While “Little Red Rooster” certainly isn’t the only song out there in open G tuning… it’s one that you’ll have a hard time not playing once you start 🙂
And there are literally dozens of versions of that song, so in this video I’ll show you how to get your guitar into open G tuning and how you might play Little Red Rooster – but keep your big ears open for variations!
100 replies to "Little Red Rooster and Open G Tuning"
That’s Taro Patch tuning!
Thanks Griff
You rock in so many ways
Love your stuff
Tim
lightninglayne@hotmail.com
Very fun and something new for me and my buddies to chew on
And learn from…
Thanks Griff!
Hey Griff. Thanks for all, The little red rooster. Was a rekindling with my Resonator. What fun. Will you be doing more of those slide features? Your the best. Snowed in today. So its you and me buddy. 🎸🎶.
Thank you Griff for another great lesson. The Little Red Rooster is a wonderful tune for anyone to play. Not too fast or too slow just catches the ear of those that cannot play and wonder how did he/she get that sound. You have succinctly advised of how the sound is achieved.
Like so many lessons there is always going to be those that have their own ‘take’ on how they would play a particular piece.
I read with interest all that you have received listed. I have been a purchaser of your courses for a number of years and still get a buzz when you cover off something that is special in the blues back catalogue AND make it sound doable.
Thank you Griff. I shall try retuning my resonator and give the Rooster a go – this week – precisely when I cannot say.
my best friend had a fast horse named Rooster and he was red…
A lot of players tune to EAEACE, IT`S just G, tuned up to A. sO ,IT`S WEATHER YOU LIKE IT TIGHT OR LOOSER… ALSO You can be playing EADGBE, and just tune down the skinny E, TO d, then you have the bottom 4 strings in open G. Great if you want to play slide quick…
That’d be Am based on the tuning you describe
Correct. A is A, C#, B
Oops, typo above
A is A, C# E.
Love this lesson!! Can’t wait to tune down to a g tuning and try this out!
Let’s go blues! Let’s go blues!🏒🏒. Thx griff, happy father’s day!. Let’s go blues!🏒🏒
As we speak iam listening to a version of little red rooster by SAM COOKE ITS REALLY GOOD. I have a guitar g tuned for slide this will shake up the neighbors . Great lesson Griff
Thanks Griff,I think I have found my niche at last,
can now get rid of the other 3 fingers 🙂
Just watched this one again & thought I’d add a little something about why you always “tune up” to pitch…There is a mechanical component to this as well. The tuning machines are essentially gears with a “thread pattern” similar to a bolt & nut. The gears hold position better when you are putting tension on them rather than removing tension from them; so when you drop below pitch, it creates slack in the string, nut & gears, but when you bring the string up to pitch, it eliminates the slack & holds the tension better. That’s my story, & I’m sticking to it…
Hi,
Awsome slide guitar lesson. It give a good feeling for playing. Thank you for these Web lessons 🙂
Just tried this on my 12 string acoustic (just the d and g strings – muting the rest) Sounds amazing! I’m going to try retuning my mandolin now…
Hi Griff, I have been putting off learning slide guitar for tomorrow, but after this lesson, I can no longer wait. This is a awesome cool slide guitar lesson that will get me playing slide in no time at all … Thank you for sharing, you are an inspiration to us all!
Lots of years of playing lots of instruments, & now arthritis has brought me to a 3 string cigar box guitar. This is a great lesson for CBGs, as the most common tuning for them is GDG. Thanx for all you do, Bro…It’s always fun!
I have been holding back on slide guitar, even though I’ve been studying and working diligently on BGU for almost four years now. This has pushed me over the edge, and I can no longer resist playing “Lil Red Rooster”.
You are the Most Inspiring Teacher.
Nice Griff.. Say,do you raise the strings any when you play slide on open tuning?
Hey Griff Thank You for all the great lessons that you have put out there for us. I really enjoy open G tuning or using it I should say. Red Rooster was the first song I ever learned to play in G tuning. And you’re right, it’s hard not to play it again and again.
Good one Griff! My fave is the raw, nasty one by the Stones. Kinda funny, I was born in Memphis in 1950 but it took the Brits to make me aware of blues in the mid-1960s. Irony abounds!
Once again, thank you Griff.
8/11/18
Thanks for sharing brother!
Appreciate your efforts and insight!
Well done!
Great little slide for beginners, peace
Hey Griff, I’ve been trying to learn this song for a while. Even though it is simple, it is challenging for me. You have made it very approachable and I say thanks a million
Hi Griff,
Sunday morning viewing in the UK. Great explanation of open G. Love your teaching ways. You make it easy for us blues fans to follow.
Take care.
Pete
I agree with Jim, time for another slide course. Either another delta blues or 5 more easy slide solos.
Love your two slide guitar courses. Ready for another please!!!!
Great teacher
Numerous musical styles
Keep on rocking
From sunny Wales
FWIW, “Little Red Rooster” and “Dust My Broom” sound great in Open E as well!
2120 still stands!
I have played DMB in open D, then use a capo to go to E to play Stones tunes like “You Got the Silver”, “No Expectations” or “Prodigal Son”.
TA, I love the Stones first 5 albums but, man they R not in tune with anything, lol!
maybe the original tape running not perfectly?
thanks for showing this and much more stuff .come over and have a beer one day .Neil victoria australia
Fun and playable. I appreciate anything with slide.
Thanks,
Pat
This is gold, I tell ya pure gold; I’m a student for life.
Thanks Griff, Your willingness to share your knowledge is to be commended.Your a great teacher and a first class guy! Keep on keeping on!
Sounds like “Bad To The Bone” by George Thorogood
One of my favorites blues tunes. I especially like Howlin Wolf’s version.
Thanks Griff
Awesome riff, I’ve always loved open running, any lessons in open D( and should I drop the g to f#)
Cheers.
I think it sounds better with the G dropped to F#, makes it easier to bend…
This is an old video but good fun. I do a lot of open running and have several different guitars in my “quiver”. one in open G, E, C and standard. I even have one tuning that I invented, at least I haven’t seen it used by anyone yet? (NO, I won’t share that)
Ugly Scott
Didn’t your mama tell it’s not nice to have a secret and then announce it to the world you do. I’m glad Big Daddy Griff doesn’t do us that way. Share your sound. A rising tide lifts all ships and music is supposed to be shared not hidden and horded
Hi Griff, I have been playing for almost 60years
(really). I had my time as a Rock Star in the mid sixties, recorded a few records, and spent years as a teacher. But 40 years ago, I had a very serious accident, and was left with a crushed spine, the loss of all feeling in my hands and arms, and no left leg! But you have to stay positive and as productive as possible, and the guitar has been invaluable to helping me maintain my sanity, even though I don’t have any feeling in my hands. Your videos have really helped me to remember everything that I had to put aside for a long time, and I think that you are a great teacher, and friend! Thank You brother, for helping to keep the blues alive, and for showing how much pleasure there is in playing it, whether it’s on your front porch, or with a band, it keeps the world turning! Lary
Hi Griff,
Great lesson, it would be great to get a BGU Course across using the Slide especially how to tune the guitar to get that pitch in Open G.
I love & have saved the lesson but for later.
Thanks
Michael-Sydney-Australia August 2016
Michael,
In the course catalog there is a course on slide guitar.
finaly you got to open tuning. ole TJ Hooker sound. Kieth Richards , did a lot of open tuning when playing. like Honky Tonk Women in “d”. good stuff. ‘\
Awesome. Thanks so muvh for expanding my narrow vision
I loved this one. I play mostly 3-string cigar box guitars that I built. They are tuned to open-G. This little smidgen will help me a lot. Thanks
Very nice!
Love it Griff
I welcome
More down this neck of the woods
Any time
Cheers Joe
Joe B is right, great. Simple and stage ready,
quickly. Thank you
Griff. Me like. I can put the slide on my 1/2 middle finger and be like everybody else! Thanks!
Had to laugh, Griff! From the “Rolling Stones” album, their first US release, I learned, “Little Red Rooster” waaaaaaaaaay back in the 60s! What fun to hear it again and to learn how to play it more correctly! Thank you for a great time and a super lesson.
Griff
Thank you..you make the seemingly impossible made more easy, and attainable.
I purchased a few of your courses, and refer to them often.
Thanks!
John
Grif
Thank you..you make the seemingly impossible made more easy, and attainable.
I purchased a few of your courses, and refer to them often.
Thanks!
John
Thanks, Griff. I first heard this song done be the Rolling Stones in 1965. Had not known about Keith Richards using the open G tuning back then! By the way, the missing vocal piece was “too lazy to crow for day”! Great lesson!
BGU folks and Griff,
Several things come to mind from this video –
First, on your fretting (slide) hand you should rest your first finger across all the strings behind the slide, to STOP them from ringing – i.e. MUTE the strings behind the slide. Unless you WANT them to ring, and sometimes you might want that sound – try it both ways and listen.
Second, when Griff was tuning up, did you hear Led Zeppelin’s “In My Time of Dying”???? That’s it, open G.
Third, Ted asked what type of slide Griff is using – there’s a whole lot of different sounds that you can get from heavy glass like Griff is using (the Cyrocidin bottle), lighter glass (a test tube), different kinds of metal tube (thick, thin, shiny, dull), the back of a pocket (or table) knife, a hair comb (Howlin’ Wolf is said to have used his comb for slide). Try them out, the variation is amazing!!!
Finally, there are lots of open tuning variations – dropped-D, Open D, all the weird ones that Joni Mitchell uses, and the really odd one that Stephen Stills uses on “Suite – Judy Blue Eyes” which is something like D, B, B, B, B, D that he apparently got from David Bromberg or one of the ‘sixties folk players.
Too much information, I know, but a lifetime of experimenting with guitars brings a lot of knowledge. Use your ears and never miss an opportunity to learn something new.
Chris G from the Land of OZ.
I always thought it was “too lazy to crow today.”
That was aimed at Joel – sorry!
Thanks for the slide work & I love that song. Thanks.
Griff, I’m not a paying client, but I’ve been watching you for a few years at least. You’re a wonderful man..and your the snippets of your knowledge I get through watching the videos.
I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate what you do.
(NOT a sob story) For reasons beyond my control I cannot afford a course. Hopefully soon…
Keep it up….
I look forward to the emails every single day, never tire of it. Thanks Griff, and thanks Lawrence for sharing your thoughts that match mine exactly. It’s always cool to know there’s others out there just like you.
Loved it. Can you do a breakdown of ‘ You Got to Move’ as made famous by this Stones?
Hey, back again. I knew there was a reason I saved those two Coicidin bottles from the 70’s. Yes, have both sizes for 3rd or 4th fingers.
Tim, wasn’t it Duanne Allman that was known for the coricidan bottles?
Griff thanks…that was great. Your suggestions and tips will help my sliding… Hey how about a slide lesson for the song ‘ You Got to Move’ ? I would love a lesson from you on that song.
Watch out!!! I’m gonna b dangerous now!!! Fun, Fun, Fun Thanx Griffster
after reading some of the comments seems some are confussed why its called open G .I am no theory expert but believe its called that because the 4th string is a G and remains the same tuning . This is the reason you can get away with just using the 4th and third string . I also think it has something to do with root fifth root 3rd fifth root thats just what my gut says. I had seen J throughgood in concert .My friend thought He put on a great show thing is the skynard group was the headliner. The Moheagen Sun under a tent and it was raining. Oh yeah just for tickles and grins dadgad your tuning and play some Jimmie Page . Of course no slide and takes a bit to get the positions down but sounds too cool for words alone. Kashmir see ya later . next video .
That was sooo cool!! I don’t mean to be the oddball here but what my ears caught was David Brombergs “Come On In My Kitchen”. I’ve been fiddelin with my sons resonator. Never thought to bring it to open G. A slide is in my future!
Are “Open Tunings” meant only for Slide Guitar Playing or Fingered Chords can be used as well?
Ravi, Richie Havens used open tuning almost if not exclusively.. just one non-slide example…
Thanks Greg.
Ravi – if you finger pick at all try open G tuning and you should find 59th Street Bridge Song within minutes – DADGAD takes a bit longer but all these tunings offer something different – great work by Griff , he opens the door and you have a life times worth of discovery – make a coffee chill out and just noodle away on these tunings for half an hour and see where you end up
Nice one Griff. More on open G please like honky tonk woman etc ??
Thanks Griff – Also see Gary Clark jr’s Nextdoor Neighbor Blues. I have been working on that with my Dobro – same tuning. Also, I think I need a wide slide to get it over my 2nd knuckle and get a bit more control over it.
Wonderful sound.
Tuning up to GBDGBD is Dobro open G and puts more tension on the neck.
It is easier on the neck to tune down like Griff to DGDGBD open G.
Great lessons however to maybe address the reason you have to tune and back up is primarily because the srewr thread are not perfect and by turning down and back up takes up the slack in the gear thread
Griff , this was a fun lesson . I have your Slide guitar course ,but have not started using it . Been working on the Acoustic course , but this inspired me to start the slide course . Thanks for another great lesson . Mike Z.
Hey Griff…just what I needed. Learning slide is fun and challenging.
Just started getting into slide and I love it:)
That’s very cool! But I gotta admit, I’ve always stayed away from OPEN tunings because, quite frankly, I don’t understand exactly how they work. When I first read the title of this, I assumed that you would tune the low E string UP, to a G. The A string UP to a B. The high E string UP to G. WRONG! (Even though that IS exactly what a “G” chord is!) Is there a formula (chord construction) to open tunings, or do we just have to memorize them? Also, is “dropped G” the same as “OPEN G?” Thanks for the lesson! (But I’m having having a hard enough time with E-A-D-G-B-E!)
Excellent lesson as always .
Any tips on how to solo in open G tuning without relearning the whole fretboard?
Talk about a confluence of coincidence. This lesson comes along just as I’m reading Keith Richards’ autobiography where he talks about open G tuning and not even using the sixth string. Have to try this today. By the way, this is the same tuning as is used on a five string banjo, so I see some finger picking in the future as well. Griff’s explanation, for whatever, is much clearer than Keith’s.
Hey Griff nice slide work. Yes Little Red Rooster and of course Bad To The Bone great slide songs. I enjoyed it. Thank you. Ray Martin.
There reason why Keith drops the top E is because with an extra D it muddies up the sound a bit too much having 3 5th’s. Actually Open G sounds even better IMHO with both 1 and 6 strings removed and only having 1 5th note.
Good Lesson Griff …. Thanks
awesome riff griff!!!! hey that rythmed!!! u are awesome too!!! learnin’ alot watching u!!!!! thanks soooo much!!!!!!!!! mike
Got a “pinky” slide so I’m gonna try it out. Maybe I’ll get a third finger slide like yours. Never tried one before. But this lesson is very cool, Griff. Thanks much.
All the best,
DaveyJoe
Hey griff just viewed the lesson “red rooster” and realized I have a 4string cigar box guitar that this is a perfect fit . It’s tuned to open g and this is one more thing I can now play on it . Maybe you can explore the cigar box guitar tune some more thanks Hal
Hey Griff, great lesson and thanks for opening my ears. This will give me a reason to pull out the glass again. Thanks and stay cool.
Very cool, Griff! Brought up visions of Brian Jones.
Great lesson Griff,I love slide guitar and open G is my favourite open tuning.More slide lessons would be great.
Thanks for the great lesson. I play some of the Stones open G songs and what I do is tune the low E string up to G. I find it works better tuned that way and also makes the open G chord huge!!
Great lesson. Got a glass slide in my cigar box of gizmos that never got much use. Now it will. Now show me how to do something cool with the e-bow that I bought 20+ years ago.
That was fun. Here’s what I’d like: Once a month or so do a breakdown of a traditional blues standard. Like this one. (Or boom-boom in the bgu lessons.) Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Robert J . . . toss in a little bit of everything. Just some familiar old things we could play around with with and have a good time. Thanks.
Thanks so much!
Oh yes Griff. I can get downright dirty with a dropped G String. Seriously a great fun lesson. Thank you.
Thanks Griff. Going to try and find that slide I bought years ago but never learned to use.
What type of slide are you using? Is it glass or acrylic? Do you have a preference?
Thanks for the lesson. I hope many more of your students and followers will also embrace the fun and essence of blues played with a slide. Lots of good tips.