Bb-G-D-G-G-D
• OVERVIEW •
An unorthodox Gmin inversion I came across while browsing the GTDB site for little-used layouts, submitted under the name ‘Fuji’ by a nameless user in an undated post. Tried it, loved it, included it here…
In the words of its anonymous creator: “Here’s one I made up…I like to lumber away on the first two strings, and use the last three as pedal tones”. It’s wide, loose in places, and surprisingly versatile – you can use both ‘sides’ (6-5 & 2-1str) as droning pairs, and focus melodies on the louder, tenser centre (4-3str: the summit of the mountain?)
Pattern: 9>7>5>0>7
Harmony: Gmin | b3-1-5-1-1-5
• TUNING TONES •
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• SOUNDS •
Fuji’s mysterious creator mentions having “used it on quite a few riffs/songs” – but left no listening links that I can trace. Send me your Fuji-tuned experiments, and I’ll feature the best here!
- Send in your Fuji tunes (…what does the mountain conjure?)
風になびく富士の煙の空にきえてゆくへも知らぬわが思ひかな
“As smoke drifts on the winds over Mt. Fuji,
Only to vanish – to where no one knows,
So, too, does my soul wander onwards…”
(Buddhist Monk Saigyō Hōshi, c.1186)
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• NUMBERS •
| 6str | 5str | 4str | 3str | 2str | 1str | |
| Note | Bb | G | D | G | G | D |
| Alteration | -6 | -2 | 0 | 0 | -4 | -2 |
| Tension (%) | -50 | -21 | 0 | 0 | -37 | -21 |
| Freq. (Hz) | 58 | 98 | 147 | 196 | 196 | 294 |
| Pattern (>) | 9 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 7 | – |
| Semitones | 0 | 9 | 16 | 21 | 21 | 28 |
| Intervals | b3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
- 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…
- Mauna Loa C6: also mountainous in name and structure
- Rakotomavo: starting from the low Bb but rising flatter
- Equilibrium: similarly inverted onto its low minor third
• MORE INFO •
—Further learnings: sources, readings, lessons, other onward links…
- Fuji the tuning: see the original listing on GTDB – which, as far as I can tell, has no accompanying name or user account attached to it. If anyone out there knows more…get in touch!
- Fuji the volcano: read more in a National Geographic feature (“Shinto shrines dot the base and ascent…honor[ing] kami, the supernatural deities of the Shinto faith. The kami of Mount Fuji is Princess Konohanasakuya, whose symbol is the cherry blossom”) – and another viewpoint from the NY Times (“the vexing challenge of protecting Japan’s most recognizable natural landmark grows more intense…”)
Header image: snowy Mt. Fuji in the morning sky
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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!
“An intrepid guitar researcher…”
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