Db-Ab-Eb-E-B-E
• OVERVIEW •
Jagged, uneven sequence used on Godzilla by Canadian-Mi’kmaq acoustic star Don Ross. Blends high-end clarity with a touch of bassy slack – ideal for his rhythmic thumb-slapping style.
Brings out tantalising, part-resolving harmonies, mixing perfect intervals (5ths & 4ths) with more dissonant separations (minor 2nds & 6ths). Features an ultra-rare ‘perfect 5th > minor 2nd > perfect 5th’ sequence across 5-2str (7>1>7 semitones) – shattering the familiarity of the Standard shapes you’re used to.
Pattern: 7>7>1>7>5
Harmony: Dbmin9 | 1-5-2-b3-b7-b3
• TUNING TONES •
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• SOUNDS •
Originally released on his 2010 BREAKFAST FOR DOGS! album, Don Ross’ composition is bewitching – steady grooves are handled with patience, balance, and restraint (…I like how it doesn’t seem to match the sentiments of its title). Listen to his ‘jam around the world‘ version of Godzilla below – and also see his own pristine tab for the track here.
- Godzilla – Don Ross (2011):
“‘You know, I heard [Don] from down the hallway, and I thought, ‘There’s only one person that plays with that kinda passion…'” (Bruce Cockburn: himself an avid explorer of Lute tuning)
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• NUMBERS •
| 6str | 5str | 4str | 3str | 2str | 1str | |
| Note | Db | Ab | Eb | E | B | E |
| Alteration | -3 | -1 | +1 | -3 | 0 | 0 |
| Tension (%) | -29 | -11 | +12 | -29 | 0 | 0 |
| Freq. (Hz) | 69 | 104 | 156 | 165 | 247 | 330 |
| Pattern (>) | 7 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 5 | – |
| Semitones | 0 | 7 | 14 | 15 | 22 | 27 |
| Intervals | 1 | 5 | 2 | b3 | b7 | 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…
- Dracula: more beastly-named layouts from Don Ross
- Icarus: a gently clashing sequence with a semitone jump
- Ghost Reveries: still minor, but the ninth is at the top
• MORE INFO •
—Further learnings: sources, readings, lessons, other onward links…
- Don Ross’ peg-twisting: check out his Altered vs. Open Tunings video demo – and his near-exhaustive list of solo tunings (“I’ve always been reluctant to go public with a tuning list, because I’ve never wanted people to think that I was writing music only for guitarists – I consider my music simply to be the work of a composer who composes most of the time for the guitar. But I’m finally caving in to the demand…”)
- Godzilla / Gojira: while Don’s composition doesn’t particularly remind me of an “enormous, destructive, prehistoric sea monster awakened by nuclear radiation”, we may find more via investigating Godzilla’s origins – brought to fame via the classic 1954 film, which reworked old Japanese folkloric concepts into a post-Hiroshima masterwork (“Many people…view the kaiju as a light-hearted character that saves Japan, and see the franchise as a standard monster movie. However, the original film has its roots in the pacifist, anti-nuclear movement, and reflected Japan’s fear of nuclear annihilation“)
Header image: Gojira’s cast relax with a guitar!
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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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