Don't make it more complicated than it is Dermot.
A lot of reasons are already pointed out. There is no set rule as in when to tune down or not. It's sometimes very personal too.
If you tune down because it's
easier to play....well I'd say, also keep playing a guitar which is not tuned down. You don't want to get used to a certain set up and then not being able to comfortably play a 'normally' tuned guitar. At least, I wouldn't want that. I want to play ány guitar, no matter how they're set up or tuned.
Just an example, Neil has two guitars, well three. But two are Claxtons, pretty much the same, except for the rosette. Still one is a tiny easier to play, but he makes sure that he keeps playing both. But for example, his son Coree always plays a guitar tuned down a whole step, because of, I think, mainly the sound. When he was playing his dad's guitar at one point (when I was there), he mentioned several times that he really had to get used to it again.
Same thing applies for someone who plays electric guitar all the time. It's way easier to play. A few of my students do and i keep encouraging them to play their acoustics as well, which they fortunately do.
All in all, the only reason why I personally would tune down, it doesn't happen a lot, is for vocal range reasons and to be able to play in a guitar friendly key. Usually, that's just a half step down, to play in the key of G or Em, that's pretty much it.
As for Yesterday, why do you think so? :dry: I personally suspect that he wrote the song on piano first, key of F, fits his voice perfectly. On guitar, not a friendly key. Tuning it down, key a whole step up to G is an easy fix, sounds great too. Just speculation. Neil might know.
Ness
thereshopeyet wrote:
Daryl Wrote:
It makes it easier to play certain songs. .... i.e Yesterday
McCartney possibly didn't want the standard tuning sound.
So when Yesterday was originally written, it's possible he tuned down to get that "sound" compared to making the guitar playability easier.
Just trying to get my head around when to tune down and when not to tune down.