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 •

—Home | Menu | About—

• Support ad-free, AI-free musicology by joining my PATREON. And to intensify your six-string imagination, try some online lessons: get in touch to book a free taster session!

---

ragajunglism

149

Guitar & global musicology on Instagram:

Raag Jog: exploring different ways the electric guitar can support a Dhrupad-ang nomtom (syllabic improvisation)…

(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

Jun 28

Open post by ragajunglism with ID 18178898758729792

Raag Kafi: Electric guitar improv around the adha bandish ‘Aaj Khel Shaam Sang Hori’

(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

Jun 22

Open post by ragajunglism with ID 18157687909482208

Raag Jog: some sawal-jawab (‘question-answer’) fun with Marc Clayton on tabla

(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

Jun 15

Open post by ragajunglism with ID 18179784337397602

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

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

Jun 10

Open post by ragajunglism with ID 17884736148577118

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

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

Jun 5

Open post by ragajunglism with ID 18342113314172589

tomato can jungle/DnB (distracted while cooking)

#drumming #percussion #dnb #jungle

May 23

Open post by ragajunglism with ID 18143879968513480

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)

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

May 6

Open post by ragajunglism with ID 17855971797647916

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!

#sitar #guitar #raga #bends #ragaguitar

May 4

Open post by ragajunglism with ID 18397850710159284

Load More Follow me on Instagram

• 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!—

(Get in touch for Zoom lessons!)

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

Facebook Instagram Youtube Twitter