michaelaaron wrote:
AS long as both or however many guitars are in tune with each other, it is perfectly fine to have some playing in alternate tunings and some in standard. In fact, in many cases it's preferable. Too often, 2 or more guitarists jamming acoustically will play in the same area of the fretboard and use the same voicings. That's about as useful as a girl group with 3 women, none of which sing any harmonies (Bananarama). I've often found it wise to have a lot of space between what I am playing and what my buddy might be playing. For example, if you are both strumming away and belting out "Closer to Fine" by the Indigo Girls, in G, it's a richer sound if one of you plays the song in G and the other in D with a capo on the 4th Fret. You get a fuller, fatter sound with more texture. Playing in alternate tunings automatically gives you some sonic variety from the player playing in standard.
Great post michaelaaron and something that is not addressed enough. Finding different voicings of the same chord and this can include just using 3 string triads. The changing key and capoing is another great way to add depth to a song with multiple guitars.
We can also add alternate tunings to the arsenal and thanks to michaelaaron hopefully we will learn more about how to do this. I would also like to see some discussion on ways to make songs with multiple guitars sound better.
Keep Playing
Ric