G-B-D-F-G-A
• OVERVIEW •
My basic setting of overtones 4 to 9 in the harmonic series – if ‘squashed’ to 12-tone equal temperament, they spell out a dominant 9th arpeggio as an ascent-ordered stack of thirds (1-3-5-b7-9). Also see Sethares’ variant: which keeps tension within more sensible bounds by adding a register-jump in the middle (C-E-G-Bb-C-D). Make up your own!
n.b. To go deeper into the harmonic series, try fine-tuning to ‘just intonation’ – the so-called ‘pure’ harmonic intervals. On a cent tuner, the modifications are as follows – B5:-14 | D4:+2 | F3:-31 | A1: +4). Or for extra ear enrichment, you can try tuning to these overtonal shades by ear: see the G Sa-Pa (root-5th) sample on my Tanpuras: Divine Indian Drones page.
Pattern: 4>3>3>2>2
Harmony: G9 | 1-3-5-b7-1-2
• 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 •
Unused on record in its exact form (as far as I can tell) – although it seems like tuning explorer Bill Sethares has played around in his own shuffling of the same ‘harmonic series‘ concept, likely on a MIDI guitar setup of some description. I’ll re-string & record a demo sometime…also send me your experiments and I’ll showcase the best!
‘Harmonic series’ (from my Audio Glossary): “The subset of overtones produced by exact whole-number ratios of the sound source’s fundamental. The harmonic series comprises the (theoretically infinite) progression of these harmonics, which are produced by dividing the string into ever-smaller fractions (i.e. open string 1/1=fundamental, 1/2=octave, 1/3=fifth, 1/4=second octave, 1/5=major 3rd, etc). The resulting tones match the ‘pure’ intervals of just intonation, rather than the equally-tempered frequencies of the frets. Hear the overtones of the open 6str here, (i.e. the N.H. at <12>, <7>, <5>, <3.8>, <3.2>, <2.7>, <2.3>)…”
- Musical Phonology: Overtones – Leonard Bernstein (1974)
“What we’re trying for is a high overview of musical development, in terms of a vocabulary constantly being enriched by more and more remote and chromatic overtones. It’s as if we could see the whole of music developing from prehistory to the present, in two minutes…” (Leonard Bernstein)
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• NUMBERS •
| 6str | 5str | 4str | 3str | 2str | 1str | |
| Note | G | B | D | F | G | A |
| Alteration | +3 | +2 | 0 | -2 | -4 | -7 |
| Tension (%) | +41 | +26 | 0 | -21 | -37 | -55 |
| Freq. (Hz) | 98 | 123 | 147 | 175 | 196 | 220 |
| Pattern (>) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | – |
| Semitones | 0 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 14 |
| Intervals | 1 | 3 | 5 | b7 | 1 | 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…
- Banjo: also begins with a high-twisted G-B-D across 6-5-4str
- All Minor Thirds: regular stacking from a close fundamental
- Zigzag Thirds (Min.): another narrow conceptual experiment
• MORE INFO •
—Further learnings: sources, readings, lessons, other onward links…
- Sethares’ overtonal variant: the master tuning theorist discusses his own overtonal arrangement on p.48 of his Instrumental Tunings overview (“…our tempered aural thinking can include tones up to the sixth partial, but beyond that the point the aural perception is merely rational…”)
- More overtonal concepts: see my Glossary entries for ‘harmonic series‘, ‘overtone‘, ‘ratio‘, and so on – and also my Overtonal Scale Explorer and Fretless Fretboard articles. Although, let’s be honest, Bernstein’s lecture notes are always gonna be a more erudite starting point (“…centuries pass, and inevitably the next interval of the harmonic series is assimilated by humanity: namely the fifth…”)
Header image: fractional oscillations of the overtone series
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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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