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I've been put in the strange position of lead songwriter with the guys I'm playing with, on an instrument that I'm not extremely technically proficient in.

We're playing weird noise rock basically. Some of it is fast and aggressive and some of it is slower and moodier. We have two songs fairly close to finished but I'm in a rut. I hate all my other riffs and ideas right now. I feel so derivitave. I feel like every riff I write sounds stale and plain and boring. Help.

I played on a guy's guitar recently and it was in an alternate tuning. It sounded really interesting. DADsomething. I was able to get some weird grindy chords with fairly simple shapes. I can't remember what tuning it was.

I want to keep one guitar in standard and when I finish my jag I want to use it for alt Tunings. What is your spirit tuning?

Also what helps you break out of a rut? Maybe a different tuning isn't the answer?

Might've been DADGAD/D Modal. I feel like that's the most popular alternate, non-open tuning. Definitely very fun, can get some great drones/resonant sounds. Another one that can be kind of fun is double drop D, where you tune the bottom and top Es down—Neil Young used it here and there, I believe.

EDIT also just using a capo in standard tuning can change the timbre of things, which a lot of times opens my mind a bit. Also partially capo-ing can be super rad, lots of ways to get weird there.

Nah, tunings are good.

I've been playing almost exclusively in DADGAD (or dropped down a step) for a while now.

You can try an open tuning. Open tunings are kinda limiting, but they're very easy to play in. What's easier than just barring straight across a fret? If you need to change keys, you can always use a capo. I mean, how many different keys do you really play in anyway?

I actually try to play in different keys just to make my boring punk riffs slightly less boring

I don't think is DADGAD. I feel like there was a sharp or two in there. I don't know the guy to ask him.

I will try DADGAD though, just to see what it does for me. Looks like I'll still be able to play most of my current stuff in that tuning too, with a little adjustment maybe

"DADGAD"

Isn't that the old Brainiac tuning?

Tons of instances. Jimmy Page, Fahey, Sonic Youth, couple of (tolerable/pre-Timbaland production ) Chris Cornell songs come to mind.

Ah, just found something online saying Brainiac used DADG#AD

I just Googled it and Google told me the Brainiac tuning was DADAA#E.

Brainiac were awesome though.

Chankgeez wrote:I just Googled it and Google told me the Brainiac tuning was DADAA#E.

Brainiac were awesome though.

Aen Standard is DADAAE.
Also there is a big thread somewhere that has a lot of them.
edit:
Sonic Youth tunings
http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/tab/tuning.html

Chankgeez wrote:I just Googled it and Google told me the Brainiac tuning was DADAA#E.

Brainiac were awesome though.

lol V V

Check out some Nick Drake. Older stuff, but he is the king of alternate tunings. Steal some chords and tunings from him.

I've used open E for a couple of years now (EBEG#BE) (right now it's a half-step down - D#A#D#GA#D#). I don't play one-finger-barre-style or with a slide, just use my own chord shapes that may or may not be "correct" but works for me. I've never really mastered standard tuning beyond the basics, always experimented with alternate ones to suit my playing style/melodic sensibilities/lack of chops.

I had bookmarked an old thread on this topic: viewtopic.php?f=188&t=36245&start=90

I've never done it, but I've always wanted to investigate the Fripp tuning:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_standard_tuning

I use CGCFAD often, but I also just end up playing triplets until my hand cramps

(Not any help I'm sure)

FACGCE has been fun for me recently