I opened an Express Mail package containing my brand new (off e-Bay) copy of the Turbulent Indigo songbook. It's been some time since I looked closely at the open tunings, not spending much time with my guitar these days. I was really shocked to see how far afield of the earlier open chords the later compositions are tuned. I guess I began to see a real change with Hejira, but had lost track. Frankly, my guitars were contorting into rediculous shapes and without my own personal technician I just gave up trying to keep up. Yes I do appreciate the tuning flexibility (in THEORY) of the VG8 if not its textural attributes.
That barb thrown, I still wonder how, in the composing process Joni decides what notes to tune each string for each composition. Paging through the Turbulent Indigo book, I saw some wildly interesting choices, even a bit of humor if one even allows oneself to consider the possibility that "Lead Balloon" was written to be played on a tuning derived from ALL FLATS purposely. How amusing. (No pun intended.) I finally came to the conclusion that for TI, she probably just picked Nietzche up and let him walk across the piano keyboard. Whatever sounded is what she wrote in for the day. WHICH would explain why Taming The Tiger is written largely in an open C chord tuning. The tuning muse was MIA. Truly, has Joni ever explained her process in choosing her open tunings? Does the poetry lead such choices? Does she choose the tunings before she works out the melodies, indeed even before the poem is written? Is it system-less, and all the more wonderous for it? Any way it's done, it works a treat. CC I hear you in the water and the wiring in the walls. -- JM _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
