#1 resource for Cigar Box Guitars, Free Plans, How-To, Parts & More!

playing in an open tuning: why does it always have to sound boring????

below, you'll find my original post. i feel that it may have generated some unintended friction,
therefore i have stricken out the text.

i apologize for any demeaning tone that may have been inferred. i have the utmost respect for everyone here, and in the future i will aspire to be more critical of my own opinion.

have a great day guys!

i play a three string, fretless slide CBG. i love it, and may never go back to fretting notes again (apart from recording some leads for my album)

but why is it that i often see an "established" cigar box guitar player, with a decent web site and album, it turns out that their idea of playing sounds like endless noodling in the same key, song after song..?

my greatest challenge, and i meet it head on, is to work with a guitar that has no frets and is tuned to an open chord, and play in any key i feel like. i mean, you really have to work at it to get good at chording with a slide, but i do it in every song.

it's the same reason i never got in to mountain dulcimers. the sound of a melody in front of the same drone notes for five minutes drives me crazy. how about some DYNAMICS??

i play covers and write originals, and i rarely come across any songs in the key of A (which my guitar is tuned), and neither do i shoehorn them all to fit. i enjoy playing each song in the key it was written.

it's a little frustrating to hear about a "good" cigar box guitar player, and it turns out he's just playing noodley little melodies on one string for minutes on end, continually strumming the other strings, never changing key. and it continues, song after song.

maybe it's just me, but when a song doesn't change key, at LEAST for the chorus, it gets pretty monotonous (literally, mono-tonal) and VERY repetetive.

having an open-tuned instrument does NOT mean you're a slave to that key...

what do you guys think?

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike Willmouth on May 21, 2010 at 5:53am

I think that you make a good point, but you also have to consider the fact that everyone else may not be where you are now in your experience, talent, and taste. That's what make "art" in all it forms so different to everyone. So the best thing that all of you who have playing for a while can do is try to encourage and teach the rest of us to play better (and be patient with us as we work through the process and grow).

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kevin Sprague (Knotlenny) on May 21, 2010 at 2:12pm

Bah . . . no friction, Crow. It was a good discussion.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Hip Bone Bellaire on May 21, 2010 at 3:50pm

Grammy winner David "Honeyboy" Edwards disagree's... He said 1 chord can kill a man dead..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRgg_9TmI-w

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by PAPA CHARLIE on June 28, 2010 at 8:04am

I have discovered artist that have really inspired me that I probably wouldn't have ever heard of if I hadn't joined this wonderful community. It is interesting how something that would frustrate one person impresses another. I have allways thought that simple is better. Mississippi Fred McDowell is a prime example of how one chord can be made interesting by the use of phrasing and one string melodies as an alternating bass is being picked in the background. Good Morning Little School Girl is a good example of this. Check out Fred's version of the song and then find Johnny Winter's version. The same simple song yet approached in two completely different ways. It is all a matter of taste. I like Johnny's version but I am more immpressed by the Fred McDowell version. My friend thinks it is boring yet I think it is phenominal. If you can make a tasty soup just from the bones go for it, If it don't tast quite right just keep adjusting the recipe until you get it right.
Fred McDowell only uses a couple keys but somehow pulls it off. Me on the other hand havn't quite got my recipe perfected yet and I would probably frustrate the hell out of ya. No offense taken dude, sometimes I make myself cringe, but I think I'm getting close to finding the right spices. :-) I enjoy your posts, and I respect your oppinion.
"Charlie"