A-E-B-F^#-C^#-G^#

• OVERVIEW •

In many ways, tuning to a cycle of perfect 5ths is very logical. After all, much of the world’s music is constructed via stacks of 5ths – an interval which enjoys natural prominence as the first non-root overtone in the harmonic series (overtone #3 = 1902 cents above the fundamental, a.k.a. a ‘tritave’). Also, mini-stacks of 5ths (i.e. runs of ‘7>7’) are among the most common ‘tuning fragments’ across the whole Menu, bringing a general familiarity (e.g. see Haircut [7-7-7-2-5], Rakotomavo [7-7-7-5-4], Haja’s Bb [7-7-5-5-2], Kabosy [7-7-5-4-3], Godzilla [7-7-1-7-5], Coyote [7-7-3-7-4], Orkney [7-7-5-5-2], Magic Farmer [5-7-7-2-7], & Lefty Flip (7-8-7-7-7]).

But, while the tuning’s regular geometry is superb for expansive melodic and harmonic thinking, its wide jumps render many common chord extensions unplayable in practice (something which will, however, sharpen your capacity for quick inversions and other octave-scattered voicings). Furthermore, it requires a restring to ring clean – or, if you don’t mind going super-slack, a massive downward transposition. Resembles the ‘all 5ths’ arrangements of violins & mandolins (GDAE) and violas & cellos (CGDA) – although the guitar’s extra two strings extend the open harmony to give a maj9⁽¹³⁾ voicing from 6str root (or an inverted min9⁽¹¹⁾ from 3str). (Also see Bill Sethares’ C-G-D-A-E-B writeup, and New Standard – Robert Fripp’s crafty solution to the problem of excessive width, which prunes the final 5th by a major 3rd [=7>7>7>7>3]).

n.b. Since the tuning is just a straight run of 7>7>7>7>7, it may seem enticing to tune up using the <7fr> natural harmonics (i.e. 6str <7fr> = 5str <12fr>, and so on). However, this method actually ends up pushing the strings progressively sharper: as the ‘pure’ natural harmonic 5th is 702 cents – very slightly higher than the fretboard’s ‘equally-tempered’ 5th of 700 cents. While this difference is essentially imperceptible in its own right, the error ends up ‘compounding’ from string to string, leaving 1str 10 cents too high (702-700=2, and 2*5 jumps=10) – much like a ‘whispers game’ (also see Glossary entries for 12-tet, tempering, & just intonation, and my article on Tuning by Ear).

Pattern: 7>7>7>7>7

Harmony: Amaj9(13) | 1-5-2-6-3-7

• TUNING TONES •

• SOUNDS •

Given the tuning’s awkward ultra-wideness, few guitarists have used it in its ‘pure’ form – with the exception of jazz pioneer Carl Kress (1907-1965), who twisted his archtop to Bb-F-C-G-D-A in the 1930s (i.e. one semitone down from the notes above). Like many other early jazzers, Kress was an avid player of the ‘C-G-D-A’ tenor banjo – and sought to match its tones on his axe, continuing the cycle of 5ths ‘backwards’ by adding F and Bb at the low end: a layout which also allowed him to draw on piano-like spread voicings whilst playing in accompanying roles. Soon, he took to heavy-stringing the 1str A and tuning it an octave lower – before eliminating the resulting ‘re-entrant’ pattern by swapping the D & A around (=Bb-F-C-G-A-D). Hear this underappreciated master in action on tracks such as Love Song and Peg Leg Shuffle.

Marty Grosz – another jazz legend – has also explored Kress-style setups. As explained by his student Nicolas Ruiz, Grosz uses “a variation of the tuning Kress used later in his career…the only change is the A to a B [=Bb-F-C-G-B-D]. This is partly a plectrum banjo tuning…the bottom four are the same as a cello, but tuned down a whole step [C-G-D-A to Bb-F-C-G], while the upper group of 4 strings is identical to plectrum banjo [C-G-B-D]”. Hear Grosz use it on Cherry, It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie, and a lively 1997 Mid-America Jazz Festival set (plus, you can listen to Ruiz continue the Kress/Grosz legacy: e.g. Old Man Sunshine).

• Love Song – Carl Kress (1939):

“I saw Ellington on Broadway…the big bands would come to the movie houses, and you’d see Benny Goodman, and a movie – and there was still vaudeville then. So you’d have to witness a bicycle act, some guys on unicycles or something, before you could see the band.” (Marty Grosz)

• NUMBERS •

• See my Tunings Megatable for further such nerdery: more numbers, intervallic relations, comparative methods, etc. And to any genuine vibratory scientists reading: please critique my DIY analysis!

• RELATED •

—Associated tunings: proximities of shape, concept, context, etc…

• All Tritones: slicing all the octaves into looping halves
• New Standard (‘Crafty’): Fripp’s fifths-stacked tweak
• Rakotomavo: looking further upwards from three low fifths

• MORE INFO •

—Further learnings: sources, readings, lessons, other onward links…

• Carl Kress’ tuning legacy: see more Kress/Grosz discussion in threads on the Jazzguitar.be and DjangoBooks forums, and also Hamilton College and Philadelphia Inquirer interviews with Grosz on his long, fascinating life in music: “His father, German expressionist painter George Grosz, had been deemed an enemy of the state for opposing the Nazi party. The boy was only 3 when the artist packed up the family and moved to New York…As a teenager, Marty Grosz fell in love with American music, and soon was playing guitar in jazz bands…[now aged 89], Grosz keeps a picture of Kress pinned to his kitchen wall”)
• Almost-perfect fifths: aside from the ‘just intonation vs. equal temperament’ 5ths discussed above (702 vs. 700 cents), there are other variants of the interval: such as the ‘quarter-comma meantone 5th (696 cents), and – from Kyle Gann’s Anatomy of an Octave list – the ‘5-limit wolf 5th’ (680 cents), ‘193rd overtone 5th’ (711 cents), ‘quarter-comma wolf 5th (738 cents), and many more (also check out an intriguing Reddit thread entitled Anyone else hear a perfect 5th as kind of ‘sad’?: “Maybe it’s a bit odd, but I always thought of the perfect fifth as the ‘strong’ interval. The first interval after an octave in the overtone series, the most simple ratio after an octave, and, with me being a guitar player, the (in)famous power chord. But suddenly I realize that to my ears, IT’S THE PERFECT FOURTH that sounds all high-and-mighty, while the perfect fifth is just a sad, ‘pure’ thing…”)

Header image: John Coltrane’s cycle-of-5ths-derived ‘tone wheel’

Search the Altered Tunings Menu (100+): type in notes, artists, adjectives, intervals, sequences, etc. Also see Tag List:

.

Search for:

—TUNING TAGS—

ALL (100) | 2-note (6) | 3-note (28) | 4-note (26) | 5-note (30) | 6-note (8) | 7th: Dom. (7) | 7th: Maj (12) | 7th: Min (21) | A-listers (11) | Alliterative (16) | Drone (4) | Drop (6) | Global (20) | Inst. (12) | Interval (6) | Narrow (12) | Non-taut (63) | Odd jumps (10) | Oddball (17) | Power (26) | Re-ent. (7) | Slack-key (5) | Slide (12) | Standard (11) | Superlow (15) | Sus. (22) | Triad: Maj (11) | Triad: Min (7) | 1-twist(7) | 2-twist (12) | 3-twist (16) | 4-twist (20) | 5-twist (20) | 6-twist (24) | Wide (24)

¡Random Tuning!

Menu of Tunings (100+) • Altered-tuned artists • Divine Indian drones • Global instrument tunings • Joni’s stringed canvas • Alpha-melodic games • Double-sided harp-capoing • Tales & quotes • Megatable • Glossary • Submissions • About • Feedback

George Howlett is a London-based musician, writer, and teacher (guitars, sitar, tabla, & santoor). Above all I seek to enthuse fellow sonic searchers, interconnecting fresh vibrations with the voices, cultures, and passions behind them. See Home & Writings, and hit me up for Online Lessons!

—Join the Patreon!—

• My Music | ‘Guitaragas’ (2025) •

(Get in touch for Zoom lessons!)

my site is ad-free, AI-free, & open-access

Facebook Instagram Youtube Twitter