Learning the fretboard in different tunings.

Weaver85

I have guitars tuned to c# and Eb (both standard). and switch between both regularly. I have most of the notes on the top two strings internalised from when I was playing in standard and want to learn the rest. Seeing as most guitar books assume standard E tuning, should I learn the notes as though they were in E, so in E flat the c is a b, and in C# the E is a G etc.? Seems a lot of work learning separate tunings. Does anyone else work this way? I'm not playing with other folk so won't need to communicate the exact notes. I just need a mental map to navigate the fretboard when composing or sight reading.  

viz

I think assuming the reason you learned the notes on the top two strings (do you mean the bottom two by the way) is so that you can play or describe specific notes, then yes you’ll need to learn what they are now you’ve tuned differently, a bit like when people use alternative tunings their new strings they have to call them DADGAD or whatever, not EADGBE. Or like if you capo at G, then your new open strings are GCFBbDG. 

TheBigDipper

On Topic: I believe lots of people play using shapes and scale intervals. If you stick with different tunings where the string intervals are still the same as if they were in standard, then what you know will sound good without learning the new note names for the fret positions.

FWIW, when I use a capo, I tend to write down the music I'm playing as if I was still tuned eBGDAE standard. So, although when I'm capo'd at the 2nd fret a Dm shape starting on 1st string (e) will fret the 3rd fret, and it's actually an Em chord, I'll write it down as Dm so I can quickly work out what shape to use when I read it back. If I had to communicate to a pianist, I'd do the hard yards then and transpose for them at that time. 

This may make the professional players on here wince, but you did ask and it's what I actually do - rightly or wrongly. 

viz said:

I think assuming the reason you learned the notes on the top two strings (do you mean the bottom two by the way) is so that you can play or describe specific notes, then yes you’ll need to learn what they are now you’ve tuned differently, a bit like when people use alternative tunings their new strings they have to call them DADGAD or whatever, not EADGBE. Or like if you capo at G, then your new open strings are GCFBbDG. 

Off Topic: I always call the the thin string that is usually tuned to a high E as "Top E". So if someone said to me "the top 2 strings" I'd think they meant the two thinnest ones. Physically at the bottom but in terms of note frequency, at the top. 

Do you do the opposite, @viz ? 

viz

Nope, I’m the same, I (possibly mistakenly) thought Weaver meant the bass strings when saying top 2, purely because I think most people manage to learn the fretboard from the bass to the treble.