It's a lot of fun messing around with open tunings. I've made good progress by observing the idea of modal tunings. Modal tunings are in my mind, basically tuning the guitar in such a way that modal voicings and harmonic structures are easier to access. A simple on might be tuning the guitar around a F# dominant chord to play a psychedelic blues thing.
I find that there's really two main approaches to the acoustic guitar. The first is the tone neutral method that leaves you with a proverbial sea of possibilities. There are no privileged points on the fretboard and the open strings are just seen as another set of notes. I like this approach. I think this is more how a jazz player thinks. I've come up with a lot of great, progressive music lately by thinking this way.
The second approach is the more banjo-y kind. Everything is played against an open string and an open chord. Everything begins and ends on an open string. You only end up playing in D, A, and G but it feels damned good. I like this approach as well. I think it's easier to find an access point when you play this way. It lends itself well to writing pop songs. You start viewing notes as these tapestries of 5ths and 4ths, with an occasional hinting of something like a minor 7th, a 2nd, or a 3rd. It's very diddly. I feel like a common person with this approach.
I think ultimately, both approaches have to be combined if one wishes to play robustly. I think it's good to not get locked into paradigms.
One interesting chord voicing that I've found by comparing and contrasting these two views is this one:
It's basically a common Cmaj7 thing changed slightly to create an eerie diminished phrase that's fun to play in the winter. ^_^
"I think I've fallen for you. I have fell for your sake."
--Kai
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