C-F-C-G-A-E

• OVERVIEW •

Another wide-spread tuning from steel-string wizard Michael Hedges, showcased on The Magic Farmer (1984) – the final track of his landmark Aerial Boundaries album. His pensive, gently-paced composition was dedicated to flautist Mindy Rosenfeld, his then-partner and the mother of his children (‘Rosenfeld’ means ‘field of roses’ in German).

Degrees 1, 3, 4, 5, & 6 of the major scale are octave-shuffled across strings (in scale order: 6, 1, 5, 3, 2, 4str), giving a balanced resonance. Also features a narrow major 2nd, and a reassuring trio of perfect 5ths. Theorist Bill Sethares notes its similarities to the ‘Buzzard’ layout (C-F-C-G-B^b-F) used a decade earlier by Will Ackerman – Hedges’ friend and the co-producer of Aerial Boundaries – on his instrumental What the Buzzard Told Suzanne (Hedges’ has 1-2str a semitone lower).

Pattern: 5>7>7>2>7

Harmony: C6(11) | 1-4-1-5-6-3

• TUNING TONES •

• SOUNDS •

In writer Michael Fremer’s words, “the flamboyant slapping, string-popping, and hard-edged percussive strumming [on Aerial Boundaries] can be at times positively jarring – though of course there are times when it shimmers and flows river-like“. The Magic Farmer, recorded in San Francisco, definitely features more of the latter, with a gentle, end-of-day-wind-down feel right from the off. But there are twists ahead (later in the track: I never knew slap-barre harmonics could simultaneously be so jumpy and reassuring…).

Aside from the famous album take, you can witness Hedges perform the track live (along with some pre-track re-tuning). Also hear his guitar with Mindy Rosenfeld’s flute (Ménage a Trois) – as well as his own flute playing on another magico-agricultural theme (Song of the Spirit Farmer). Magic Farmer‘s tuning, however, is rare (aside from appearing on some good covers – although a few online have tried it out: e.g. Matthew Gehrig (Waves Race Across the Sands).

• The Magic Farmer – Michael Hedges (~1983):

“The telescope was invented in 1608 by a Dutch lens grinder, Hans Lippershay…by putting lenses at both ends of a tube…He called his device a looker, and thought it would be useful in war. Galileo got hold of one, improved it a little, and then used it himself to challenge prevailing ideas about the solar system. This music is dedicated to the spirit of Galileo…” (Michael Hedges: Aerial Boundaries’ liner notes)

• NUMBERS •

• 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…

• Funky Avocado: maybe Hedges grew them on this very farm?
• C6 Mauna Loa (this with 5str +2): lining up low perfect fifths
• Albert King (this with 1/3str -2): not far from an electric legend

• MORE INFO •

—Further learnings: sources, readings, lessons, other onward links…

• Michael Hedges: the acoustic supremo adored abstruse tunings, with most tracks having their very own: e.g. see Funky Avocado and my Altered-Tuned Artists listing – also peruse Michael Robbins’ pristine Magic Farmer tab, Michael Fremer’s review of Aerial Boundaries, the album’s original liner notes, and Marcel Bouvrie’s 2018 thesis Beyond Aerial Boundaries: De/Re-territorialization of the steel-string acoustic guitar (“Steve Reich’s minimal music techniques…Schoenberg and his idea of Klangfarbenmelodie…Pat Metheny’s use of chorus and echo effects…Joni Mitchell and her use of non-traditional tunings…sound manipulation techniques [Spare Change]…Indian rhythms [Ragamuffin=’raga-muffin’: the same faux-etymology as my site name]…Hedges’ fascination with submarines [Rickover’s Dream]…the reverie of a IBM typewriter [Hot Type]…”)
• Agricultural magic: sample dark tales of farming deities from around the world – such as the 14-way dismemberment of Osiris (Ancient Egyptian god of plants, fertility, and resurrection), the cosmic family feuding of Rongo-mā-Tāne (Māori god of cultivation), the enormous appetite of Azaka Medeh (a friendly harvest spirit in Haitian Vodou/’Voodoo’), and the shape-shifting, beer-pouring, drum-banging activities of Mbaba Mwana Waresa (Zulu goddess of fertility, farming, rainbows, and much more…)

Header image: Aerial Boundaries‘ album art (1984)

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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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