Open G taropatch tuning makes the guitar a lot of fun to play, with it’s accessible bass notes, sweet interval shapes, and strong dominant (V7) chord. And using a capo makes playing in higher keys a snap until we run out of room around the 5th fret. At that point an alternative way of changing keys becomes appealing.

This is the third of three videos that explore ways to play in the keys of C and D while tuned to open G. In this video we’ll look at playing in the key of D while tuned to open G, using a partial capo to mimic the intervals we find in drop C tuning without dropping the C. This technique gives us the easy and strong V chord (A7), with little sacrifice in other areas, but requires some fiddling with the capo.

Open G tuning is spelled D G D G B D from low to high.

With the partial capo the tuning is the same as drop C raised one whole step:
D A E A C# E from low to high.

Be sure to visit the Hombrewed Music blog http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/2012/06/16/playing-the-keys-of-c-and-d-in-open-g-tuning/ for more details on this technique.

This video was shot using two Sanyo Xacti HD2000 cameras and a Panasonic Lumix GH2. Editing in Edius Neo.