Guitar player can't transpose?

[Rockin Mike]

I've always played 5-string bass, so hand me a song and tell me what key it's in and I'm good to go.

I recently talked to a guitar player who said he couldn't play Seether's "Country Song" in Dm without a drop-tuned guitar because the part depends on open strings. He wanted to do it in Em but that's a little high for my voice.

Is that a legitimate problem for a guitar player nowadays or should they be expected to transpose on demand like we are?

I used to play in the old days before drop-tuning was common and the problem never came up, but if it's a real concern in today's world I guess I had better get edumacated.

This is in off-topic because it's a guitar question, not actually a bass question.

Thanks!

[MakiSupaStar]

sounds pretty lame IMO. I've never been a fan of switching keys of songs. Play the way it was written. That's just me though.

[Tim Cole]

chords and leads much different than bass.

possible, yes. practical, no.

[smeet]

Open chord voicings using open strings sound very different than a voicing higher on the neck that is all fretted. It's a matter of sounding good, not a matter of technique or ability. So I think your guitarist may have a point (although I don't know the song in question).

[Rockin Mike]

I'm thinking that if drop tuning is that common nowadays and leads to guitarists unable to find proper fingerings on standard-tuned instruments, then having a separate guitar for each tuning should be the new standard equipment.

[Rockin Mike]

Originally Posted by smeet

Open chord voicings using open strings sound very different than a voicing higher on the neck that is all fretted. It's a matter of sounding good, not a matter of technique or ability. So I think your guitarist may have a point (although I don't know the song in question).

Seether - Country Song - YouTube

that thing.

[lowfreq33]

Certain songs do have riffs on guitar that are either really difficult in a different key or just don't sound right in a different position.

Aaaaaand some guitarists just aren't good at transposing.

[giacomini]

1. Dropping an E string to D and retuning after the song should take 3 seconds with a stompbox tuner.

2. Hipshot makes xtenders for guitar, too. If we can use it, a guitar player might as well (just remember to teach him how to set it up )

3. Tell him to bring 2 guitars, one drop D tuned.

[Bloodhammer]

I play guitar as well as bass, and because of all the chords, it can be more difficult to transpose than on bass. Especially when going between standard and dropped tunings.

+1 to playing songs in their correct key and +1 to installing a hipshot extender tuning machine.

You use a five-string to deal with down-tuned (from E Standard) songs - mabey he should get a seven-string guitar for the same reason? I've toyed with the idea myself...

[hover]

I vote for picking a better song. Didn't Nipplecrack write that 10,000 times already? Gawdamnalready.

If that song is country, I am Betty White's feces.

[Bloodhammer]

That too!

[Rockin Mike]

Originally Posted by giacomini

1. Dropping an E string to D and retuning after the song should take 3 seconds with a stompbox tuner.

2. Hipshot makes xtenders for guitar, too. If we can use it, a guitar player might as well (just remember to teach him how to set it up )

3. Tell him to bring 2 guitars, one drop D tuned.

I might have misused the term "drop tuning". I think he would need to tune all 6 strings down a whole step, not just the E.

I favor option 3. Pro players should have pro gear.

[lowfreq33]

Around here it's really common for (country) singers to want to change keys all the time, so we're all pretty used to transposing, but it's not too common for the rock players. Usually they just tune a half or whole step down for everything so that all the songs are a bit lower for the vocalist. Sweet Child of Mine, for instance, would be a little tough for a guitarist to transpose on the fly, but most singers can't quite reach the higher notes toward the end. See also: AC/DC.

[giacomini]

Originally Posted by Rockin Mike

I might have misused the term "drop tuning". I think he would need to tune all 6 strings down a whole step, not just the E.

I favor option 3. Pro players should have pro gear.

Oh, I thought you meant drop D only...

But the idea of bringing 2 guitars still works!

[hover]

OR, downtune the whole step, and buy a capo for the other songs in the set.

And then still go pick a better song.

[Tim Cole]

lol to transposing a song that uses a slide to open strings. That would suck.

+1 to the open string voicing.

+1000000 to the nickelshill.

[groooooove]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

sounds pretty lame IMO. I've never been a fan of switching keys of songs. Play the way it was written. That's just me though.

if you were a singer, you'd understand that its not lame. its perfectly common and realistic.

i will admit that on guitar, certain tunes wont sound right if you transpose on the spot. open chords tend to have nice voice leading from one to another, so they sound "better" than if the guitarist were to have to bar some chords on the spot, because those create that "parallel everything" sound, witch sucks. thats no reason to not be able to do it, though.

[MakiSupaStar]

Originally Posted by groooooove

if you were a singer, you'd understand that its not lame. its perfectly common and realistic.

i will admit that on guitar, certain tunes wont sound right if you transpose on the spot. open chords tend to have nice voice leading from one to another, so they sound "better" than if the guitarist were to have to bar some chords on the spot, because those create that "parallel everything" sound, witch sucks. thats no reason to not be able to do it, though.

I get limited vocal ranges, but I'd just rather not play that song. Unless we're doing an entirely different take on a song, I'd just rather skip it. I don't mind if we're doing a different take on a song, like a slow jazzy version, or a reggae version of something, or whatever, but to just switch it because it's easier to play/sing to me strikes me as either lazy, or as just a selection that's beyond a performer's scope.

[Stilettoprefer]

Some songs just sound wrong when you transpose in a different tuning. RATM comes to mind. Every song of theirs that I've learned are dependent on open strings (D mainly) and the fact that power chords can be barred on the lower 3 strings instead of actually having to accurately place your fingers makes it easier.

If some songs in the set require a lower tuning, I would take 2 guitars. If its a radical change (more than 2 strings being changed) I have my backup bass on a stand tuned to the alternate tuning. I personally hate transposing on any instrument, but I'm lazy and my mind doesn't process that well on the fly:P

[sonic assassin]

if the song has open string pull off's or awkward open chords with open strings, then yea, transposing will be a pain. if someone asked me to play my band's songs a step higher without a capo, id punch them. lightning fast riffs with a lot of open strings. no way.

if its all power chords, then there is no excuse.

the intro to that song isnt something that can be transposed instantly, from a listen. ive got it in a tab in a magazine somewhere. cant seem to find it. alternately tuned guitars go well with 5 string basses. thats why i play 5's exclusively. no surprises.