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 parallel octaves on 4+2str and 6+1str – separated by a clashing minor 2nd (C#-C# vs. D-D). Ethereal indeed!
Pattern: 7>4>5>7>1
Harmony: Dmaj7 | 1-5-7-3-7-1
• TUNING TONES •
Raag Jog: exploring different ways the electric guitar can support a Dhrupad-ang nomtom (syllabic improvisation)…
Jun 28
Raag Kafi: Electric guitar improv around the adha bandish ‘Aaj Khel Shaam Sang Hori’
Jun 22
Raag Jog: some sawal-jawab (‘question-answer’) fun with Marc Clayton on tabla
Jun 15
Some tintal improv around a wonderful Durga bandish I’ll be playing at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
Jun 10
Come see me play some bendy raga-guitar at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
Jun 5
tomato can jungle/DnB (distracted while cooking)
May 23
A great Jaunpuri gat from Senia-Shahjahanpur sarod legend Pt Buddhadev DasGupta, full of fast bends and slides (originally released for Joep Bor’s 1997 Raga Guide, in many ways a precursor to my own raga index)
May 6
just for fun…I had to defend the honour of my main instrument against my second instrument (many thanks to @mountainhead for the original video, as well as some tasty bends) – still no match for the surbahar’s meend range though!
May 4
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(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#dhrupad #raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc)
#indianmusic #raga #icm #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc) – including this piece, a famous Bhairavi bhajan by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi (Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada)
#bhajan #raga #indianmusic #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
#drumming #percussion #dnb #jungle
Raag Jaunpuri: a late morning raga, likely originating in the Sultanate-era music of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh (as per Subodh Agrawal: “The rulers of Jaunpur were keen patrons of the arts, and the last one – Sultan Hussain Sharqi – was himself a distinguished musician; it is probable that the Jaunpuri flavor of Asavari was developed by him, or under his patronage“). Rajan Parrikar elaborates on its “Asavariant” status, noting that some (including Omkarnath Thakur) see it as essentially indistinguishable from Shuddha Re Asavari, while others consider Jaunpuri to follow more ‘rounded’ melodic motions…
#sarod #ragaguitar #stratocaster #worldmusic #jaunpur
#sitar #guitar #raga #bends #ragaguitar
• SOUNDS •
Ichika Nito’s 2019 Ethereal Demo showcases his signature mix of vigorous legato, fluid rhythms, and two-handed tapping techniques – inspired in part by early training in classical piano. He expands on these foundations in a rare English-translated NatalieMu interview: “[I] divide the guitar into the upper half [6-5-4str] and the lower half [3-2-1str], and think of it as the bass and treble of a piano. I press the strings alternately with [both] hands so that the sound is not interrupted. There are many notes…as I want to connect them as smoothly as possible…”.
Here, Nito makes particular use of the parallel octaves on 4+2str – with the 2str ringing out slightly louder due to its raised tension (2str tends to be the loosest in Standard, hence many guitars having a B-string ‘saddle offset‘ – but here it becomes the tightest). This is exactly how to demo a new tuning in under a minute!
- Ethereal demo – Ichika Nito (2019):
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• NUMBERS •
| 6str | 5str | 4str | 3str | 2str | 1str | |
| Note | D | A | Db | Gb | Db | D |
| Alteration | -2 | 0 | -1 | -1 | +2 | -2 |
| Tension (%) | -21 | 0 | -11 | -11 | +26 | -21 |
| Freq. (Hz) | 73 | 110 | 139 | 185 | 277 | 294 |
| Pattern (>) | 7 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 1 | – |
| Semitones | 0 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 23 | 24 |
| Intervals | 1 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
- 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…
- Gothic: another from Nito with a minor 2nd jump
- Oud (Arabic): same middle two, shuffled outer four
- Double Drop D: almost half the way back to Standard
• MORE INFO •
—Further learnings: sources, readings, lessons, other onward links…
- Ichika Nito: the Japanese virtuoso rarely seems to talk about himself (…at least in English-indexed format), preferring to speak through his sounds – although a translation of this Natalie.mu interview contains fascinating insights about his early training as a virologist (“even when I was busy with research, I cut down on sleeping time to make music”), and imaginative approach to the fretboard (“the idea is to divide the guitar into the upper half [6-5-4str] and the lower half [3-2-1str] and think of it like the bass and treble of a piano…I press alternately with both hands so that the sound is not interrupted…”)
- Ethereal etymologies: the word ‘ethereal’ itself (defined by Merriam-Webster as “celesteal, heavenly, unworldly, spiritual…lacking material substance, marked by unusual delicacy or refinement”) derives from Ancient Greek (“…the Earth was composed of earth, air, fire, and water, [but] the heavens…of a purer, less tangible substance known as either ‘ether’ or ‘quintessence’: an invisible light or fire…from the Greek aithein, a verb meaning ‘to ignite’ or ‘to blaze’. When ‘ethereal’…debuted in English [~1522], it referred [to] ‘regions beyond the Earth’…)
Header image: Ichika Nito, lit somewhat ethereally
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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!
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