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 •
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 •
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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