Re: Tuning guitar in fifths for wider orchestration options

[van Sinn <vansinn@post.cybercity.dk>]

Gosh Per, this couldn't have been expressed more clearly!
It's exactly for such reasons I look forward to get rid of those pesky 
fixed positions dot inlays - they really disturb my creative mindset.

Further comments @ Mark:

I was so stuck in pentagon patterns from 'traditional' good solid Rock!
A bit weird, as I was once trained in church musick and classical, and 
had a keen interest in progressive jazz/fusion for years.

Then for 5 years I didn't touch a guitar after a serious relationship 
break, ending in crap basement appartments.  Well, shit happens.. :D
2½ years ago I bough an appartment and starting shopping gear.
In the meantime I had greatly expanded my music interests to the goth- 
and black-metal stuff incorporating weird scales and intonations from 
east-european, arab and indian music..  the works..

So, I've methodically worked on *not* thinking in traditional fixed 
terms, trained on building up slow runs with the ability to move freely 
over the whole board, incorporating the mentioned non-western scales.
I also re-learned my positioning with thump-under, using all four 
fingers, and precision equal-up-down picking technique.
As a result I can now move most everywhere with good confidence, speed 
and precision is rapidly improving, and I can move in and out of styles 
and scales.

I often just try 'something' to see what happens, tonal-wise, and is 
often rewarded with interesting harmonies.
I admit I have a lot of theory to read up on, to understand it all, but 
do not see this as a problem.
The most important change for has been freeing up my mindset.

So, when I try a new tuning, it's like 'now, what can this baby do..' ;)



Per Boysen wrote:
> 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
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>--
>>www.markfrancombe.com
>>http://vimeo.com/user825094
>>http://uk.youtube.com/user/markfrancombe
>>http://www.myspace.com/markfrancombe
>>www.looop.no
>>
> 
> 
> 
> .
> 


-- 
rgds,
van Sinn