Tuning in Fourths ~ ~ ~ some advice please

ChrisMusic · October 2013

Hey @Fazer, you're probably the only one here who can give me a bit of further guidance, if you will.

I'm still wondering how you made the transition, did you just re-tune one day and decide never to go back?

Or did you play a bit in both tunings?

Can you get your head around playing in both even?

Would you advise just taking the plunge?

I can see using both being a bit confusing and maybe problematic, but I could easily be wrong.

Thanks for your help so far, much appreciated

Fazer · October 2013

after being annoyed by that kink in the fretboard tuning for many years, i was lying in bed one night and thought 'why don't i just tune them all the same?', and then the next day i changed the tuning and that was it, never changed back.

as for mixing the 2, well, lots of people change tunings for different songs etc, so i'm sure its possible.
although maybe the different tunings relates more to playing chords for different songs/songwriting, as i cant imagine its going to be possible to have a whole fretboard mapped out in your mind for different tunings.

if you are playing covers then i'm sure its easy enough to just have all the shapes and note positions memorised, so that you could easily play them in standard tuning, and theory or knowing what you are playing wouldnt really matter, because you are just going by memorised shapes.
and maybe with some basic improv around simple shapes like 1st position pentatonic etc.

and then you could use the 4ths tuning to explore the fretboard clearly, and the scale/chords connections.
i think its great for jazz/metal/prog/folk if you are playing original music and/or are happy to rearrange any covers

personally, the attraction of 4th tunings for me is its simplicity - simple scales, simple chords, always the same with no fretboard kink between the G and B/C.
so for me, i dont mess with different tunings as it upsets my equilibrium and confuses me

ChrisMusic · October 2013

Thanks @Fazer, I appreciate your reply. That is pretty much what I was thinking too. Good advice. Well summed up

It also ties in nicely to the point made by @digitalscream, that working in a band situation can mean difficulties explaining or transposing parts to others in normal standard tuning.

That small difference of one semitone on the top two strings will I am sure create some awful dis-harmonies if you forget which tuning you are playing in, or accidentally drop into the wrong fingerings, especially on improvising. Blame it on the "jazz notes" maybe, but not a good place to go me-thinks.

Most open tunings seem not only much more song and pattern specific, but also more forgiving harmonically IIRC.

Thanks for the heads-up on Ant Law @Benny, did you get the book and have you tried it yet? Thanks for the link, if you hit his site it plays great music, so I left it on in the background. Nice one

ToneControl · November 2013

this is the best string tension calculator I have seen

http://vinic.free.fr/strings/?l=0

ToneControl · November 2013

I use different tunings on some guitars for several reasons:

To enable voicings, e.g. modal stuff like DADGAD,

To confuse me into not playing the same old stuff

to suit the instrument (e.g. A# F C G on my tenor, with lighter unwound strings - no longer sounds shrill - but still the same intervals)

My 8 string was tuned GBEADGBE, since I didn't plan to do power chords on the bottom 3 strings, duplicating the relationship between the top 3 seemed useful - easier to find patterns. Now it is tuned GADADGAD, works well for me

GuyBoden · February 2023

carlos said:

Not tried but thought about it for a looong time.

Pros:
- regular shapes and patterns for scales and arpeggios is probably the biggest. If you can play a pattern you can play the same anywhere no matter which string you 'start' from. Makes learning scales and arpeggios a breeze as everything's 'regular'.
- 2 new open notes to include in chords or to sound as harmonics. Can open a few possibilities for voicings?

Cons:
- say goodbye to playing popular music without lots of work re-arranging chords to fit the new tuning. And even after that it's doubtful you can make things sound like the recorded versions since barre chords are going to be hard to fit (all strings are different notes).
- you will probably need to start sight-reading as tabs will be off on the top two strings. Yes, you can shift to accommodate but it's a pain.

For me the biggest thing about staying in std tuning was that all my guitar heroes play it, and they are all knowledgeable enough to have made informed decisions about this. Even Ben Monder who's about as bizarre-sounding as I can imagine uses std tuning.

I've been playing in 4th tuning for over 12 years on a seven string in E-A-D-G-C-F-A.

........................And E-A-D-G-C-F on my six string.

Using barre chords and Rock'n'Roll cliche riffs would be very difficult, but I never played them anyway.

Standard open Guitar Chord shapes are more difficult or impossible, but most of the other chords are much easier.

Knowing where all the notes are on the fretboard is easier.

I'm changing over to B-E-A-D-G-C-F on my latest seven string, when it's finished, so I will need to learn all of the notes on a new string.

Lestratcaster · February 2023

Only to play The Scientist by Coldplay. By ringing out the two top strings (C and F now) it creates a lush ringing tone when strumming generic shapes as it adds two more intervals on open strings.

guitarjack66 · March 2023

Wouldn't you to learn everything in standard tuning first anyway,to be able to juggle things around? Seems like just something to play with like alternate tunings in general.

GuyBoden · March 2023

guitarjack66 said:

Wouldn't you to learn everything in standard tuning first anyway,to be able to juggle things around? Seems like just something to play with like alternate tunings in general.

No, tuning in fourths, is a systematic method to stop novice guitarists from strumming bloody barre chords all the time.

There were other more drastic measures in medieval times that worked too.

Image: https://media.hswstatic.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250ZW50Lmhzd3N0YXRpYy5jb20iLCJrZXkiOiJnaWZcL2lucXVpc2l0aW9uLXdoZWVsLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6MjkwfSwidG9Gb3JtYXQiOiJhdmlmIn19

For more info, see Spanish Inquisition here:

https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/spanish-inquisition.htm

guitarjack66 · March 2023

GuyBoden said:

guitarjack66 said:

Wouldn't you to learn everything in standard tuning first anyway,to be able to juggle things around? Seems like just something to play with like alternate tunings in general.

No, tuning in fourths, is a systematic method to stop novice guitarists from strumming bloody barre chords all the time.

There were other more drastic measures in medieval times that worked too.

For more info, see Spanish Inquisition here:
https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/spanish-inquisition.htm

I actually enjoy barre chords as I picked them up quite well for a novice. I do find that barre chords also help you not have to do stretches that are very difficult with smaller more stubby fingers.

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Tuning in Fourths ~ ~ ~ some advice please

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