens up a Narnia-like world of musical possibilities.
…And partly because a student who has bad arthritis found it so useful.
He told me about how he is only able to use his index and middle fingers.
The other two fingers are pretty much out of action.
…But Open G tuning allows him to play chords up and down the fretboard with much more ease.
Yes, it means his index finger has to do a lot more work (including playing one-finger barres) but this frees him up to enjoy the guitar.
For him at least, it is like a secret that allows him to avoid tricky chords he physically cannot play.
If you struggle with chord shapes, both open and/or barre chords…
Or you find playing the blues shuffle a challenge…
…Or you just want to add another string to your guitar-playing bow, this tuning is well worth trying out.
A lot of people end up getting lost or confused when trying new tunings, or they get easily overwhelmed.
That’s why I like to teach simple stuff that sounds great…
…And in this new lesson I’ve never taught before (at least not online), I break it all down.
I teach an Open G blues tuning in both a super beginner and an early intermediate way…
Meaning, anyone can learn it.
I also show you how you can mix and match both versions seamlessly.
This is some of the most eye-opening stuff I’ve ever taught when it comes to this sort of thing, but it’s a whole lotta fun and a real eye-opener if you’ve only ever played in standard tuning before.
…And only Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy members will possess it.
To subscribe in time before the deadline comes around, go here today:
The Dan Thorpe Acoustic Academy
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. If you have any questions on the academy not answered on the sales page, feel free to hit reply. I’m happy to help.
P.P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
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