C-F-C-F-A-C

• OVERVIEW •

Open F takes the interval pattern of Open G, and lowers everything by a whole tone. So, while you can use it to play anything from the vast Open G repertoire, it’s worth focusing on its distinctive quirks too. Most importantly, it is much looser (~30% less tension than if the same strings were set to Standard, and ~20% less than Open G).

Consequently, the slackness calls for a light touch: ‘overpressing’ will push fretted tones sharp, and picking the low strings too vigorously can lead to issues with inharmonicity. And, unless you restring heavy, Open F tends to be less slide-suitable than its tenser transpositions. Let the gentler feel lead you into hypnotic harmonic spaces…

Pattern: 5>7>5>4>3

Harmony: Fmaj | 5-1-5-1-3-5

• TUNING TONES •

• SOUNDS •

Legendary folk artist Elizabeth Cotten (~1895-1987) used Open F to ‘Cotten pick’ on her upside-down-strung acoustic (e.g. When I Get Home) – influenced by her low vocal register and banjo-playing background. Her alternating-bass style was a vital early influence on Joni Mitchell (another teenage banjoist), who would go on to concoct several deep C-rooted variants of her own (e.g. Hejira & Coyote). Also employed by Jimmy Page (Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, When the Levee Breaks), as well as The Incredible String Band (The First Girl I Loved) – and continues to turns up among blues jammers such as Bottleneck John (Electronator Jam).

I sometimes use it to play along with Hindustani sarod music (India’s 23-string ‘fretless devotional banjo‘ is typically rooted around low C – try it over a Sa-ma tanpura). And, as recommended by reader Russ Kolisnyk, “Arvid Smith plays a 12-string slide piece I found in one of his old songbooks, circa 1976: listed in Open G, although his recording is in Open F. The song is called Lebanon Station. It’s rare, but I was able to find it on a full album rip. Arvid is still performing professionally and living the dream in sunny Florida. Like you, he developed an affinity for the sitar and other instruments of that ilk…”

• Elizabeth Cotten – When I Get Home (1958):

“At the age of seven, [Cotten] would steal into her brother’s room while he was at work, and play his homemade banjo. Broken strings betrayed her borrowing, but, even though her brother complained about it, he never scolded her…[She] tried to learn with the banjo re-strung for a left-handed player, but eventually returned to her upside-down method…” (L.L. Demerle)

• 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…

• Open G (this +2): the more common transposition
• Open A (this +4): the super-tight electric version
• Open Fm (this with 2str -1): the more mournful sibling

• MORE INFO •

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

• Elizabeth Cotten: learn more about her long life and influential picking style in a Smithsonian Folkways overview, and a creditless old documentary of uncertain origin (Pt. 1 & Pt. 2) – and watch a captivating 1985 interview with Aly Bain (“when I was 11 years old I went to work, and bought myself a guitar…[my mother] didn’t get no more rest…”)
• Low C lineages: see how Joni Mitchell built on these slackened concepts for her own multi-tuned universe – see her Altered-Tuned Artists song listing, plus the tuning pages for Hejira (C-G-D-F-G-C) and Coyote (C-G-D-F-C-E), as well as my in-depth but theory-light article Stringed Canvas: Joni’s musico-visual imagination (“…why not consciously craft your tunings too? For Joni, it makes no sense to skip this step – after all, what painter would stick to the same six colour pots, when a near-infinite selection lie within easy reach?”)

Header image: Elizabeth Cotten plays outdoors

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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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