Frequently Asked Questions about Open C, and the One Finger Method

Can an Open C guitar play alongside of other instruments that are not tuned to Open C, and what notes do I lose by re-tuning from standard, to Open C?

Yes, of course. Tuning a string does not change the notes, or the position. What changes is the offset, all the notes are still in the same order, they just begin in a different spot. Imagine they were marked as numbers instead of letters and each string had 1 through 12, all in order. Each string could begin on a different number, but the numbers that follow are all still in numerical order, and repeat after 12 frets (one octave) because they have to be. The physics, the mathematical pitch of each tone, and each one preceding it, and following it can never change. At the 12th fret, this marks the halfway point in the string, and this is why the tones all repeat in a higher octave at the 12th fret.

So with the Open C tuning, we are merely aligning the tones on each string so they are compatible horizontally, which allows us to play a complete chord with one finger because of the new aligned relationship the strings have with one another.

Furthermore, the Only way you could actually ever remove any specific position from the guitar, would be to remove one or more of the frets. This is done from time to time by people who want to create a truly diatonic instrument (dulcimer) out of an old guitar. The Seagull Merlin is an example of a stringed instrument that has this feature.

Why is Standard Tuning the current Standard, and not some other tuning like Open C?

It's a compromise between Perfect Fourths and Open tuning, so chords are possible and scales are easy. The One Finger Method reverses this compromise so that chords are easy, and scales are possible.

Historically, the way the guitar is generally tuned today is largely due to the fact that double coursed guitars had primarily come from European lutes, which were generally of the six string double coursed variety. The interval between strings is a perfect 4th, except for the interval between the G and B strings, which is a major third. Then there is a perfect 4th between the B and E strings, so that the lowest string and the highest string are the same pitch, two octaves apart.

The intervals used on the ancient lute were EADF#BE, from which descended the EADGBE standard used by modern guitars today (except of course the third F# string). The reason as to why the lutes were tuned in such a way was because the music of the time demanded the musical instruments to be poly-modulus. What this means is that it was tuned in a way so as to play all the key notes in the medieval contemporary musical culture. Since the lute is the forefather of the modern guitar, the tuning system has therefore been carried down to the guitar almost unchanged for centuries.

Are there disadvantages to Open C tuning, and will it limit my standard tuning abilities in the future?

• No your standard tuning will stay where its at provided you keep up your rhythms and finger strength. The Open C doesn't ruin you, or give you other bad habits for other tunings, it expands your understanding of the instrument.
• Minor Chords are harder to play due to its intrinsically Major nature.
• There is less music and tabs written for Guitarist who plays in non standard tunings.