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Craig
Aloha
USA
21 Posts |
 Posted - 11/10/2004 : 1:20:26 PM
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Mark asked that I elaborate on my "theories" of quadrant tunings and irregular tunings. I warn everybody... once I warm up to a subject, it's hard to shut me up!
QUADRANT TUNINGS
Simple major tunings enable you to divvy the neck into "quadrants." All you need is to learn one quadrant and you have mastery of the entire neck.
For example, standard Dobro tuning is (lo to hi) G B D G B D. The top three strings are tuned identically to the bottom three with the exception of being an octave higher. Thus, our first "border" to our quadrant is the division between the top 3 and the bottom 3 strings.
The second "border" to our quadrant is the 12th fret. Everything above the 12th fret is a miniature of what's below the 12th fret, except for being an octave higher. It makes sense to subdivide at this point.
Thus, our 4 quadrants, which I call Northwest (NW), Northeast (NE), Southwest (SW), and Southeast (SE). I wish I could make a diagram, but I'm not sure how to do that with this forum's software. So I'll try describing each quadrant:
NW = strings 6 thru 4, frets 0 -12
NE = strings 3 thru 1, frets 0 - 12
SW = strings 6 thru 4, frets 13 - 24
SE = strings 3 thru 1, frets 13 - 24
NW|NE
- - - = 12th fret
SW|SE
Let's call NE our "base quadrant"... after all, this is where most the action is in a steel guitar tune. The "rules" for our quadrants are these:
NE = Base quadrant
NW = Base quadrant down an octave
SE = Base quadrant up an octave
SW = Same pitches as base quadrant, but slightly different tonality.
Now you can see the advantages to learning the "quadrant system." Because all quadrants consist of the same notes in the same order, you only need to memorize one quadrant to know the entire neck. Secondly, the equation NE = SW means you can choose tonalities or pitch ranges with relative ease.
Who used to take full advantage of this system? Sol Hoopii!! Consider his tune Feelin' No Pain.
1. He starts out the melody in NE (there is border crossing, to be sure; but the bulk of the notes are in NE)
2. He takes the bridge up to SE. Nice dramatic effect.
3. During the bridge, he'll intersperse fills in SW... notice how he doesn't have to hop down to NE. By using SW, he's already in the neighborhood, he only has to cross the "border."
4. He restates the melody in NW, an octave lower than the original melody in NE. Plus, as he gets going, he crosses the border into NE, interspersing higher range notes for dramatic effect.
Thus, we can see that what I call quadrant tuning opens up a nice pallet of sounds and textures with minimal effort (which of course is the whole purpose of open tunings).
But don't forget that this "quadrant system" will only work with basic tunings that repeat themselves, such as Dobro tuning. Sol originally used A major (lo to hi) A C# E A C# E... again, it's easy to see how this nicely sub-divides into 4 "quadrants."
Other quadrant tunings (lo to hi):
Hi D = D F# A D F# A
Hi E = E G# B E G# B
etc.
IRREGULAR TUNINGS
C6 (lo to hi: C E G A C E), on the other hand, is what I call an "irregular tuning." That is, there is no natural "border" between each set of 3 strings (although it does nicely divide into halves: everything above the 12th fret is a miniature of what lies belolw the 12th fret). Thus, your thinking becomes more "vertical" (i.e.; 3 or 4 frets across the strings) rather than horizontal (i.e.; up and down the neck). You approach it 6 strings at a time.
In C6, it's not so easy to restate melodies in different octaves because you'll have to compensate for the A string. You can either (1) state your melody above the 12th fret, then restate in identical positionings below the 12th fret, or (2) learn to compensate.
The same holds true for "low" majors tunings like lo G (D G D G B D... notice how there is no natural "border" between each set of 3 strings) or lo D (A D A F# A D).
On the other hand, the nice thing about C6 is it is a very "space age" sound. Very amendable to country-swing playing. Very retro. Some guys are so used to it that to them, that's "standard tuning." And you only have to work with it a little bit to get a feel for where the sweet spots are. Plus, irregular tunings encourage chord phrases (hitting 3 or more notes at once) as opposed to quadrant tunings, where the project is to get over the "hump" of the simplicity of the tuning.
In other words, C6 will do a lot more of the work for you than a quadrant tuning will. That is never more evident than Jerry Byrd's opening lines in Sweet Corn. All natural harmonics, straight off the tuning. Another good example is Greg Sardinha's Kewalo Chimes. All natural harmonics, and all straight off the tuning.
Any tuning that does not sub-divide into 3 strings hi and 3 strings lo (such as Dobro tuning (lo to hi) G B D <lo> G B D <hi>) is, in my "theory", an irregular tuning.
Today, I'm happy to have one guitar tuned to a quadrant tuning and another to 6th tuning. The quadrant tuning is suitable for hot Hawaiian swing... lot's of flash... lot of juxtaposition between octaves. The 6th tuning is more suitable for the sweet stuff... even simply striking the open strings produces a beautiful chord.
Questions?
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Craig P. |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 11/10/2004 : 9:22:05 PM
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Thanks for the breakdown, Craig! I need to chew on this for awhile. I may have to jump from taropatch to hi G to try quadrant tuning.
Do you find that strings in taropatch will also tune to C6 or do you need a set made for it?
Jesse Tinsley
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Stringbreaker
Akahai
USA
62 Posts |
Posted - 11/11/2004 : 07:06:17 AM
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Nice! I discovered Open Thirds [E G# C E G# C] tuning recently, and now I'm finding it here. I have a somewhat different take on the quadrant idea, but it is similar in some respects. I call groups of four adjacent strings "cousins" and I have mapped out relationships between tunings that have 4 (or more) strings with intervals in common. For example, in Taro Patch [D G D G B D] you have a fret matching pattern of 5 7 5 4 3 and in Open D [D A D F# A D] you have a fret matching pattern of 7 5 4 3 5. This shows that the top 5 strings of Taro Patch is functionally identical to the bottom 5 strings of Open D. To prove it, capo Taro Patch at the 7th fret and the top 5 strings have the pitches D A D F# A. Look familiar? Any chord and scale patterns that live on the top 5 strings of Taro Patch work for the bottom 5 strings of Open D transposed down. Pointless to add that when you capo Open D at the 5th fret the bottom 5 strings have the pitches G D G B D. My book, which has been circulating since 1995, has a good map of the connections in 174 well known tunings. Just to tie in the whole idea, check out Open A tuning [E A C# E A E]. It has a pattern of 5 4 3 5 7, which shows the bottom 4 strings have the same intervals as the top 4 strings of Taro Patch. Q.E.D. You can check out for yourself how Open C [C G C G C E] also connects to Taro Patch.
Now Open thirds tuning [E G# C E G# C] has a pattern of 4 4 4 4 4, which is perfectly symmetrical across the tuning. By the intervals, the bottom three works the same as strings 5-4-3, 4-3-2 and, of course, the top 3. Note how the chord shapes and scale forms map across the fretboard. Open Fourths tuning [E A D G C F] also has this property.
I really like the quadrant tuning concept, but I think it needs to go further. Comment? |
Crazy Man Tuning |
Edited by - Stringbreaker on 11/11/2004 07:30:09 AM |
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Craig
Aloha
USA
21 Posts |
Posted - 11/11/2004 : 07:28:03 AM
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Stringbreaker: I admit I've never tried that tuning. It sounds interesting. And it easily breaks out into quadrants. Works for me!
Hapakid: taropatch tuning will probably be too heavy a guage for C6. That's why I keep 2 guitars tuned differently. My guages for C6 are:
E = .014
C = .017
A = .021
G = .024W
E = .030W
C = .036W
I buy 'em in bulk from Juststrings.com. An alternative is to tune to G6 (lo to hi) G B D E G B... but even then you'll have to swap a few strings.
Another alternative is G6 (lo to hi) G B E G B D... this can easily be done with a normal Dobro set. The only problem is there isn't much music tabbed in this tuning... but it might be a lot of fun to adapt some tunes for it! |
Craig P. |
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Stringbreaker
Akahai
USA
62 Posts |
Posted - 11/11/2004 : 07:44:55 AM
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| Your special string sets make me think of the mock "nashville" tuning idea where you take the top strings from a 12 string set, then set them to tunings when strung on a six string guitar. Thus E A D G B E would have the bottom 4 strings an octave up. Now from there, put this into Taro Patch and you may get a more workable idea. I have to run, but then, I also have been told that if I died tomorrow, they would be chasing my tongue for two weeks trying to beat it to death with a stick. |
Crazy Man Tuning |
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