F-Bb-Eb-Ab-C-F
• OVERVIEW •
Whether by accident or design, countless guitarists have ended up tuning a semitone sharp of Standard. Doing so raises overall tension by ~12%: not enough to necessitate a restring, but still sufficient to give a fantastic volume boost. It will, however, limit bends, barres, and general melodic fluency (as well as tiring your hands out more quickly…).
Works best on lighter-strung, shorter-scale guitars (e.g Les Pauls will handle it slightly better than Strats). And, while you could just use a 1fr capo to produce the same notes, this has the drawback of confusing your ‘dot-marker perspective’ – all the neck markings are thrown ‘one off’ (i.e. the 3/5/7/9/12fr dots, when capoed, become 2/4/6/8/11fr: a dissonant mismatch if you momentarily forget to recalibrate!).
Pattern: 5>5>5>4>5
Harmony: Fm7(11) | 1-4-b7-b3-5-1
• TUNING TONES •
Multi-step meend in Raag Bageshri: some riyaz improv in one of my all-time favourite ragas
Sep 30
E8 Boogie (Squarepusher): @sqpusher did I get them right? Tried to work out guitar voicings for this curious chord sequence in E8 Boogie (…originally at the request of a student!)
Sep 27
Raag Jaiwanti Todi (SrgmPDnS): An Ahiri-prakriti raga introduced by Maharaja Jaiwant Singh Waghela (1904-1980): the hereditary ruler of Sanand who gained wide renown as a spiritual teacher, vocal educator, and generous patron of the nascent Mewati gharana (also the creator of Gyankali and other ragas). Sung here by his student Pandit Jasraj – a bandish I’ve always loved, especially the ferocious taan and colourful harmonium accompaniment…
Sep 22
Raag Prabhateshwari (SrgmPDnS): A mysterious raga created by Hariprasad Chaurasia, played here by his nephew Rakesh – resembling a blend of the morning Ahir Bhairav and the late night Bageshri. I was inspired to learn the raga when researching Maa Annapurna Devi’s time teaching Hariprasad (many thanks to my crack team of experts including Rupak Kulkarni, Alam Khan, George Ruckert, Suresh Vyas, Anindya Banerjee, and Gopi Shanker, who all gave valuable assistance in illuminating the raga’s origins)
Sep 15
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#raga #jazzguitar #indianmusic #icm #londonmusic
Original: Squarepusher/Tom Jenkinson (from 1997’s Hard Normal Daddy)
#jungle #jazzguitar #warprecords #idm #dnb @warprecords
—Original: Pandit Jasraj (khayal); Appa Jalgaonkar (harmonium); Nizamuddin Khan? (tabla)
#raga #khayal #indianmusic #worldmusic #icm
—Original: Rakesh Chaurasia (bansuri), live at Darbar 2008 @chaurasia_rakesh @darbarfestival
#raga #darbarfestival #indianmusic #bansuri #worldmusic
• SOUNDS •
Luther Perkins is probably the most prominent F-tuner from guitar history – the Tennessee Three axeman used it to accompany Johnny Cash on countless occasions. (Oddly, this may have been in response to how low Cash’s voice could go: my guess is that playing in F allowed him to reach the key’s bass-octave 5th, a C2 tone lying right at the bottom of his range, e.g. audible here – perhaps EADGBE‘s equivalent B2 note was a stretch too far?).
Uses are generally difficult to identify (chiefly due to its similarities to a 1fr capo), although Nirvana are known to have wound to F on Love Buzz (apparently without conscious intention) – and it also seems to have been used by Varg Vikernes on early Burzum releases (although the Norwegian black metaller has since become better known for, umm, other work).
- Walk the Line @ Town Hall Party – Johnny Cash (1958):
“Perkins…was not a professional…but a mechanic who played guitar a hobby. Nailing his playing style is a great lesson in minimalism, because Luther never played any wild solo parts or fancy chords…” (Dirk Wacker)
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• NUMBERS •
| 6str | 5str | 4str | 3str | 2str | 1str | |
| Note | F | Bb | Eb | Ab | C | F |
| Alteration | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 |
| Tension (%) | +12 | +12 | +12 | +12 | +12 | +12 |
| Freq. (Hz) | 87 | 117 | 156 | 208 | 262 | 349 |
| Pattern (>) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | – |
| Semitones | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 19 | 24 |
| Intervals | 1 | 4 | b7 | b3 | 5 | 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…
- AirTap!: a tense-sided arrangement of an F major triad
- Albert Collins Fm (this with 4/5str +2): tight-wound wails
- Zigzag Thirds (Min.): flipping up the thirds from an F root
• MORE INFO •
—Further learnings: sources, readings, lessons, other onward links…
- F Standard: check out a tension discussion on the Acoustic Guitar Forum (“…retain perspective with the fret markers, instead of capoing and losing them as references…a half-step will not hurt the guitar, unless [it’s] made of balsar wood…”)
- Luther Perkins: emulate his sound with the aptly-named Dirk Wacker in Premier Guitar (“So, what does ‘boom-chicka-boom’ style mean? It’s an onomatopoetic word, similar to the fast, stomping tone from a freight train in motion. Several urban legends exist about how Luther Perkins developed this tone…”)
Header image: Luther Perkins with Johnny Cash (~1966)
Search the Altered Tunings Menu (100+): type in notes, artists, adjectives, intervals, sequences, etc. Also see Tag List:
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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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