Open C tuning
Encyclopedia
Open C Tuning is an open tuning for guitar. The open string note
s in this tuning are CGCGCE. It uses the three notes that form the triad
of a C major
chord
: C, the root note; G, the perfect fifth; and E the major third.
When the guitar
is strummed without fretting
any of the strings a C major chord is sounded. This means that any major chord can be easily created using one finger, fretting all the strings at once.
he started to tune his six string guitars down a half step (BF#BF#BD#) or a whole step (BbFBbFBbD). Townsend has said many times that he got the idea to use this tuning for his
own material after learning the song "Friends" by Led Zeppelin
Note
In music, the term note has two primary meanings:#A sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound;#A pitched sound itself....
s in this tuning are CGCGCE. It uses the three notes that form the triad
Triad (music)
In music and music theory, a triad is a three-note chord that can be stacked in thirds. Its members, when actually stacked in thirds, from lowest pitched tone to highest, are called:* the Root...
of a C major
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
: C, the root note; G, the perfect fifth; and E the major third.
When the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
is strummed without fretting
Fretting
Fretting refers to wear and sometimes corrosion damage at the asperities of contact surfaces. This damage is induced under load and in the presence of repeated relative surface motion, as induced for example by vibration...
any of the strings a C major chord is sounded. This means that any major chord can be easily created using one finger, fretting all the strings at once.
Variants and users
- CGCGCE - used by Justin Hayward (Moody Blues) acoustic guitar on "Question" ("Question of Balance" LP). Also used extensively by John ButlerJohn Butler (musician)John Charles Wiltshire-Butler or John Charles Butler is an Australian musician, songwriter, record label owner and producer...
. - Devin TownsendDevin TownsendDevin Garret Townsend is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist....
(Strapping Young Lad) tunes his guitars to CGCGCE in most of his songs or, when he uses a 7 string guitar, GCGCGCE. From KiKi (album)Ki is the eleventh studio album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the first of four albums in The Devin Townsend Project series. The album was released in May 2009 on his independent record label HevyDevy Records....
onwards,
he started to tune his six string guitars down a half step (BF#BF#BD#) or a whole step (BbFBbFBbD). Townsend has said many times that he got the idea to use this tuning for his
own material after learning the song "Friends" by Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
- CGCFCE - used by Nick Drake in the song Pink Moon.
- CGCGCE♭ - open C minor tuning, which produces a C minorC minorC minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The harmonic minor raises the B to B. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with naturals and accidentals as necessary.Its key signature consists of three flats...
chord. Used by Laurence Juber on "The Age of Rhythm", from Al StewartAl StewartAl Stewart is a Scottish singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician.Stewart came to stardom as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s, and developed his own unique style of combining folk-rock songs with delicately woven tales of the great characters and events from history.He is...
's Between the Wars.
- CGCE♭GC - open C minor tuning, which produces a C minorC minorC minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The harmonic minor raises the B to B. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with naturals and accidentals as necessary.Its key signature consists of three flats...
chord. Used by Niko Wenner on the OxbowOxbow (band)Oxbow is a long-lived Avant-Garde band out of San Francisco, California notable for a unique sound. Oxbow plays a blend of Noise rock, Avant-garde jazz, Musique concrète , and Blues, creating soundscapes caustic, or plangent, with overtones of paranoia, revulsion, exaltation.-Current line-up:*Dan...
songs: A Winner Every Time; Time Gentlemen, Time; It's the Giving Not the Taking; etc.
- CGCGCD - C modal tuning (Csus2), analogous to DADEAD. Used by Ani DifrancoAni DiFrancoAni DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
in “Falling Is like This” from Out of RangeOut of RangeOut of Range is the fifth studio album by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, released in 1994. .-Track listing:All songs by Ani DiFranco.#"Buildings and Bridges" – 4:05#"Out of Range" – 3:46#"Letter to a John" – 3:48...
, by Nic JonesNic JonesNicolas Paul "Nic" Jones is an English folk singer, fingerstyle guitarist and fiddle player whose professional career spanned the years 1964-1982. He recorded five solo albums, and was a frequent guest performer.-Biography:...
in “Canadee I O” from Penguin EggsPenguin EggsPenguin Eggs is an album by Nic Jones, released in 1980. Allmusic described the album as "one of those rare records where not just every song, but each instrumental part is worth hearing"....
, and very frequently by Jim Tozier.
- CGCGCF - C modal tuning (Csus4), analogous to DADGADDADGADDADGAD, D modal tuning or Celtic tuning is an alternative guitar tuning most associated with Celtic music, though it has also found use in rock and other genres. Instead of the standard EADGBE tuning, the six guitar strings are tuned, from low to high, DADGAD...
. Used frequently by Kelly Joe PhelpsKelly Joe PhelpsKelly Joe Phelps is an American musician and songwriter. His music has been characterized as a mixture of delta blues and jazz.-Career:...
and occasionally by John RenbournJohn RenbournJohn Renbourn is an English guitarist and songwriter. He is possibly best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo career before, during and after that band's existence .While most commonly labelled a...
.
- CACGCE (Open C 6th) - used by Jimmy PageJimmy PageJames Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
in Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
songs "FriendsFriends (Led Zeppelin song)"Friends" is the second track from the 1970 album Led Zeppelin III, the third studio album of English rock band Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote the song in 1970 at Bron-Yr-Aur, a small cottage in Wales where they stayed after completing a grueling concert tour of the United...
" (Led Zeppelin IIILed Zeppelin IIILed Zeppelin III is the third studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded between January and July 1970 and released on 5 October 1970 by Atlantic Records. Composed largely at a remote cottage in Wales known as Bron-Yr-Aur, this work represented a maturing of the band's...
), "Bron-Yr-Aur" (Physical GraffitiPhysical GraffitiPhysical Graffiti is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 24 February 1975 as a double album. Recording sessions for the album were initially disrupted when bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones considered leaving the band...
) and "Poor Tom", (CodaCoda (album)-Sales chart performance:AlbumSinglesNo commercial or promotional singles were issued, although three tracks received independent radio airplay...
)
- CGCGGE (Open C doubled 5th) - used by SoundgardenSoundgardenSoundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
on songs "Pretty NoosePretty Noose"Pretty Noose" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, "Pretty Noose" was released in March 1996 as the first single from the band's fifth studio album, Down on the Upside . The song reached number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart...
" and "Burden in My HandBurden in My Hand"Burden in My Hand" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, "Burden in My Hand" was released on September 18, 1996 as the second single from the band's fifth studio album, Down on the Upside . The song topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart,...
" (Down on the UpsideDown on the UpsideDown on the Upside is the fifth studio album by the American grunge band Soundgarden, released on May 21, 1996 through A&M Records. Following a worldwide tour in support of its previous album, Superunknown , Soundgarden commenced work on a new album...
) and "Head Down" and "Half" (SuperunknownSuperunknownSuperunknown is the fourth album by American grunge band Soundgarden, released on March 8, 1994 through A&M Records. Soundgarden began work on the album after touring in support of its previous album, Badmotorfinger...
)
- The British band Aliases, formed by ex-SikThSikThSikth were a progressive metal band from Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.-Early days:SikTh formed in late 1999, but consolidated their line-up in March 2001...
member Graham "Pin" Pinney, uses Open C tuning on several songs.
- CECGCC - used by Bad CompanyBad CompanyBad Company were an English rock supergroup founded in 1973, consisting of two former Free band members — singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke — as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who, in years prior, was a key component of...
on "Can't Get Enough."
- CGCEGC - used by Elliott SmithElliott SmithSteven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity...
on "Ballad Of Big Nothing," "See You Later," and "Independence Day."
- CGEGCC - used by Bon IverBon IverBon Iver is a Grammy nominated folk band founded in 2007 by American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. It includes Michael Noyce, Sean Carey, and Matthew McCaughan. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago independently in July 2007. The majority of that album was...
on "Skinny Love."
- CGCGCC (Open C5) - used by Fair to MidlandFair to MidlandFair to Midland is an American progressive metal band that formed in 1998 and is based in Dallas, Texas. They are currently signed to E1 Music. According to the band's official website, their name comes from "...an old Texan play on the term 'fair to middling'." The band produced two self-released...
on much of their songs. They also tune it down 1/2 step (BF#BF#BB).