Re: Tuning guitar in fifths for wider orchestration options

[Per Boysen <perboysen@gmail.com>]

Marc,

I think the guys that experiment with different tunings don't really
"think" the music as "an instrument". We rather think the the music as
the notes; I mean, according to a key, a scale (not "guitar neck"
scale but the real sounding scale, the vibreations) and a tonal
center. If you think music like that, all you have to do is to find
out "where on this new instrument are the octave, the fifth" etc etc.
Soon you're off playing your usual stuff with the new instrument's
special touch options.

To learn an instrument as "I put my finger down here to get this note"
is a mistake IMHO and I'm amazed that music schools still do that to
kids. You should learn instrument by first learning a melody of let's
say three notes. Then you find out how to play that melody on the
instrument.

Greetings from Sweden

Per Boysen
www.boysen.se
www.perboysen.com



On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 11:44 AM, mark francombe <mark@markfrancombe.com> 
wrote:
> I've been watching this tread with grrat interest, I think its amazing 
>how
> so many of you have experimented with tunings, and have of course tried 
>some
> things myself on spare guitars, for effects. (Like for example the 
>tunings
> that Rick mentioned, about tuning the whole guitar to one note for groovy
> droning noise stuff etc).
>
> What really amazes me however is... do you guys reall RE-learn all your
> scales and chords for all these different tunings?  I mean, if you tune 
>to
> this 5ths approach... how do you play a chord!!! Its taken me 33 years
> (since I first got a guitar) to learn a few girl guide chords, and a 
>couple
> of bar chords.... one (ok two) scales, that I can slide up and down... 
>but
> the thing that has stopped me REALLY getting into tuning is this... Do I
> really have to forget what I ever knew... and dedicate my life to a new
> tuning????
>
> I myself have been using baritone guitar for 10 years, with a A based
> tuning, this gives me the LOWS I need for bass parts, and I use a lot of
> pitch shifting, and can go high enough... but this is still standard 
>tuning
> basically, just tined down a bit...
>
> Have to try out this 5ths thing
>
> m
>
> On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 1:14 AM, Charles Zwicky <cazwicky@earthlink.net>
> wrote:
>>>
>>> Per Boysen wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Anyone here on the list having tried tuning a guitar in fifths for
>>>> wider orchestration options? Or even wider intervals? Would make sense
>>>> when looping to get lower bass and higher highs. I guess you have to
>>>> pick a custom string set for this.
>>>>
>>>> Greetings from Sweden
>>>>
>>>> Per Boysen
>>>> www.boysen.se
>>>> www.perboysen.com
>>
>>
>> I have been tuning in straight fifths for  the past 15 years or so....
>>
>> http://jpsongs.com/troubadortech/zwickrig.htm
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> ...
>> http://www.zmix.net
>>
>
>
>
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