68

Special
Tunings

The “special” tuning section is a collection

of miscellaneous tunings, most of which were
created and/or popularized in recent years by
various singers and/or songwriters. The bulk of
the tunings are named after a song in which they
are used. The cited songs are the first use of
which I’m aware, but undoubtedly many of these
tunings have been used previously by others. I
would be glad to hear from anyone with informa-
tion about the origin of tunings, so that I can be
more accurate in future editions.
70 Special Tunings

The
Admiral
Tuning
Michael Hedge's song Admiral Rickover's
Dream is played in this variant of the Open G
tuning, in which strings 1 and 6 are tuned down two
steps.
Admiral Tuning 71
72 Special Tunings

The
Buzzard
Tuning
The Buzzard tuning is from Will Ackerman's
song of the same name. The open strings sound a
C7sus4 chord, and the multiple C and F strings
allow many useful fingering variations.
Buzzard Tuning 73
74 Special Tunings

The
Drop D
Tuning
Artists as diverse as the Beatles, Pete Seeger,
John Denver, James Taylor, Happy Traum, and
Jorma Kaukonen have all written and/or recorded
tunes in the Drop D tuning. It is undeniably the
most used alternate tuning, probably because it is
so easy to get to (only the low E string needs to be
retuned) and because most chords and scales re-
main unchanged from the familiar standard tuning.
Since the only difference lies in the sixth string, the
chord chart consists mainly of full six string chords,
which should be liberally interspersed with famil-
iar chords from the standard tuning - simply don't
strum or pluck the lowest string.
Drop D Tuning 75
76 Special Tunings

The
Face
Tuning
Michael Hedges tunes to an A minor 7 chord
with a suspended 4th (ACGD) in Face Yourself,
though it sounds more grounded in C (an incom-
plete C6add9?) or in G (G with a 4th and 2cnd).
Whatever the key, it feels nice.
Face Tuning 77
78 Special Tunings

The
Four and Twenty
Tuning
This tuning was popularized by Crosby, (along with many other variants) while a B
Stills, Nash and Young in their songs Four and minor 7 could be fingered
Twenty and Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (which was
transposed up one whole step). Strumming the
open strings of the Four and Twenty tuning sounds
a chord that is harmonically ambiguous - neither
major nor minor, and perhaps this accounts for
some of the charm of these songs. The doubled
string adds an interesting flavor to finger picked
passages, since the same tones repeat, though with
slight timbral differences due to string thickness
and weight. The general rule is that whenever a given fret is
Since the tuning has multiple D's and A's, played on (say) a D string, that same fret can be
there tend to be numerous variants possible on any played on any other D string.
given chord form. For instance, an open position D
minor 7 can be played
Four and Twenty Tuning 79
80 Special Tunings

The
Hot Type
Tuning
This unique tuning is from Michael Hedges
song of the same name. String 6 is lowered a full
fifth, while string 5 is raised two steps, creating a
leap of more than an octave between the two bass
strings. In compensation, there are small intervals
between the second, third, and fourth strings. Thus
the Hot Type tuning has elements of a compressed
tuning and elements of a wide tuning. Make sure
that you use a heavy guage 6th string or the low A
will sound flabby.
Hot Type Tuning 81
82 Special Tunings

The
Layover
Tuning
In his song Layover, Michael Hedges tunes
strings 1-5 to an Amin7 chord. The sixth string, a
D, officially makes it a suspended fourth chord, but
it doesn't sound that way. The notes of the tuning
are the same as the notes of the Pentatonic tuning,
but they're all scrambled up.
Layover Tuning 83
84 Special Tunings

The
Magic Farmer
Tuning
Michael Hedge's Magic Farmer tuning is
closely related to his Buzzard tuning; strings 3-6
are identical, while the first two strings are lowered
one step. The tunings play similarly, and many of
the fingerings on the two chord charts can be
interchanged.
Magic Farmer Tuning 85
86 Special Tunings

The
Pelican
Tuning
This tuning is taken from John Renbourn's
song of the same name, in which the strings are
tuned to a D suspended second chord that sounds a
nice neutral tonality, neither major nor minor,
neither soft nor harsh. The Pelican tuning is inti-
mately related to the Open D minor tuning
(DADFAD) since five of the strings are tuned
identically while the last string is only one half step
away. Consequently, chords from the D minor
chord chart can often be used when playing in the
Pelican tuning, though fingers on the third string
need to be moved up the fretboard one position. For
instance, open D minor chords are quite similar...
Pelican Tuning 87
88 Special Tunings

The
Processional
Tuning
Will Ackerman's tuning from the song Pro-
cessional is interesting because the highest strings
are only one step apart, allowing some very tightly
voiced chords. The tuning is closest to Ackerman's
own Triqueen tuning, with strings 1 and 3 differing
by only one step.
Processional Tuning 89
90 Special Tunings

The
Slow Motion
Tuning
Any tuning with multiple octaves of a single
note allows chord variations by moving fingers
among the octaves. Will Ackerman's Slow Motion
tuning is no exception. The open position D minor
chord, for instance, can be varied in sveral ways...

One quirk of the Slow Motion tuning is the

seventh chord form (the second D7 on the chart),
which fingers exactly like a 7th chord in Standard
tuning. The Fmin7 is also fingered exactly like a Bb
major in Standard tuning. Though the fingers re-
main the same, the sounds are quite different.
Slow Motion Tuning 91
92 Special Tunings

The
Spirit
Tuning
In the Spirit tuning, the strings are tuned to an
Amaj7 chord. The tuning can be quite uplifting
despite Will Ackerman's song Impending Death of
the Virgin Spirit for which it is named.
Spirit Tuning 93
94 Special Tunings

The
Tarboulton
Tuning
Taken from John Renbourn's song of the same
name, the Tarboulton tuning is one of the more
interesting of the modern tunings because of its
combination of intervals - a major seventh, a major
second, two perfect fourths, and a fifth. The tuning
plays easily in both F and A# though the wealth of
bar chords ensures that any key is feasible.
There are three pairs of strings, two C's, two
F's and two A#'s. Whenever a given string is played
at any fret, its mate can also be played at the same
fret. Accordingly, alternate chord forms substitute
strings 4 and 6, 1 and 3, and/or 2 and 5. For
example, a few alternative open A# major chords
Tarboulton Tuning 95
96 Special Tunings

The
Toulouse
Tuning
The Doobie Brothers used this tuning in their
song Toulouse Street. Although the chord forms
are quite different from Standard, it's easy to learn
the bar chords (and to remember them at the right
frets) because the low E string is unchanged.
Toulouse Tuning 97
98 Special Tunings

The
Triqueen
Tuning
Triqueen is a shortening of Pink Chiffon Tri-
cycle Queen, another of Will Ackerman's songs in
an alternate tuning. Triqueen plays smoothly, and
there are many fun chord forms lurking in the chord
chart that are not shown explicitely. For instance,
the open position A7th chord can be moved up two
frets to a B7th chord in several ways...

Which B7 do you think sounds best? Why not

play a different one each time it rolls around?
Triqueen Tuning 99