List of guitar tunings

A FuniChar D-616 guitar with a Drop D tuning. It has an unusual additional fretboard that extends onto the headstock. Most guitarists obtain a Drop D tuning by detuning the low E string a tone down.

This list of guitar tunings supplements the article guitar tunings. In particular, this list contains more examples of open and regular tunings, which are discussed in the article on guitar tunings. In addition, this list also notes dropped tunings.

Open

Main article: Open tuning

Major

Initial eight harmonics on C, namely (C,C,G,C,E,G,B♭,C)  Play simultaneously 

Major open-tunings give a major chord with the open strings.

Open A

E-A-C♯-E-A-E

Used by Jimmy Page on "In My Time of Dying"" and Jack White on "Seven Nation Army"

Open B

B-F♯-B-F♯-B-D♯

Used by Nickelback on "Should've Listened", Devin Townsend in recent years, and Big Wreck on "Albatross".

Open C

C-G-C-G-C-E

This open C tuning was used by William Ackerman for his "Townsend Shuffle" and by John Fahey for his tribute to Mississippi John Hurt. This tuning is also commonly used by John Butler on his 12 string guitar. [1]

C-E-G-C-E-G

The English guitar used a repetitive open-C tuning that approximated a major-thirds tuning.[2]

C-C-G-C-E-G[3]

This open-C tuning gives the initial harmonic series when a C-string is struck.[4] The C-C-G-C-E-G tuning uses the harmonic sequence (overtones) of the note C. When an open-note C-string is struck, its harmonic sequence begins with the notes (C,C,G,C,E,G,B♭,C).[3][4] This overtone-series tuning was modified by Mick Ralphs, who used a high C rather than the high G for "Can't Get Enough" on Bad Company. Ralphs said, "It needs the open C to have that ring," and "it never really sounds right in standard tuning".[5]

Open D

Open D tuning.
Open D tuning (listen)
D-A-D-F♯-A-D

Open-D tuning was used by Joni Mitchell for her "Big Yellow Taxi" .,[6] Nick Drake for "Place To Be", and Soko for "No More Home, No More Love". Open-D tuning has been called Vestapol tuning.[7]

This alternative Open D tuning (and its downtuned variations) is frequently used by Mark Tremonti guitarist for the bands Creed, Alterbridge and The Tremonti Project. It was also used by Keith Richards on "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and the Stone Roses in "Love Spreads".

C♯-G♯-C♯-F-G♯-C♯

Same as Open-D but tuned a half-step down. Used by Alice In Chains on the songs "Over Now", "Nothin' Song", and "Shame in You".

Open E

E-B-E-G♯-B-E (use light gauge strings because three strings must be raised) (used by: Brian Jones on "No Expectations", "I Wanna Be Your Man"; Keith Richards on "Salt of the Earth", "Prodigal Son", "Gimme Shelter", "Jigsaw Puzzle", "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and by Bob Dylan on his 1975 album Blood on the Tracks .Hoobastank on first and second albums.)

Open F

F-A-C-F-C-F (requires light gauge strings)

C-F-C-F-A-C is the more common of the two. Used by

Elizabeth Cotten on her song "When I Get Home"
Led Zeppelin on "When the Levee Breaks"

F-F-C-F-A-C is also used by Dave Mason on "Only You Know and I Know"

Open G

Open G tuning (listen)
A seven-string guitar with the open-strings annotated with the notes.
The Russian guitar's tuning approximates a major-thirds tuning.
D-G-D-G-B-D (also known as Spanish Tuning or Chicago Tuning)

Open G was used in rock by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin in the songs "Dancing Days", "That's The Way" and "Black Country Woman", Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones as well as in Mississippi blues by Son House, Charley Patton, and Robert Johnson, and in "Fearless" by Pink Floyd.[8]

G-G-D-G-B-D

Listing the initial six harmonics of the G note, this open-G tuning was used by Joni Mitchell for "Electricity", "For the Roses", and "Hunter (The Good Samaritan)".[9] It was also used by Mick Ralphs for "Hey Hey" on Bad Company's debut album.[5] and on the Meowtain song "Alleyway" Stone Gossard also used this tuning in the song Daughter (song) by Pearl Jam.

D-G-B-D-G-B-D
is an open G tuning, approximately in major thirds.[11][12]

Minor: Cross-note

The following open-tunings use a minor third, and give a minor chord with open strings. To avoid the relatively cumbersome designation "open D minor", "open C minor", such tunings are sometimes called "cross-note tunings". The term also expresses the fact that, compared to Major chord open tunings, by fretting the lowered string at the first fret, it is possible to produce a major chord very easily.[13]

Cross-note or open E-minor was used by Bukka White and Skip James.[14]

Cross-note tunings include (low to high):

Sitar A tuning (listen)

Modal

D modal tuning.

In modal tunings, the strings are tuned to form a chord which is not definitively minor or major. These tunings may facilitate very easy chords and unique sounds when the open strings are used as drones. Often these tunings form a suspended chord on the open strings. A well known user of modal tunings is Sonic Youth.

Extended chord

In extended chord tunings, the open strings form a seventh, ninth, or eleventh chord.

Regular tunings

An equilateral triangle's corners represent the equally spaced notes of a major-thirds tuning, here E-C-G♯. The triangle is circumscribed by the chromatic circle, which lists the 12 notes of the octave.
For every major-thirds tuning, the consecutive open-notes are separated by four semitones, and so three strings cover the twelve notes of the octave.
Main article: Regular tuning

Major seconds

c-d-e-f♯-g♯-a♯ or c♯-d♯-f-g-a-b

A compact tuning that fits within one octave and covers the chromatic scale between open strings and the first fret.

Minor thirds

C-D♯-F♯-a-c-d♯

In the minor-thirds tuning, every interval between successive strings is a minor third. In the minor-thirds tuning beginning with C, the open strings contain the notes (c, d♯, f♯) of the diminished C chord.[24]

Major thirds

Main article: Major thirds tuning
See also: Ralph Patt

Major-thirds tuning is a regular tuning in which the musical intervals between successive strings are each major thirds.[25][26][27] Unlike all-fourths and all-fifths tuning, major-thirds tuning repeats its octave after three strings, which again simplifies the learning of chords and improvisation.[28]

Neighboring the standard tuning is the major-thirds tuning that has the open strings

E-G♯-c-e-g♯-c'.[25][29]

A lower major-thirds tuning has the open strings

C-E-G♯-c-e-g♯,

which "contains two octaves of a C augmented chord".[26]

All fourths

Stanley Jordan plays guitar using all-fourths tuning.
Main article: All fourths tuning
See also: Perfect fourth
E-A-d-g-c'-f'

This tuning is like that of the lowest four strings in standard tuning.[30][31] Jazz musician Stanley Jordan plays guitar in all-fourths tuning; he has stated that all-fourths tuning "simplifies the fingerboard, making it logical".[32]

Augmented fourths

C-F♯-c-f♯-c'-f♯' or B-F-b-f-b'-f'

Between the all-fifths and all-fourths tunings are augmented-fourth tunings, which are also called "diminished-fifths" or "tritone" tunings.[33]

All fifths: "Mandoguitar"

New standard tuning.
New Standard Tuning's open strings.
Main article: All fifths tuning
C-G-d-a-e'-b' or G'-D-A-e-b-f♯'

All-fifths tuning is a tuning in intervals of perfect fifths like that of a mandolin, cello or violin; other names include "perfect fifths" and "fifths".[34] It has a wide range, thus it requires an appropriate range of string gauges. A high b' sting is particularly thin and taut, which can be avoided by shifting the scale down by several steps or by a fifth.

New standard tuning

Main article: New Standard Tuning
See also: Guitar Craft
C-G-d-a-e'-g'

All-fifths tuning has been approximated by the New Standard Tuning (NST) of King Crimson's Robert Fripp. It has a wider range than standard tuning, and its perfect-fifth intervals facilitate quartal and quintal harmony.

Ostrich tuning

E-E-e-e-e'-e' or C-C-c-c-c'-c'

Ostrich tuning is a tuning where all strings are tuned to the same note over two or three octaves,[35] creating an intense, chorused drone and interesting fingering potential.

Dropped

Drop D tuning.

Drop tunings lower the sixth string, dropping the lowest E string of the standard tuning. Some drop tunings also lower the fifth string (A note in standard tuning). A drop one tuning lowers the pitch by one full step.

Some of these may require a baritone guitar due to the string tension required for extremely low notes. Others can be achieved using a capo and/or a partial capo.

Discussion

What matters for the purposes of fingering is the relative relationship among the strings. For example, a dropped B tuning has all strings tuned to different notes than a standard tuning, but the strings have the same relationship to each other as a drop D tuning (where only the 6th string differs from standard tuning), and as a result the fingerings are nearly the same as for standard tuning.

Many of the terms below are ambiguous in whether only the 6th string is tuned down (a "drop N" tuning in the standard key of E), or all strings are tuned down, with the 6th tuned down more than the others (usually a "drop 1" tuning in some other key). For example, a "drop C tuning" usually refers to a "drop 1" tuning in the key of D, i.e. the 6th string is tuned down two whole steps and all others down one whole step. This is equivalent to a standard drop D tuning with all strings turned down a whole step. However, another "drop C tuning" is a "drop 2" tuning in the key of E, i.e. the 6th string is tuned down two whole steps and the others left alone. The former uses standard drop D fingerings, like all "drop 1" tunings, while the latter requires its own fingerings because of the different relative relationship of the 6th string to the others.

Other variant drop tunings tune two different strings differently. Tuning both the 1st and 6th strings down the same amount is common enough to warrant its own name (see "double-dropped tunings" below). However, there are other possibilities. For example, the Foo Fighters song "Stacked Actors" uses a tuning AADGBE with the 6th string retuned to form an octave on A. This involves dropping the 6th string down a perfect fifth. This is sometimes called a "dropped A" tuning because the lowest string is tuned down to A; but it is different from either the "dropped A" variant of drop D (drop 1 in the key of B) or the less common "dropped A" used by Black Label Society, Mastodon and Periphery (drop a 4th in the key of D).

Examples

Shifted

These tunings are derived by systematic increases or decreases to standard tuning.

Lowered

D tuning.

Derived from standard EADGBE, all the strings are tuned lower by the same interval, thus providing the same chord positions transposed to a lower key. Lower tunings are popular among rock and heavy metal bands. The reason for tuning down below standard pitch is usually either to accommodate a singer's vocal range or to get a deeper/heavier sound.[36]

Raised

Terz tuning.

From standard EADGBE, all the strings are tuned up by the same interval. String tension will be higher. Typically requires thinner gauge strings, particularly the first string which could be as thin as six thousandths of an inch (about the thickness of a single human hair). A capo is typically preferred over these tunings, as they do not increase neck strain, etc. The advantage of these tunings is that they allow an extended upper note range versus a capo used with standard tuning which limits the number of notes that can be played; in some cases, instruo B♭ or E♭ (such as saxophones, which were frequently encountered in early rock and roll music) are more easily played when the accompanying guitar plays chords in the higher tuning. If standard gauge strings are used, the result is often a "brighter" or "tighter" sound; this was a common practice for some bluegrass bands in the 1950s, notably Flatt & Scruggs.

Double-dropped

Double drop D tuning.
Double drop D tuning (listen)

Similar to the dropped tunings, except that both the 1st and 6th strings are dropped one full step.

Miscellaneous

Dad-Gad

Main article: DADGAD
DADGAD tuning (listen)
D-A-d-g-a-d'

Often vocalized as "Dad-Gad", DADGAD is common in Celtic music. In rock music, has been used in Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir".[8] Pierre Bensusan is another noted exponent of this tuning. The post-metal group Russian Circles also employ this tuning, and also plays it in the form of all the notes becoming a half-step down: D♭-A♭-d♭-g♭-a♭-d♭'.

Three down-tuned variations are used by the band Sevendust: A drop C variation, or C-G-c-f-g-c'. (used on the song "Unraveling"), a drop B variation, or B'-F♯-B-e-f♯-b, and a drop A# variation, or A♯'-F-A♯-d♯-f-a♯. Neighboring tunings D-A-d-e-a-e' and C-G-c-d-g-a have been used by Martin Carthy. Also D-A-d-a-a-d', was used by Dave Wakeling on the English Beat's 1983 "Save It For Later".

Dad-Dad

DADDAD tuning (listen)
D-A-d-d-a-d'

Nicknamed - "Papa-Papa". DADDAD is common in folk music (Irish, Scottish), and for the execution of a rhythm guitar in "heavy" (alternative music) on 6th on the third string at the same time. To reach the tuning from DADGAD, Open D or Open D Minor, the G string is dropped to D so that the 3rd and 4th strings are tuned to the same pitch. DADDAD tuning is sometimes used on Dobro guitars for rock and blues. Notable users of this tuning include Billy McLaughlin, John Butler, and João Silva, guitarist of the Portuguese punk band, LEAF.

Cello/Standard guitar

C-G-d-a-b-e'

Essentially a cello tuning with the deeper four strings in fifths and the two highest strings in standard guitar tuning. Used by Foo Fighters on the song "Weenie Beenie"

"Karnivool" tuning

B-F♯-b-g-b-e'

Hybrid tuning between drop B-tuning and E-standard. Used by the band Karnivool for many of their songs.

Mi-composé

E-A-d'-g-b-e'

Mi-composé is a tuning commonly used for rhythm guitar in African popular music forms such as soukous and makossa.[37] It is similar to the standard guitar tuning, except that the d string is raised an entire octave. This is accomplished by replacing the d string with an e' string and tuning it to d'.

"Iris" Tuning

B-D-D-D-d-d

Tuning used by Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls on the song "Iris".

E-A-C#-F#-A-C# ("Sleeping Ute")

E-A-C#-F#-A-C#

Tuning used by Grizzly Bear guitarist Daniel Rossen in Sleeping Ute, the opening song of their album Shields. Creates an F#m7/E chord when strummed open.

Microtonal tuning

The open strings of a guitar can be tuned to microtonal intervals, however microtonal scales cannot easily be played on a conventional guitar because the frets only allow for a chromatic scale of twelve equally spaced pitches, each a semitone apart. (Certain microtonal scales, particularly quarter tones, can be played on a standard guitar solely by adjusting tunings, but the distance between notes on the scale makes it somewhat impractical.) It is possible to play microtonal scales on a fretless guitar, to convert a fretted guitar into a fretless, or to make a custom neck with a specific microtonal fret spacing.

Guitars can also be refretted to a microtonal scale.[38] On many refretted microtonal guitars, the frets are split, so that the tuning of each string is independent from the others. To enable an adjustable microtonal tuning, there exist guitars with frets that can be moved across the fingerboard.[39][40]

Extended techniques such as the 3rd bridge technique, slide guitar and prepared guitar techniques can be used to produce microtonality without severe modification to the instrument.

Instrumental: Not based on six-string guitars

In his on-line guide to alternative tunings for six-string guitars, William Sethares mentions several that are inspired by instruments other than guitars, for example, balalaika (E-A-D-E-E-A), cittern C-G-C-G-C-G, and Dobro G-B-D-G-B-D.

Other tunings are inspired by guitars that do not have six strings.

Guitars

Five-string

Five string guitars are common in Brazil, where they are known as guitarra baiana and are typically tuned in 5ths. Schecter Guitar Research produced a production model 5 string guitar called the Celloblaster in 1998.[41] A five-string tuning may be necessary in a pinch when a string breaks on a standard six-string (usually the high E) and no replacement is immediately available.

Some basic five-string tunings include:

Seven-string

Similar to five-string bass guitar tuning, seven-string tuning allows for the extra string a fourth lower than the original sixth string. This allows for the note range of B standard tuning without transposing E standard guitar chords down two and a half steps down. Baritone 7-string guitars are available which features a longer scale-length allowing it to be tuned to a lower range.

Lower

The open C tuning for 7-string guitar was Devin Townsend's preferred tuning for the extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad (GCGCGCE).

Higher
Dropped

These tunings have the added low 7th string tuned one full step lower allowing for chord structures similar to six-string drop tunings.

Eight-string

A continuation of the 7-string, adding another string a perfect fourth lower than the seven strings low B. The eight string guitars additional low F♯ string is just a whole step up from a bass guitars low E string. While luthiers have been building these instruments previously, mass-produced Eight-string electric guitars are a relatively recent innovation. Ibanez was first to offer a production eight-string guitar in March 2007.[43] Many other companies now produce mass-market eight-string models, yet these guitars remain relatively uncommon.

Standard 8 String F♯'-B'-E-A-d-g-b-e'
Standard eight-string tuning. Used by Scar Symmetry on the song "The Three-Dimensional Shadow" from the album Holographic Universe (album) and "Mechanical Soul Cybernetics" from the album Dark Matter Dimensions, by Deftones on their album Diamond Eyes, and by Periphery on "Ji", "Overture", "Extraneous", "22 Faces", "Four Lights" and "Stranger Things".

Dropped

Nine-string

A continuation of the eight string, adding a string lower or higher.

Ten-String

A continuation of the nine string, adding another lower string to the standard or high A tuning.

Steel Guitar

On table steel guitar and pedal steel guitar, the most common tunings are the extended-chord C6 tuning and E9 tuning, sometimes known as the Texas and Nashville tunings respectively. On a multiple-neck instrument, the near neck will normally be some form of C6, and the next closest neck E9.

Necks with 12 or more strings can be used with universal tunings which combine the features of C6 and E9. On a 12 string pedal steel guitar, all 12 strings are tuned and played individually, not as 6 double courses as on the 12 string guitar.

On lap steel guitar there is often only one six-string neck. C6 tuning is popular for these instruments, as are open G, E6, and E7 tuning.

Renaissance lute

This tuning may also be used with a capo at the third fret to match the common lute pitch: G-c-f-a-d'-g'. This tuning also matches standard vihuela tuning and is often employed in classical guitar transcriptions of music written for those instruments, such as, for instance, "La Canción Del Emperador" and "Diferencias Sobre Guardame Las Vacas" by Renaissance composer Luis de Narváez.

References

  1. ↑ Sethares (2009, pp. 18–19)
  2. ↑ Hannu Annala, Heiki Mätlik (2007). "Composers for other plucked instruments: Rudolf Straube (1717-1785)". Handbook of Guitar and Lute Composers (Translated by Katarina Backman ed.). Mel Bay. p. 30. ISBN 9780786658442. ISBN 0786658444.
  3. 1 2 Guitar Tunings Database (2013). "CCGCEG Guitar Tuner". CCGCEG: Open C via harmonic overtones. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  4. 1 2 Persichetti (1961, pp. 23–24): Persichetti, Vincent (1961). Twentieth-century harmony: Creative aspects and practice. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-09539-8. OCLC 398434.
  5. 1 2 Sharken, Lisa (15 May 2001). "Mick Ralphs: The rock 'N' roll fantasy continues". Vintage Guitar. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  6. ↑ Sethares (2009, pp. 20–21)
  7. ↑ Grossman (1972, p. 29)
  8. 1 2 Johnson, Gordie (1 May 2008). "Hey Kid, What Tuning is That?". Canadian Musician 30 (3): 25.
  9. ↑ "List of all Guitar and Piano Transcriptions". GGDGBD. JoniMitchell.com. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  10. ↑ http://www.taropatch.net/tunings.htm
  11. ↑ Bellow (1970, p. 164): Bellow, Alexander (1970). The illustrated history of the guitar. Colombo Publications.
  12. ↑ Timofeyev (1999): Timofeyev, Oleg V. (1999). The golden age of the Russian guitar: Repertoire, performance practice, and social function of the Russian seven-string guitar music, 1800-1850. Duke University, Department of Music. pp. 1–584. University Microfilms (UMI), Ann Arbor, Michigan, number 9928880.
  13. ↑ Sethares (2001, p. 16)
  14. ↑ Cohen, Andy (22 March 2005). "Stefan Grossman- Country Blues Guitar in Open Tunings". Sing Out! 49 (1): 152.
  15. ↑
  16. ↑ John Sheehan
  17. ↑ Erlewine, Dan (August 1992). "Talking With The Iceman: Albert Collins". Guitar Player 26 (8): 62.
  18. ↑ < "The Art of Fingerstyle Guitar: Solos in Open Tunings", Stefan Grossman ©1984, Mel Bay Publications Inc. Pacific, MO>
  19. ↑ Hanson (1995, pp. 111)
  20. ↑ <>"The Guitar Book" Pierre Bensusan (©1986, published by Hal Leonard
  21. ↑ "classic Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Selections from Déjà Vu and Crosby Stills & Nash [Authentic Guitar-Tab Edition] © 1993 Warner Bros. Music
  22. ↑ Hanson (1995, pp. 98)
  23. ↑ Hanson (1995, pp. 75)
  24. ↑ Sethares (2001, pp. 54)
  25. 1 2 Peterson (2002, pp. 36–37):Peterson, Jonathon (2002). "Tuning in thirds: A new approach to playing leads to a new kind of guitar". American Lutherie: The Quarterly Journal of the Guild of American Luthiers (8222 South Park Avenue, Tacoma WA 98408: USA: The Guild of American Luthiers). Number 72 (Winter): 36–43. ISSN 1041-7176.
  26. 1 2 Sethares (2001, pp. 56)
  27. ↑ Griewank, Andreas (1 January 2010), Tuning guitars and reading music in major thirds, Matheon preprints 695, Rosestr. 3a, 12524 Berlin, Germany: DFG research center "MATHEON, Mathematics for key technologies" Berlin, Postscript file and Pdf file
  28. ↑ Kirkeby, Ole (1 March 2012). "Major thirds tuning". m3guitar.com. cited by Sethares (2011). Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  29. ↑ Patt, Ralph (14 April 2008). "The major 3rd tuning". Ralph Patt's jazz web page. ralphpatt.com. cited by Sethares (2011). Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  30. ↑ Sethares (2001, pp. 58–59)
  31. ↑ Bianco, Bob (1987). Guitar in Fourths. New York City: Calliope Music. ISBN 0-9605912-2-2. OCLC 16526869.
  32. ↑ Ferguson (1986, p. 76): Ferguson, Jim (1986). "Stanley Jordan". In Casabona, Helen; Belew, Adrian. New directions in modern guitar. Guitar Player basic library. Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation. pp. 68–76?. ISBN 9780881884234. ISBN 0881884235.
  33. ↑ Sethares (2001, "The augmented fourths tuning" 60–61)
  34. ↑ Sethares (2001, "The mandoguitar tuning" 62–63)
  35. ↑ Lou Reed biography at IMDB
  36. ↑ http://www.betterguitar.com/instruction/rhythm_guitar/tune_down_half_step/tune_down_half_step.html
  37. ↑ Steward, Gary (2004). Rumba on the River: A History of the Popular Music of the Two Congos. Verso. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-85984-368-0.
  38. ↑ Bart Hopkin; Mark Rankin (April 1988). "Alternative tunings on Fretted Instruments–Refretting and Other Approaches". Experimental Musical Instruments journal 3 (6): 3–6.
  39. ↑ US Patent for individually adjustable frets
  40. ↑ The Adjustable Microtonal Guitar by Tolgahan Çoğulu
  41. ↑ Schecter Guitar Research (1999) Diamond Series. Schecter Guitar Research Catalogs. Los Angeles, CA
  42. ↑ McFarland-Johnson, Jeffrey (2013). "GUITELLO". johnsong.com. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  43. ↑ Official Ibanez Forums announcement: http://www.ibanez.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4151&PN=1

Sources

Further reading

External links

The Wikibook Guitar has a page on the topic of: Tuning the Guitar
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, May 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.