• Gothic tuning •
Eb-G-D-A-Bb-C • OVERVIEW • Introduced by Japanese solo star Ichika Nito to explore fresh avenues of his imaginative electric fingerpicking style. With a different tone on each string, it offers up a complex chordal canvas. Only 4str stays familiar from Standard. Try raking through the divine natural harmonics at <12fr>, <7fr>, &<5fr>, and sliding […]
• Ethereal tuning •
D-A-C#-F#-C#-D • OVERVIEW • Introduced by multi-tuning Japanese virtuoso Ichika Nito in 2019. His jagged configuration twists all but the 5str away from Standard – while never taking any of them more than 2 semitones from this starting point. Fantastic for fresh major-key melodies and extended chord shapes. Try teasing out the dissonance of the […]
Category: Artist/Track tunings
. Tunings associated with specific guitarists, pieces, or performances: somewhat loosely delimited [32 tunings] Std. | Drop | Open | Interval | Global | Artist | Misc. (Also see Menu, Tags, & Homepage) • Support this site! • —Airtap!— • F-A-C-F-C-F • Fostered to facilitate the viral virtuosity of Erik Mongrain’s lap-tapping style… —Albert Collins Fm— • F-C-F-Ab-C-F • Take a high-wound blues walk with the jovial […]
• Alphabet tuning •
A-B-C-D-E-F • OVERVIEW • ‘Alphabet’ tuning, while admittedly easy to remember, isn’t exactly the most melodically (or physically) practical. Nevertheless, there is always unique value to be found in embracing some creative chaos – in this case, via exploring the arbitrary nature of ‘Alpha-melodic’ tunings (i.e. those with notes chosen via some spelling-derived method). These […]
• Cabbage tuning •
C-A-Bb-A-G-E • OVERVIEW • C-A-Bb-A-G-E is surprisingly tasty, if rather impractical. Forms a ‘crunchy’ C13 chord…with the root(s) at the bottom. Seems silly, and it definitely is – but it’s essential to just shuffle things up sometimes. Anyway, J.S. Bach – probably the G.O.A.T. of global harmonic development – did similarly, famously ‘signing’ his name in […]
• Ten Years tuning •
D-E-C-A-D-E • OVERVIEW • One advantage of tuning via spelling is that you will always stumble upon some melodiously counterintuitive combinations. ‘Decade’ is a fantastic example of this, placing a wide middle between narrow outer intervals (‘major & minor 6ths sandwiched by major 2nds’). Take account of the uneven tension profile – e.g. between the super-slack […]
• José González tuning •
D-A-D-F#-B-E • OVERVIEW • A blend of ‘Open D + Standard‘ (or ‘Drop D + Lute‘), used by Swedish singer-songwriter José González among others. The lowest four strings provide a solid, stable Dmaj triad (1-5-1-3), while the high-end pair add ambiguity and intrigue (maj. 6th & 2nd) – forming a widened D6/9. Great for ‘vertical’ […]
• Lefty Flip ‘Mirrored’ tuning (& Benn Jordan interview!) •
E-B-G-D-A-E • OVERVIEW • Spare a thought for left-handed guitarists everywhere – though they can count Hendrix, Iommi, Cobain, McCartney, and many other six-stringed innovators among them, this comes as little solace whenever there’s only a ‘normal’ guitar lying around to jam on at a party. This ‘mirror of Standard’ is an intriguing workaround: […]
• Menu of Guitar Tunings •
In-depth ‘taster menu’ of 100+ guitar tunings from around the globe. You’re probably yet to find your all-time favourite… • What’s on the Menu? • The guitar offers incredible freedom to choose our ‘starting canvas’. Unlike a piano, horn, or drum, guitars can move fluidly between different tunings, opening up fresh geometries and spaces […]
• One-Tone Drone (‘Ostrich’) tuning •
D-D-D-D-D-D • OVERVIEW • A ‘one-note drone’ tuning – comprising nothing but D tones. If you ignore octave-scatterings, these ‘monotonal’ arrangements can be classified as ‘trivially repetitive‘: referencing the ‘optimal simplicity’ of the note set (=triviality), and the ‘ever-looping’ sequence of tones (=repetitiveness). However, despite this apparent purity, the tuning’s true magic arises from the […]
