C-G-C-F-A-D
• OVERVIEW •
The same interval pattern as Drop D, but everything is moved down two further semitones. Brings a loose, chaotic, imperfect texture: total string tension is lowered by around 25% – equivalent to a ~40lb/18kg drop on a steel-string acoustic (an instrument on which EADGBE tension can exceed 180lb/82kg…hence you need the truss rod!).
One of my all-time favourite versatile acoustic tunings: allowing for wider bends and expressive articulations while also balancing well with instrument timbres of all shades. Perhaps best to jump it up a half-step on short-neck axes…or you can drop it down even lower for some slack-buzzing magic (n.b. Some call CGCFAD ‘Drop C’…but for clarity I’ve reserved that title for CADGBE).
Pattern: 7>5>5>4>5
Harmony: C6/9(sus4) | 1-5-1-4-6-2
• 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 •
CGCFAD is most often found on bespoke, heavy-strung electric cuts. While far less popular than its Drop D transposition, it does turn up on some prominent songs: e.g. Question! (System of a Down), Ill Wind (Jonny Greenwood), Vox Stellarum (Arch Enemy), Radiant Eclipse (Avenged Sevenfold), Nottingham Lace (Buckethead), She Found Now (My Bloody Valentine, -1) – as well as most of Metallica’s St. Anger album. Plus Jon Gomm‘s Hey Child (although he shifts the 1str up and down a tone to C in the course of the song…).
- Question! – System of a Down (2005):
“Question! mixes intricate arpeggios with pounding riffs, running both through several different time signatures…drawing on the group’s Armenian heritage, a tradition famous for grooves of 10/8 and beyond…As ever, the first step is to tap along. First, isolate the three main rhythm loops: 9 subdivided as ‘3-2-2-2’ (intro & verse), 10 subdivided as ‘3-3-2-2’ (heavy riffs), and 12 subdivided as ‘3-3-3-3’ (chorus)…” (from my Odd-Time Songwriting lesson for Guitar World)
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• NUMBERS •
| 6str | 5str | 4str | 3str | 2str | 1str | |
| Note | C | G | C | F | A | D |
| Alteration | -4 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 |
| Tension (%) | -37 | -21 | -21 | -21 | -21 | -21 |
| Freq. (Hz) | 65 | 98 | 131 | 175 | 220 | 294 |
| Pattern (>) | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | – |
| Semitones | 0 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 26 |
| Intervals | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
- 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…
- Drop D (this +2): higher, tighter transposition
- Dracula: same 6-3str, slightly higher 1-2str
- Pink Moon: same 6-3str, much higher 1-2str
• MORE INFO •
—Further learnings: sources, readings, lessons, other onward links…
- CGCFAD songs: check out the huge track list on the Drop C Wikipedia article (although it has to be said…Wikipedia, despite its many areas of strength, is an absolutely terrible source of tuning info, and the Drop C page’s citations are pretty thin – plus, I haven’t heard of most of the artists, who range from Swedish thrash acts to obscure Japanese electronicore – let me know what you can discern!)
- CGCFAD shapes: sample some step-by-step basics in an overview from Fender, as well as a Reddit discussion featuring the superlow 6-string bass equivalent (“…I play a lot of stoner/doom/sludge metal, and this thing is perfect…”)
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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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