Tunings — Joni Mitchell

From [email protected] Tue Feb 7 11:45:29 PST 1995 Article: 12285 of rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic Path: unixg.ubc.ca!unixg.ubc.ca!vanbc.wimsey.com!scipio.cyberstore.ca!math.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!swrinde!pipex!uknet!cf-cm!thor.cf.ac.uk!spxhaw From: [email protected] (Howard Wright (Hman)) Subject: *** Joni Mitchell Tunings *** Message-ID: <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] (Howard Wright (Hman)) Organization: University of Wales College of Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales, UK Date: Tue, 7 Feb 1995 10:14:50 GMT X-Mailer: Cardiff Computing Maths PP Mail Open News Gateway Lines: 195

JONI MITCHELL TUNINGS

written by Howard Wright [email protected]

I thought I'd put together a little piece on Joni's tunings because I've Recently worked out quite a few of the tunings she uses, and it's easier To list them all in one place than try to TAB them all separately.

I hope to get round to tabbing at least a couple of the songs mentioned In full, but it takes time so I thought I'd write this first to give the Basic info.

Two 'standard' tunings which she has used quite a bit are the open G and Open D tunings.

Open G is (from low to hight) : DGDGBD

Open D is (low to high) : DADF#AD

I say 'standard' tunings because these have been used by a lot of people. The open G tuning is used a hell of a lot by Keith Richards for example.

Another favourite of hers is a variation on the open D which I call the Dadd9 tuning.

It is : DAEF#AD

There are also a couple of other tunings I've worked out, though I've only Found her using them on one particular song.

Anyway, here is a list of songs with their appropriate tunings. I hope to add To this list as I work out more songs, but I've got a feeling that she has a Small number of tunings which she uses on a lot of different songs, rather than Inventing a new tuning for every new song. If you play around a bit you might start to get the song worked out for yourself - once you've got the right tuning, things are a lot easier !

Thanks also to Jared White for sending some tunings he knew, and to Jimfre Bacal For sending some others (courtesy of Patrick Willoughby).

Tuning SONG Album

C G Bb Eb F Bb :

Sex Kills Turbulent Indigo

D A E F# A D :

Sunny Sunday Turbulent Indigo

Passion Play Night Ride Home

Cherokee Louise Night Ride Home

Night Ride Home Night Ride Home

D A E G C E :

Furry Sings the Hejira Blues

Jericho Don Juan's Reckless Daughter

C G D F C E :

Coyote Hejira

Woman of Heart and For the Roses Mind

Don Juan's Don Juan's ... Reckless Daughter

C G D F G C :

My Secret Place Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm

Number One Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm

Cool Water Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm

Hejira Hejira

D A D F# A D :

Free Man In Paris Court And Spark

People's Parties Court And Spark

Michael From Joni Mitchell Mountains

Cactus Tree Joni Mitchell

Night in the City Joni Mitchell

Pirate of Penzance Joni Mitchell

Both Sides now Clouds

Chelsea Morning Clouds

You turn me on For the roses

D A D E A D :

I had a King Joni Mitchell

D G D G B D :

(Open G) Don't Interrupt Hissing of Summer The Sorrow Lawns

Nathan La Franeer Joni Mitchell

Little Green Blue

For the roses For the roses

Marcie Joni Mitchell

Circle Game Ladies of the Canyon

Morning Morgantown Ladies of the canyon

C G D G B D : Sweet Bird Hissing of Summer Lawns

Cold Blues Steel For The Roses and Sweet Fire

B F# B E A E :

Magdalen Laundries Turbulent Indigo

Remember that you can tune down and then use a capo to get the same sound

- so instead of tuning to open D (DADF#AD), you could tune to open C (CGCEGC) then put a capo on the 2nd fret.

I've tabbed 'Free Man in Paris' and 'People's Parties' already - check out Nevada for those (but use a mirror site !)

If you have any trouble finding them I can mail them to you

I hope to TAB some of the others soon

Howard

From [email protected] Tue Feb 21 13:41:50 PST 1995 Article: 12997 of rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic Path: unixg.ubc.ca!unixg.ubc.ca!rover.ucs.ualberta.ca!tribune.usask.ca!canopus.cc.umanitoba.ca!newsflash.concordia.ca!uunet!newstf01.news.aol.com!newsbf02.news.aol.com!not-for-mail From: [email protected] (Mafleisher) Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic Subject: Re: Joni Mitchell Tunings Date: 20 Feb 1995 16:54:06 -0500 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Lines: 20 Sender: [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> References: <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] (Mafleisher) NNTP-Posting-Host: newsbf02.mail.aol.com

Here are two: D G D G B D (Open G Tuning)--used on "Marcie," "Little Green," "Conversation," "This Flight Tonight" and undoubtedly others (on the Latter, tune the 6th string down an extra octave for the full effect)

D A D F# A D (Open D Tuning)--used on "Chelsea Morning" and probably Others. Some use Open E, in which the strings bear the same relationship To one another, but everything's tuned up a full step from the notes I've Indicated. I think it puts too much tension on my strings; causes breaks. If you like the sound, use Open D with a capo

Final one: "California Kitchen Tuning" I don't know the notes, but Here's how to get there from standard tuning: 1st--leave it alone 2nd--up one step 3rd--down 2 steps 4th--leave it alone 5th--down 2 steps 6th--down 4 steps The only song I know she uses this one on is "Sisotowbell Lane"