F-Bb-Eb-Ab-C-F
• OVERVIEW •
Whether by accident or design, countless guitarists have ended up tuning a semitone sharp of Standard. Doing so raises overall tension by ~12%: not enough to necessitate a restring, but still sufficient to give a fantastic volume boost. It will, however, limit bends, barres, and general melodic fluency (as well as tiring your hands out more quickly…).
Works best on lighter-strung, shorter-scale guitars (e.g Les Pauls will handle it slightly better than Strats). And, while you could just use a 1fr capo to produce the same notes, this has the drawback of confusing your ‘dot-marker perspective’ – all the neck markings are thrown ‘one off’ (i.e. the 3/5/7/9/12fr dots, when capoed, become 2/4/6/8/11fr: a dissonant mismatch if you momentarily forget to recalibrate!).
Pattern: 5>5>5>4>5
Harmony: Fm7(11) | 1-4-b7-b3-5-1
• 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 •
Luther Perkins is probably the most prominent F-tuner from guitar history – the Tennessee Three axeman used it to accompany Johnny Cash on countless occasions. (Oddly, this may have been in response to how low Cash’s voice could go: my guess is that playing in F allowed him to reach the key’s bass-octave 5th, a C2 tone lying right at the bottom of his range, e.g. audible here – perhaps EADGBE‘s equivalent B2 note was a stretch too far?).
Uses are generally difficult to identify (chiefly due to its similarities to a 1fr capo), although Nirvana are known to have wound to F on Love Buzz (apparently without conscious intention) – and it also seems to have been used by Varg Vikernes on early Burzum releases (although the Norwegian black metaller has since become better known for, umm, other work).
- Walk the Line @ Town Hall Party – Johnny Cash (1958):
“Perkins…was not a professional…but a mechanic who played guitar a hobby. Nailing his playing style is a great lesson in minimalism, because Luther never played any wild solo parts or fancy chords…” (Dirk Wacker)
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• NUMBERS •
| 6str | 5str | 4str | 3str | 2str | 1str | |
| Note | F | Bb | Eb | Ab | C | F |
| Alteration | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 |
| Tension (%) | +12 | +12 | +12 | +12 | +12 | +12 |
| Freq. (Hz) | 87 | 117 | 156 | 208 | 262 | 349 |
| Pattern (>) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | – |
| Semitones | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 19 | 24 |
| Intervals | 1 | 4 | b7 | b3 | 5 | 1 |
- 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…
- AirTap!: a tense-sided arrangement of an F major triad
- Albert Collins Fm (this with 4/5str +2): tight-wound wails
- Zigzag Thirds (Min.): flipping up the thirds from an F root
• MORE INFO •
—Further learnings: sources, readings, lessons, other onward links…
- F Standard: check out a tension discussion on the Acoustic Guitar Forum (“…retain perspective with the fret markers, instead of capoing and losing them as references…a half-step will not hurt the guitar, unless [it’s] made of balsar wood…”)
- Luther Perkins: emulate his sound with the aptly-named Dirk Wacker in Premier Guitar (“So, what does ‘boom-chicka-boom’ style mean? It’s an onomatopoetic word, similar to the fast, stomping tone from a freight train in motion. Several urban legends exist about how Luther Perkins developed this tone…”)
Header image: Luther Perkins with Johnny Cash (~1966)
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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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