Probably A Really STOOOOOPID Question

[Hot Tub]

Figured this was the best place to post this - Mods, please move it if this is incorrect and accept my apologies. :blush:

OK, question is, these (below) are the guitar chords for a song I'm trying to work out:

Cadd9
G
D
A
A5
C5
D5
C#5
E5
G5
G#5

The guitar tuning however is half a step down, so Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, etc. So, what should I be looking at for roots on bass? :wacko:

[thepurpleblob]

[quote name='Hot Tub' post='777782' date='Mar 17 2010, 06:24 PM']Figured this was the best place to post this - Mods, please move it if this is incorrect and accept my apologies. :blush:

OK, question is, these (below) are the guitar chords for a song I'm trying to work out:

Cadd9
G
D
A
A5
C5
D5
C#5
E5
G5
G#5

The guitar tuning however is half a step down, so Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, etc. So, what should I be looking at for roots on bass? :wacko:[/quote]

Unless I'm missing something, the guitar tuning is irrelevant to you. A Cadd9 is still a Cadd9 (etc.). Geetards do that to make the chord fingering easier - you don't care about that.

EDIT:
*Unless* - you mean it is *written* as Cadd9 and then they have tuned down to transpose down without changing the fingering. In which case, Badd9, Gb, Db, Ab, Ab5..... etc

Edited March 17, 2010 by thepurpleblob

[Bloodaxe]

What's the tune?

[Musicman69]

Yea.. provided you're tuned to the same pitch as guitars its easy. The roots are C,G,D,A etc. (Ignoring the fact you're detuned)
Good Luck with it!

Edited March 17, 2010 by Musicman69

[Doddy]

If I was given those chords I would naturally start with the correct root
notes regardless of the tuning.
However I have noticed a tendency for,mostly dodgy,
guitar players to detune to say Eb and still refer to it as
an E which it is not anymore. So if I was detuned a semitone
and was told to play an E,I would naturally play the first fret
of the now Eb string.

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='Doddy' post='777824' date='Mar 17 2010, 07:08 PM']If I was given those chords I would naturally start with the correct root
notes regardless of the tuning.
However I have noticed a tendency for,mostly dodgy,
guitar players to detune to say Eb and still refer to it as
an E which it is not anymore. So if I was detuned a semitone
and was told to play an E,I would naturally play the first fret
of the now Eb string.[/quote]

Is there a B# in there by any chance.

[Cat Burrito]

Pretty much nailed by Doddy here really. Some bands / tabs will list stuff as C, F & G when the tuning is tuned down half a step so you'll be playing B, E and F# when playing along with the recording. If you are then playing it with other musicians just check to see if they are playing those shapes in regular tunings or as per the record

[thepurpleblob]

It's the same as sticking a capo on going the other way, of course.

[Marvin]

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='777839' date='Mar 17 2010, 07:19 PM']Some bands / tabs will list stuff as C, F & G when the tuning is tuned down half a step so you'll be playing B, E and F# when playing along with the recording.[/quote]

What arses these people are. I'm a theory numpty but it does take a genius to work out that if you detune you're playing different notes.

[ThomBassmonkey]

If you're staying in standard and the guitarist is playing the flats of those chords (i.e. he's playing those chords shapes on a guitar in Eb) then you just need to play those notes 1 fret down.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='777848' date='Mar 17 2010, 07:23 PM']It's the same as sticking a capo on going the other way, of course.[/quote]
... and taking account of whether the guitarist has put the capo at the correct fret for the agreed key.

[thepurpleblob]

The upshot of all this is that you need to ask the guitarist what he is doing. Insufficient data

[Doddy]

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='777834' date='Mar 17 2010, 07:14 PM']Is there a B# in there by any chance. [/quote]



Not in this particular example there isn't.......

[Hot Tub]

Thanks guys - gonna have a play this afternoon, see if I can figure it out. Again...!!!

btw, the tune is Uncle Tom's Cabin by Warrant.



Oh, and no B#! Or Fb for that matter!

[Oscar South]

[quote name='Marvin' post='777888' date='Mar 17 2010, 07:45 PM']What arses these people are. I'm a theory numpty but it does take a genius to work out that if you detune you're playing different notes.[/quote]

Why not treat a detuned or capo'd guitar which remains in standard tuning as a transposing instrument? Its no different from the way saxophones, brass, woodwind and many more transposing instruments are and have been treated for hundreds of years. Makes perfect sense in context and saves a ton of unnecessary hassle.