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 •

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Guitar & global musicology on Instagram:

Multi-step meend in Raag Bageshri: some riyaz improv in one of my all-time favourite ragas

#raga #jazzguitar #indianmusic #icm #londonmusic

Sep 30

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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!)

Original: Squarepusher/Tom Jenkinson (from 1997’s Hard Normal Daddy)

#jungle #jazzguitar #warprecords #idm #dnb @warprecords

Sep 27

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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…

—Original: Pandit Jasraj (khayal); Appa Jalgaonkar (harmonium); Nizamuddin Khan? (tabla)

#raga #khayal #indianmusic #worldmusic #icm

Sep 22

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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)

—Original: Rakesh Chaurasia (bansuri), live at Darbar 2008 @chaurasia_rakesh @darbarfestival

#raga #darbarfestival #indianmusic #bansuri #worldmusic

Sep 15

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• 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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