Do Any Of The Guitarists Here Do This?

When I play a solo on a song I do this.
1. Tune the high E string to the key of the song.
2. I then tune the rest of the strings from the High E

This makes the solos sound great every time.
There are those 'crazy keys' that you just can't get a good sounding solo when the guitar is tuned to C.
It seems to fit better.

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No, I never did that. I always use the standard tuning...

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I do that if my guitar at 440 sounds "pitchy" with the track.

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Just so I unterstand this method, if the song is on D you will tune the E string down to D?

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never done it, although i keep a standard tuned guitar, drop D guitar, and drop C guitar within arms reach at all times :)

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i play by ear as well so the fun is in exploring the fretboard when in different keys.

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I don’t use the high E string :D

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I tune by ear. I mean that literally since I'm deaf in my left ear and tinnitus in my right. So I try to stick to standard tuning. I will use my fine tuners to a just if the pitch is sharp or flat.

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I KNEW IT!
Just the other day I said "Littlewing, he isnt using his high E string!"

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:D

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Yes

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So would it not be easier to use a capo? I never thought of that, maybe I should give that a try.

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TeeGee attached the following image:

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Edited by TeeGee on 24 août 2023 à 09:11

Im going to try this.

Generally , I apply the Aeolian scale to everything which is every scale all at once, all at a time.
Mixolydian,pentatonic, Dorian, Blues , Lydian are sections of the master scale ...the Aeolian.
Depending which fret I am at I play those scales or any combination there of and can jump across them.

Its witchcraft I tell you.

I can generally peck out something in Dorian, pentatonic , mixolydian, etc…depending which dotted fret I start my left hand on. Having practiced Lydian mode separately, Dorian mode separately, Pentatonic separately,I then just bring those scales into one big scale in the key of the song .

Detuning is basically the same concept accept instead of moving your hand position up the fretboard, you bring the scale down to you is what Im thinking your saying. Im still trying to wrap my head around your approach.


Understanding how the guitar scales are all connected and part of one huge big scale was a huge game changer for me. Completely opened up the fretboard. Its one of those Einstein moments when it finally clicks.

I used to practice the minor pentatonic and wonder why I couldn’t shred until Aeolian opened up the universe .

I knew pentatonic, Dorian and blues scale separately but suddenly Aeolian showed me they are all connected . So studying scales became more easier and if you know those three at very least… knowing your way up and down the fretboard became much easier.



They never tell you all these different guitar scales are actually sections of one huge scale.

E Aeolian:

[img]https://www.guitar-chords.org.uk/modeimages/eaeolianfretboard.gif[/img]

This photo would be :

B Dorian is at the 7th fret
E Minor pentatonic (with one extra secret note) at 12th
D MixoLydian at 10th
A Blues scale at 5th

etc...

So yes..You can play D mixolydian in the key of E pentatonic....or switch to A blues scale and it will work.
Each of these modes “Dorian , Penataonic, Lydian, Blues..etc...” has a unique feel .But they all belong to one big scale ...the Aeolian. You simply stitch them together.

If you know what notes to play at the root at the 5th in A , and you know the area around the 12th, you would perhaps refresh yourself on the dorian scale and youll know all the notes round the seventh fret area.


All commen guitar scales make up one huge Aeolian scale because Aeolian adds one note that links them all together. So change fret position and suddenly youve switched from pentatonic to dorian mid solo.

Im getting your method of tuning the high E brings each "mode", "position" whatever you want to call it , down to your left hands position. instead of your hand moving "up" the fretboard to that "position" or "mode" my way.

I think Im understanding what is going on..maybe..sort of...

Let me smoke a doobie and think about it a bit.

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Mate, you lost me right at the "Generally , I apply the Aeolian..." . I am such an ignoramus, I don't know any scales, notes and chord names. In school terms you could say I am a grown man with Kindergaden reading abilities. Shame on me :) But I got one good thing out of this thread, I will try to solo with a capo. thinking about it, when playing through my Roland GR55 I could tune the guitar to whatever I like wihtout touching the strings, that also might be worth a try.... hmmm :)

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I was actually curious about that in general.
Some of the best musicians are self taught,

I started off self taught on Led Zeppelin I, II, IV and Song Remains The Same.

I got so good picking things out I decided to take lessons with a teacher who then was into Lee Ritenour big time and Larry Carlton and BB King.

The lessons didnt go so well because I never took it seriously however that was then. It did go well in that he tried to show me scales so I could play Led Zeppelin better .
This came out to help me years later.

Im generally curious as to how people view music notes.

I see patterns always.
The scales give me confidence as Ive gotten to where I can have a conversation about Quantum Physics whilst my fingers are noodling about in tune. I stil practice so as I can talk something random and play at the same time.

Its not a bad thing Tee. Self Taught brings a better listener I find.
There are lots of formally trained players who dont listen to whats going on.Technically they are there but theyre completely oblivious to the human dynamic.

It used to drive me nuts coming across a bass player who wanted to be Jaco Pastorius..and there are a ton of those guys. I used to just call them "Jacobees" as in Jaco Wannabees.

They own way overpriced boutique basses and play and noodle all day in Myxolydian minor 24/7 sounding all jazzy and upper brow but put them in a band and they arent listening to what the others are doing. So theyre useless in any practical setting. Used to drive me up a wall.

Self Taught is an asset not a liability.

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Ah that one I know, it's one of the planets in that science fiction series :D ;)

Well, maybe one day when I am retired I will have the time to maybe get to learn about scales, I definitely could see myself having a go at it.

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When there is yet a song template to play along, I try tuning the 6 strings by ear. When I practice, sometimes I tune the strings by playing a basic blues scale and tune by ear.
In the most cases I trust my beloved Korg TM 60 handheld tuning device.

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