FAQ
Does this work with electric guitar?
Heck, yes! And it’s actually easier with electric guitar because the action is lower than acoustic guitars (and when you barre a chord, it doesn’t make your fingers hurt). If you still want to make the action even easier, you can buy “extra-super-light” strings.
If you want to buy a non-electric guitar, I would suggest a nylon-string classical guitar, which is easier on the fingers (or might want to get super-light strings and pay $30 to a guitar store and have them lower the action on your steel-string guitar).
But whatever guitar (or ukulele or banjo) you have now is GREAT
(any changes you might make in the future are minor compared to the awesomeness of this awesome, easy technique you’re going to be doing).
How about "Eleanor Rigby?"
This tuning creates the major chords BUT if you need to occasionally play a minor chord, you can “fake it” by just playing the D and G strings (it’ll sound fine).
DoI have to use ugly masking tape?
Use anything you want! For $11, Amazon sells labels
that are nicely printed.
I realize that it can feel a little silly to pay $11 for a bunch of stickers, when you’ll only use 7 of them (A, B, C, D, E, F, G), but I admit that they do look a lot nicer than masking tape and black marker.
Can I play solos, or just chords?
There are two kinds of guitar players in a band: the “lead guitar” (who plays solos) and the “rythym guitar” that plays chords (if the guitar player is singing, then that person is playing chords).
On the other hand, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones use THIS EXACT method and he plays lots of solos. In fact, his guitar playing is often impossible to duplicate with regular guitar tuning...so you’re in great company! Note that the guitarist in The United States of America uses this technique, too.
How do I not annoy others while I play electric guitar?
There’s a $40 battery-powered device
that you can plug into your guitar (and then plug your headphones into that).
