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 oddball approaches can serve as fantastic imagination prompts – after all, they inherently involve starting from some situation you wouldn’t otherwise have dreamed up. In this case: the bizarre tension contrasts mean you have to pay extra attention to controlling fingertip pressure – e.g. the tight-wound B5str carries ~4 times as much tension as the super-slack A6str (on my acoustic, the same force required to properly fret the former will push the latter unacceptably sharp…).

 

In keeping with our avant-garde attitude: since this tuning contains all letters of G Mixolydian except G, then why not use the open strings for some ‘rootless’ improv over a G tanpura drone? It may seem absurd, but can sound surprisingly natural: for example the Hindustani Raag Marwa regularly omits its own root note in aroha (ascending melodies). As ever, theorising is secondary – what else can you spell?

Pattern: (2)>1>2>2>(1)

Harmony: Dmin9(13) | 5-6-b7-1-2-b3

• TUNING TONES •

• SOUNDS •

Used with finesse and imagination by Japanese axeman Ichika Nito (ABCDEF Demo), and also by fellow internet star Davie504 on 7-string bass, extending a note further to ‘A-B-C-D-E-F-G’: the full ascending scale form of A Aeolian. (n.b. You can actually fit all 7 letter names in as ‘Ab-C-D-E-F-G’: a more dissonant arrangement. Then, to describe the modification you just made in the form of a new tuning: ‘ADD-A-AB’.) 

 

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• ABCDEF – Ichika Nito (2019):

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“The evolution of the alphabet involved two important achievements. The first was the step taken by a group of Semitic-speaking people, perhaps the Phoenicians [1700-1500 BCE]. This was the invention of a consonantal writing system known as North Semitic. The second was the invention, by the Greeks, of characters [for] vowels [800-700 BCE]…” (Britannica)

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Despite their ‘shuffled’ feel, tunings produced by this method aren’t really ‘random’. For one thing, there will always be a base level of coherence to anything made exclusively from the letters ‘A-B-C-D-E-F-G’ – the absence of sharps/flats means that all tones fit neatly into the Cmaj scale – i.e. the piano’s white keys. (This means they also fit all the Cmaj modes too: A Aeolian, B Locrian, D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, & G Mixolydian).

 

n.b. Despite its name, ‘Alphabet’ tuning isn’t actually a ‘typical’ example of ‘alphamelodicity’: which is primarily about using note names to spell out words/sentences/stories. While the phrase ‘ABCDEF’ probably has enough semantic weight to fulfil this criteria, it’s not really a ‘word’ as such – more like a ‘meta-signifier’ for the overall concept of alphamelodic tuning: i.e. ‘check it out, the alphabet has ambiguities!‘ (more in my ‘Alphamelodics‘ article):

 

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• Alphabet Aerobics – Blackalicious (2016):

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“The Greeks and Romans considered five different peoples as the possible inventors of the alphabet: the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Assyrians, Cretans, and Hebrews. Among modern theories are some that are not very different from those of ancient days…” (Britannica)

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• NUMBERS •

	6str	5str	4str	3str	2str	1str
Note	A	B	C	D	E	F
Alteration	-7	+2	-3	-5	-7	+1
Tension (%)	-55	+26	-21	-44	-55	+12
Freq. (Hz)	55	123	131	147	165	349
Pattern (>)	14	1	2	2	13	–
Semitones	0	14	15	17	19	32
Intervals	5	6	b7	1	2	b3

• 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…

• Mesopotamian: spelling out the region’s main city
• Cabbage: another surprisingly tasty word-salad
• One-Tone Drone: arguably the conceptual opposite

• MORE INFO •

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

• Composing via spelling: sample more sounds of words in my Alpha-melodic tunings overview: beautiful BAGDAD, crunchy CABbAGE, dissonant DECADE, plus cryptographic creations spanning Baroque Europe to Indian raga (and a couple of my own: e.g. a fantastical ‘A-G only’ tale about the adventures of my friend Faye: “FAE, A#, ACE BABE, ADDED EDGE: DEFACED A FADED BBC BADGE, FED A BEEF-FACED DAD AGED CABBAGE, BADE A ‘DECAF GABBA CAFE’ FAD DEAD. BAD-FAE: FAB!”)
• Global alphabets: check out some of the world’s most intriguing written scripts (“Tibetan: It’s that balance of curves and straight edges…that could turn the most ordinary phrase…beautifully poetic. It’s a little similar-looking to Sanskrit, in that everything is ‘centralized’ with a bar that runs through the alphabet” – n.b I wonder which language/notation matchup would produce the most naturally melodious results? e.g. our alpha-melodic game would be easier if English’s plural/possessive suffix was something in the ‘a-g’ range, rather than ‘s’…)

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Header image: oldskool rendering of the Latin alphabet