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RAGA NOVA:  It's been six years since I filmed this little improv video below.  As I recall, it was early morning and I wanted to hear something quiet.  I went down in my studio and picked up this guitar specifically because it didn't have a standard cigar box guitar tuning like DAD or GDG. This one was in E major octave, EEG#. It's strangely beautiful...

I wanted to put my creative brain in unfamiliar territory, and since I don't use this tuning too much it was a good place to start.

Here's the process I used to create this piece:

1. I sat there just putting my fingers in different random positions just to see if anything sounded good.
2. When I heard pleasing sounds, I created riffs around them.
3. After about 6 or 7 good riffs, I had the general building blocks for this improv. I practiced them and then rolled the camera.

What you see in the video is an improvisation using those riffs I came up with that morning. I was simply playing for my own enjoyment. It made me feel good to hear this guitar sing.

How to a cigar box guitar for E-E-G tuning using a standard pack of guitar strings:

• Low string - Low E string (tuned E)
• Middle string - D string (tuned E, one octave higher)
• High string - G string (tuned G)

Art and music and poetry are always worthwhile if it makes you smile. This song made me smile.  Put yourself in unfamiliar territory. Make something pretty.

Then smile.
-Shane

ps.  I eventually recorded this song for my instrumental album, Empty Wooden Box (link). 

Hmm...it might be time for me to record a new instrumental cigar box guitar album.