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Comment by Ice Bob on December 21, 2010 at 12:04pm

in terms of 4 string cbg different sets have tthe split between the 3rd and forth strings. some sets the split is between the 4th and 5th strings. ive never had a problem in nashville tuning doing chords single note solos are tricky but not impossable i play solos on soprano ukulele which has the low string an octive higher. finger picking works well for me

Comment by Keni Lee Burgess on December 21, 2010 at 9:30am

I have used Nashville tuning in the past. It works out best for guitar duets. Instead of both guitarists playing the same chords, working out inversions that are lower or higher in pitch makes for some very interesting mixes. Enjoy.  

Comment by BenBob on December 21, 2010 at 8:06am

Paul Simon has mentioned using "nashville tuning" for recording rhythm parts. Nice shimmery high rhythm guitar without taking up as much space in the mix.

 

Do you get some chords that just don't work though? Especially major 7ths would cause some harsh dissonance I'd think.

Comment by Ice Bob on December 20, 2010 at 12:31pm

i used to tune my 6 string nashville tuning take a 12string set just use the high octive strings and you still got a reg. set of guitar strings left over

Comment by BenBob on December 20, 2010 at 11:52am

I don't have a 4-string fretted (yet), but I played my father's for a while at Thanksgiving. I liked being able to play some lead using what I already knew from 6-string, but for chords I really wasn't too thrilled with the voicings.

 

Last night, I was playing a friend's uke and thinking how much nicer the chord voicings sound with the re-entrant tuning, which got me thinking...

 

Has anyone tried  using guitar strings 1 3 2 1 tuned d G B e, or 2 4 3 2 tuned aDF#B?

 

Comment by Keni Lee Burgess on December 20, 2010 at 2:45am

Many times people ask me, "How is 6 string guitar tuning directly applicable to CBG?"

Ex:

Back to numbers again:

Most people learn to play in open D first: DADf#ad (151351)

The bulk of the slide work is on the highest string (string 1). The first two high strings (strings 2 and 1) are used extensively to play chord fragments aka doublestops. (See CD1)

In old time blues and country fingerpicking, two lines of music are played at the same time. The above ideas is the treble part that usually contains the melody line (lyrics set to music, See Sound of Music video) and the other line is the bass.

The bass can be played simply by thumping the lowest string, (montonic bass, tonic means tone 1 from the major scale) or alternating the low strings (the two low Ds or in a combination with low A).

Reducing this down to 3 string CBG (151), you can thump on the low 1 tone (string 3) and play 51 (strings 2 and 3) just like the full 6 string: (1)513(51).

Any key works as long as tuned 151: GDG, DAD, AEA, EBE...etc. the fingering are all the same.

It is all about relativity again. 

This is why I am so fond of theory. It brings everything into a comprehensible order. Even the most abstract ideas can be broken down and understood.

If you work through the lessons on CD4 (or vise versa), you will appreciate the lessons for 6 string guitar on CD1. They are all applicable. My point is this: If you understand the tonal realtionships between the strings, you can play in various tunings, regardless of the number of strings on your instrument!

Lately with the new series, 513 tuning (Key of D, ADf#), I've been thinking a 4 string banjo tuned: (high drone g string)Dgb, would be  very cool. The 3 strings on the banjo Dgb (513) would work just like the 3 string on the CBG ADf# (513). Just more relativity! Actually, this is really traditional 5 string banjo tuning missing a string: gDgb(d)

Lacking a string will create a more primitive sound and also inspire alternate arrangement ideas. The two g notes  or notes gD can be alternated. 

More about the relativity between tunings soon. Comparing open D and open G, etc.

I hope this information is useful.     

   

     

 

 

Comment by Keni Lee Burgess on December 19, 2010 at 9:48pm

I played 6 string guitar in open tunings for a long time before I came across the world of CBG. I approached tuning CBG simply by reducing the 6 string tunings down to their essential notes:

Ex:

Vestapol Tuning (commonly known as Open D) is DADf#ad. The major scale tones are 151351. To create a major chord, tones 1,3,5 are required.

This combination of notes can be found in three locations in this tuning:

1(513)51  15(135)1  151(351)

Anyone of these chord "inversions" will produce a series of movable chords.

I choose to work with 513 in the Key of D (ADf#) for two reasons:

1. It is part of the common open D tuning D(ADf#)ad (see CD1)

2. Tuned 151 in the key of G (GDg) on a CBG (see CD4), it is possible to tune ADf# without changing strings. (new series of currently free lessons)

It is interesting to note, that by using the correct string gauges, a CBG can be set up to play in any key. The fingerings will stay the same if the tonal relationships are the same: 151, 513, etc. This is an important consideration in matching an instrument to the voice. Tuning a half or whole step lower, or using a capo is another solution to altering pitch.                

Comment by Ronnie Retherford on December 19, 2010 at 3:14pm

GDgd for me. I need to try the GDgb though, or the minor tuning. I love playing songs with minor chords on my mandolin. It's weird, but the mandolin sounds like it was built for the purpose of paying tunes in minor keys. This one has two parts, one in the minor and one in the major. See if you can here the difference.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZFnA9rvzhA

Comment by Ice Bob on December 19, 2010 at 8:16am

try DGb on 3 string it is just like standard tuning good for freted lead guitar or DGbb on 4 string i tune 4 string like a 3 string.i like it cause the 2 high strings are louder and balance out the 2 drone strings . just do the lead on the 2 bb's like on Black Betty http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/cigar-box-guitar-black-betty

Comment by Ice Bob on December 19, 2010 at 7:56am

minor tunings are great for chording i also fret above and below the slide like in Icecream Truck Blues http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/icecream-truck-blues-by-ice

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