• Registered: 2017-02-21
  • Posts: 13

Topic: Palm Trees Helicopters and Gasoline Tabs

I've looked up this song a few times now and found some tabs for it with the tuning as D A D D G D but that can't seem right since Joe opens the Albert Hall Tour de Force show with this song and Segues into Seagull--played in standard tuning (or drop D)--on the same guitar. Any thoughts?

  • From: East Lancashire, UK
  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 3,019

Re: Palm Trees Helicopters and Gasoline Tabs

Best I have seen is on songsterr. Sounds good. big_smile

Come on the Blades (sorry Idolbone just had to borrow your line)

3 Reply by NickelWound (edited by NickelWound 2017-07-10 10:22:57)

  • Registered: 2007-11-22
  • Posts: 358

Re: Palm Trees Helicopters and Gasoline Tabs

I used to play a lot of acoustic guitar in weird tunings so I'm going to take a guess at this one (but Joe knows David Crosby so it could be anything right?...)

First, Seagull is not in standard tuning either. From the hammer on's and descending run I would say the tuning low to high is DAD(G)BD. (I'm not sure about the G). My reasoning is he hammers on the D chord which means it must still have a normally tuned G and he never hits the high E which is probably tuned to D. The descending little run is still in a standard tuned A string. If I had my acoustic with me I could probably help more.. if I'm helping at all... sad

He has another chord in there which you don't get a good look at on the DVD but don't assume you can't play chords in open tunings. You just find the strings that make the sound you want and presto!... a chord. Let us know what you discover.


Edited to add: This is the tuning I see Joe using in Seagull... at least to my eyes, so I'm sure PSmith1946 is correct for the Palm Trees helicopters and gasoline tuning as well.

  • From: East Lancashire, UK
  • Registered: 2011-06-24
  • Posts: 3,019

Re: Palm Trees Helicopters and Gasoline Tabs

I have enclosed the link and confirm that this is in the tuning DADGBD. As I said it sounds right to me. Hope this helps.
https://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/joe-bon … b-s39362t0
big_smile

Come on the Blades (sorry Idolbone just had to borrow your line)

5 Reply by saxguy101 (edited by saxguy101 2018-11-14 20:08:46)

  • Registered: 2017-02-21
  • Posts: 13

Re: Palm Trees Helicopters and Gasoline Tabs

NickelWound wrote:

I used to play a lot of acoustic guitar in weird tunings so I'm going to take a guess at this one (but Joe knows David Crosby so it could be anything right?...)

First, Seagull is not in standard tuning either. From the hammer on's and descending run I would say the tuning low to high is DAD(G)BD. (I'm not sure about the G). My reasoning is he hammers on the D chord which means it must still have a normally tuned G and he never hits the high E which is probably tuned to D. The descending little run is still in a standard tuned A string. If I had my acoustic with me I could probably help more.. if I'm helping at all... sad

He has another chord in there which you don't get a good look at on the DVD but don't assume you can't play chords in open tunings. You just find the strings that make the sound you want and presto!... a chord. Let us know what you discover.


Edited to add: This is the tuning I see Joe using in Seagull... at least to my eyes, so I'm sure PSmith1946 is correct for the Palm Trees helicopters and gasoline tuning as well.

I'm not so sure that Seagull is in double drop D (DADGBD), and the reason for that is that at the end of the tune he plays ascending triads (D, F, G, Bb, C, Emin, C, D, D) -- at least on the Tour de Force DVDs -- with the standard tuning fingering like the usual fingering for D. If it was DADGBD, the F# on the top of the D triad would be on fret 4 instead of fret 2 like it normally is with the top string tuned to E. As for the hammer-ons, he's hammering on the A in the D chord. That's how it appears to me in the DVD. Thanks for popping in though, I posted this over a year ago and forgot to check in on it.