Help - Still trying to figure out the notes and read music - open D tuning

I am still trying to figure out the notes on an open D, 4 string in relation to reading music scores.

Does the first D string note fall below the position shown on my chart?

Where is middle C on an open tuned 4 string CBG on the chart below?

So where do the high notes occur on a music score then or are the duplicates ?

If this was chromatic this would be sequential but as it's open tuning its surely not?

I'm not quite getting the translation to music score notes can anyone clarify?

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Comment by ChickenboneJohn on December 8, 2014 at 8:25pm

How you arrange this sort of stuff for 4 string cigar box guitar really does depend on what tuning you are in. There are  two obvious ways are to shoot for this - use the top 4 strings of the "standard" guitar, or use tenor banjo tuning. With the "cut-down" guitar tuning you loose the benefit of the two lower strings to do the counterpoint bass patterns, but it does have the benefit that you can fiddle about with partial 6 string chords or uke chords if you are familiar with them, and providing you can figure out where the root is for any given chord shape. Tenor banjo (or octave mandolin) gives a wider spread across the strings, as it is tuned in 5ths rather than 4ths, and has the benefit that there's loads of music written for these instruments, and there's loads of resources for chord shapes - fiddle tunes are a pretty good source for transferring to tenor banjo tuning, but because of the longer scale, there can be some long stretches or position changes needed.

My opinion is, that unless you already are a good reader, it is easier to figure out tunes by ear. First ascertain the key it's in (or transpose it to something you can cope with), then work out the chord changes. Start picking across the chords...you should be able to find fragments of the melody and then make up the rest in your own fashion once  you've got the basic changes.

Comment by BUGGY (C) on December 8, 2014 at 10:01am

Thanks guys ... yeh I can play by ear and pick out most tunes by ear, but my kid i playing the notes and years ago i did learn every green bus drives fast and face... I fancy picking out some old complex rag stuff on a cbg

I mainly play in open D and sometimes G... and then odd tunings.. as i tune by ear to get the instrument to resonate better.

I look at  a page of notes and still go cold, hence listen to a tune on youtube and pick it out fairily quickly

but a load of complex rag and blues notes and its tricky to find enough fingers, mainly as they were played

on piano.

I play by ear and feel so can relate to that, just wanted to try and get my head around what all these note thingy's are for really and how I can advance from them..

I think you are right guitar may be easier and then back to open tunings, but Mr Bad finger put me on the right kind of track to how it works... so we will see...

"Twinkle twinkle little star" it is then John LOL  

I has to be easier than doing a self assessment tax return!

Thanks guys

so how do I transpose some of this to CBG then...???

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ragtime+dorian+henry

Comment by Ron "Oily" Sprague on December 8, 2014 at 7:22am
Oh, wait; John said that already. Keep calm, and carry on. >:-E
Comment by Ron "Oily" Sprague on December 8, 2014 at 7:20am
To further complicate things, guitar music is typically played an octave lower than written. >:-E
Comment by ChickenboneJohn on December 7, 2014 at 11:10pm

By the way - you've got the treble clef written out there with no sharps and no flats, which means you will be reading and playing in the key of C major. If you want to play in other keys you'll need to understand the "key signature" and the relevant sharps (or flats) in the key you want to play in. You need to put in the groundwork to understand reading music, so a sound grasp of key signatures and basic music notation is essential, and you need to start with simple stuff to get the hang of it...I suspect that playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in C major may not be on your intended agenda.

Comment by ChickenboneJohn on December 7, 2014 at 10:46pm

Do you really need to read music for cigar box guitar? Unless you are going to be sitting in with a bunch of people who all play off the chart (muso speak for sheet music), I'm not sure if it will be worth the effort. If you don't already read, it's not the easiest thing to pick upon your own.

By the way, to further complicate things, the conventional guitar sounds an octave lower than it's written on the treble stave...it's what's know as "octave displaced". If you play 6 string, it may be easier to get to grips with reading music notation on 6 string (there's loads of material for that), and then move across to cigar box guitar.

Comment by BUGGY (C) on December 4, 2014 at 7:57am

Comment by BUGGY (C) on December 4, 2014 at 7:55am

Thanks for the help Ed I think I almost get it now..now to break down some scores to CBG...eeek!

Comment by BUGGY (C) on December 4, 2014 at 7:53am

Ed is that better?

Comment by Scott aka Farmer Ted on December 4, 2014 at 7:23am

If you want a D tuning, and the one you're trying still has you stumped, change it to a D6 tuning, which is ADF#B, and employs the ADGB strings, with the G tuned down a half step to F#. It is baritone ukulele tuning, and chord charts are numerous and free on a Google search. Best yet, many chord fingerings are identical to standard guitar patterns.

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