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A Question of Tuning

Posted by Soulcatcher & His DooFa Diddley on November 23, 2010 at 2:55pm in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts
OK I know this one has done the rounds many times But.......
Has any of you tried  F C f c tuning before ???
I was messing with my 4 stringer the other day, I tuned it up not knowing what i had tuned it too and ooh it sounded so sweet.
Its really got a lovely warm tone now.
 
So i was just wondering if any of you have tried it liked it / Dis liked it or what problems could i encounter using F C f c
Cheers Soul

 

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Replies

  • Keni Lee Burgess November 26, 2010 at 9:09am
    A quick and easy tuning theory lesson:

    As a teacher, my intention is to clearify information, but sometimes I must inspire students to dig in deeper and apply themselves, but never at the expense of further frustrating the learning process:

    Please see this chart:
    http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/13-keys?context=user

    If you string your guitar with the correct gauges (see note), it is possible to tune to any of the 13 different keys.
    Every key has a major scale made of 8 notes.
    They are numbered 1-8.
    When I say tune 5135, this would be Dgbd in the Key of G
    Tuning FCFC is 1515 in the key of F
    Considering most people string their CBGs using standard guitar gauges, they tune their CBGs to tunings that work with these gauges.
    Tunings ideas:
    3 string:
    151 (standard strings ADg) tune key of G: GDg
    135 (standard strings gbd) tune key of G: gbd
    513 (standard strings ADg) tune key of D: ADf#
    4 string:
    1513 (standard strings ADgb) tune key of G: GDgb
    1515 (standard strings ADge) tune key of G: GDgd
    5135 (standard strings Dgbe) tune key of G: Dgbd

    A major chord needs tones 1,3,5. This is why many of the tunings contain these tones. "Open tuning" is tuning an instrument to play a chord.

    Note: There are charts that can calculate the string gauge needed relative to "scale length and note desired".


    I hope this makes the vastness a little clearly. Please feel free to write if I can answer a specific question. Enjoy, Keni Lee
  • Soulcatcher & His DooFa Diddley November 25, 2010 at 3:26am
    Thanks guys for the info on this one...
    Craig ..... i know what you mean with the head scratchin (lol)
    But since ive tuned my CBG to FCfc, it just sounds so nice and warm also the chords im finding
    just ring out and that when its not plugged in...
    i`ll have to get a video up on here so you can see what i mean


    Craig Cox said:
    the music theory guys will always jump into a thread like this ; ) and they usually leave me scratching my head. One of these days I'll have to make time for learning this stuff. I've had my 3 string tuned to FCf for a week now, and I like it a lot cause "it sounds nice." just wanted something a bit lower than GDg. using my favorite online tuner
    (http://www.get-tuned.com/guitar_tuner.php) I looked for the notes lower than that and tried FCf. Voila! Nice deep bass notes, nice mid-tones.
  • Craig Cox November 24, 2010 at 7:53pm
    the music theory guys will always jump into a thread like this ; ) and they usually leave me scratching my head. One of these days I'll have to make time for learning this stuff. I've had my 3 string tuned to FCf for a week now, and I like it a lot cause "it sounds nice." just wanted something a bit lower than GDg. using my favorite online tuner
    (http://www.get-tuned.com/guitar_tuner.php) I looked for the notes lower than that and tried FCf. Voila! Nice deep bass notes, nice mid-tones.
  • Keni Lee Burgess November 24, 2010 at 6:35pm
    I was just out on the subway platforms in NYC busking today. (I guess the reason why I was slow on the draw with your question LOL) I tune CGCegc (Vestapol Tuning: 151351 Key of C) and CFCFac (Spanish Tuning: 515135 Key of F) when I play my large 6 string CBG. The lower tuning is easier on the CBG, but also a lot easier on my vocal chords as I need to sing loud. Although, the various keys are relative, they all have their own unique voice relative to pitch. Going lower or higher than standard tuning always sounds special to me. What is fasinating about open tunings is that FCfc can be 1515, key of F or 4141, key of C depending on how you arrange a song. Additional if a CBG is tuned too low or too high it will not sound that good. Finding the perfect tuning that really makes your CBG sing is key. Listen to Ben also. We are like a wrestling tag team. LOL Thanks for posting. Enjoy the vastness.
  • Soulcatcher & His DooFa Diddley November 24, 2010 at 9:08am
    Cheers ben,
    Yep i got my head round that ......cheers


    Ben said:
    In Western (Euro-centric) tonal music, there are 7 different pitches in a scale (then you repeat). Let's use your F tuning as an example. Those 7 notes would be F, G, A, Bb (that's Bflat), C, D, E (then you start with F again). Each one of these notes is assigned a number - called a scale degree. The 1st scale degree is F. Count up to C and you'll find that it is the 5th scale degree. That's why I referred to this tuning as 1515. This is a system that allows for easy transposition. If you move everything up a fret then the 1515 becomes F# (that's Fsharp) C#, f#, c#. Go up another fret and you have GDgd. This system also works for naming chords but uses Roman numerals instead. In your F tuning, Open is F, the fifth fret is Bb, and the seventh fret is C. You could refer to these chords as I, IV, and V so that I could transpose it to my guitar.

    Oh yeah - Keni Lee Burgess will be on shortly (not sure how he could let this go on for so long) and will tell you to buy his CDs. Just do it.
  • Ben November 24, 2010 at 6:21am
    In Western (Euro-centric) tonal music, there are 7 different pitches in a scale (then you repeat). Let's use your F tuning as an example. Those 7 notes would be F, G, A, Bb (that's Bflat), C, D, E (then you start with F again). Each one of these notes is assigned a number - called a scale degree. The 1st scale degree is F. Count up to C and you'll find that it is the 5th scale degree. That's why I referred to this tuning as 1515. This is a system that allows for easy transposition. If you move everything up a fret then the 1515 becomes F# (that's Fsharp) C#, f#, c#. Go up another fret and you have GDgd. This system also works for naming chords but uses Roman numerals instead. In your F tuning, Open is F, the fifth fret is Bb, and the seventh fret is C. You could refer to these chords as I, IV, and V so that I could transpose it to my guitar.

    Oh yeah - Keni Lee Burgess will be on shortly (not sure how he could let this go on for so long) and will tell you to buy his CDs. Just do it.
  • Soulcatcher & His DooFa Diddley November 24, 2010 at 2:37am
    Hi ben
    To tell you the truth im not sure..... im a newbie to alt tunings
    all i can tell you is i`m using 5432 strings and they are tuned to FCfc
    not sure what you mean by 1515 tuning , But you are right about my build respond
    particularly well to FCfc.



    Ben said:
    Hey Soulcatcher,
    Are you referring to general 1515 tuning (FCfc, EBeb, DAda, etc.), or specifically a power F (FCfc)? If it's the power F, it may sound sweet because of the box you're playing on. Everything has a frequency at which it "likes" to vibrate. Your build might respond particularly well to FCfc.
  • Ben November 23, 2010 at 6:34pm
    Hey Soulcatcher,
    Are you referring to general 1515 tuning (FCfc, EBeb, DAda, etc.), or specifically a power F (FCfc)? If it's the power F, it may sound sweet because of the box you're playing on. Everything has a frequency at which it "likes" to vibrate. Your build might respond particularly well to FCfc.
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