B^b-F-C-G-C-E

• OVERVIEW •

Deep tuning by Germain Rakotomavo – a Malagasy master known for fusing the folk repertoire of Madagascar’s valiha (tube zither) with more guitaristic ideas, from jazz harmonies to the picking patterns of Merle Travis. This layout adapts a pattern common to the Antananarivo region and elsewhere (“I raise the B up to C, and [lower] the D also to C, the A to F, and the E to Bb….To get the sound of the valiha, I use the capo“).

In Rakotomavo’s words, EADGBE “doesn’t sing: it’s for playing chords“. His alternative offers “a big range…we can have the voices of the women, and also the men….when Malagasy sing, they don’t sing alone!”. The bassy stack of three perfect 5ths (6>5>4>3str) provides a stable, versatile foundation, giving vast potential for melodic expansion.

Pattern: 7>7>7>5>4

Harmony: C11 | b7-4-1-5-1-3

• TUNING TONES •

• SOUNDS •

In his youth, Rakotomavo learned from local musician Jean Paul Ranovason (“He’s unknown, but he’s the one who taught me. If I play now, it’s in his memory…”), and soon sought to incorporate the ideas of North American fingerpickers (notably “Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, and Doc Watson”). But his stylistic inclinations are clear – as per guitarist and critic Eugene Chadbourne, “while other players of his generation – such as Haja or D’Gary – made reputations playing their own compositions, Rakotomavo stuck closely to the original repertoire of the valiha…to create a context for the valiha and the guitar to appear together”.

The resulting sounds have largely escaped international attention, but you can hear his talents in action on recordings such as Manjakamiadana, Ibiaza Vola, and Lasitera – and in the long-running Ny Antsaly group led by valiha legend Sylvestre Randafison. Also check out other Malagasy artists tackling his tunes – e.g. Mahefa Ramanana-Rahary’s Miangaly No Manina – and an outdoor WorldWideWild duet (Lasitera: “composed by Razafimahefa [in] the 1930s…It is not easy to understand this tune rhythmically…as it has been played by Rakotomavo“).

• Ny Antsaly – Rakotomavo & Sylvestre Randafison (2014):

“I was a member of a musical corps of boys organized by a Jesuit priest. My goal was not music then. I sang Gregorian chant, the Catholic liturgy. And then in 1977, the father who was organizing us fell sick. He couldn’t continue, so the singing stopped there – I never sang again. But I picked up some instruments, and I started with the guitar…” (Germain Rakotomavo)

• 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…

• Haja’s Bb: identical low side, drastically slackened high side
• New Standard (‘Crafty’): stacking up fifths, narrow at the top
• Wind of Change: also concludes with a ‘5th, 4th, maj 3rd’ run

• MORE INFO •

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

• Germain Rakotomavo: read his brief biography on AllMusic, as well as Banning Eyre’s interview feature in The World (“I had two professors…trained at the national conservatory in Paris. I was lucky, because they taught me classical guitar regiment…I played a little jazz, a little folk-picking: like Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, and Doc Watson. And then I found that I could make the guitar sing like [the] valiha…When I saw [guitarists like] Martin Simpson, who play traditional music arranged for the guitar, I thought this was a good road…We have inherited a [colonial] French tradition that says we must always sing. We must have words. So we don’t make the instruments sing anymore…“)
• More Malagasy guitar: see my Menu pages for Haja’s Bb, Kabosy, & Orkney, and check out Henry Kaiser & David Lindley’s amazing compilation A World Out of Time) – and Ian Anderson’s fantastic site (“wandering groups of kabosy players are sauntering in from the bush. A protesting zébu [humped cow] is being hauled off to meet its maker, ceremonial fish tied around its neck, and then from over the brow of the hill comes the unmistakeable sound of an electric guitar cranked to 11…”)

Header image: Germain Rakotomavo & Sylvestre Randafison

Search the Altered Tunings Menu (100+): type in notes, artists, adjectives, intervals, sequences, etc. Also see Tag List:

.

Search for:

—TUNING TAGS—

ALL (100) | 2-note (6) | 3-note (28) | 4-note (26) | 5-note (30) | 6-note (8) | 7th: Dom. (7) | 7th: Maj (12) | 7th: Min (21) | A-listers (11) | Alliterative (16) | Drone (4) | Drop (6) | Global (20) | Inst. (12) | Interval (6) | Narrow (12) | Non-taut (63) | Odd jumps (10) | Oddball (17) | Power (26) | Re-ent. (7) | Slack-key (5) | Slide (12) | Standard (11) | Superlow (15) | Sus. (22) | Triad: Maj (11) | Triad: Min (7) | 1-twist(7) | 2-twist (12) | 3-twist (16) | 4-twist (20) | 5-twist (20) | 6-twist (24) | Wide (24)

¡Random Tuning!

Menu of Tunings (100+) • Altered-tuned artists • Divine Indian drones • Global instrument tunings • Joni’s stringed canvas • Alpha-melodic games • Double-sided harp-capoing • Tales & quotes • Megatable • Glossary • Submissions • About • Feedback

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!

—Join the Patreon!—

• My Music | ‘Guitaragas’ (2025) •

(Get in touch for Zoom lessons!)

my site is ad-free, AI-free, & open-access

Facebook Instagram Youtube Twitter