Alternate tunings

[kuys]

I recently on a whim tunned every stringed instrument in my house to B(flat) F C G C E or B(flat) F C G and it's like something opened up in my mind.

I'm a writing spree I haven't had in years. Has anyone else noticed this when changing to a non-standard tunning?

I'm able to get chord voicing I couldn't even dream of in a standard tuning. I've tried quite a few over the years and this is the only one that naturally fits my playing style and note choice.

Does this tuning make any musical sense? I ask this because my knowledge of theory is crap and I've always just played what I heard in my head.

[fu22ba55]

Originally Posted by kuys

I'm a writing spree I haven't had in years. Has anyone else noticed this when changing to a non-standard tunning?

The novelty of non-standard tunings can help break some bad habits and get you thinking in a different way. The novelty can eventually wear off, however. (Don't tell Keith Richards.)

Originally Posted by kuys

Does this tuning make any musical sense?

Well the bottom 4 (Bb, F, C, G) are just a 5ths tuning. (As opposed to 4ths, which is common on the bass)

Cellos and Violins have been tuned to 5ths for a while now, so I guess it makes as much musical sense as anything else.

A handfull of bassists tune to 5ths. One thing it does give you is more range with just 4 strings.

(Just be careful with string gauges if you've tuned all the stringed instruments in your house to 5ths. Some of the necks and tuning machines might not like it if you make a haibt of it.)

[Swimming Bird]

Yes, it makes sense. Novelty is one of the great breeders of musical innovation -- Radiohead and Tom Waits are great examples of this.

A great thing about tunings is that when (if) the novelty wears off, you can try a new one. A bit of a pain if you're trying to play everything live with several tunings though.

I've been playing a lot of ukulele lately and I have a ric 4001 I wasn't getting any use of, so I mimicked uke tuning E-A-C#-F#. I felt I wanted a little more with the bottom end, so now it's D-A-C#-F# and I'm in love with this instrument again.

[CamiloDíaz]

I'm a pretty E standard kind of guy for playing along reasons, but sometimes I try a simple D standard, and it opens my mind a lot... still being standard. I think it would be nice to know some other tunings as well...

[Beginner Bass]

I had one day of playing with the tuning on my 4-string, but never went up, just down.It was fun. I could get some different chord voicings but they didn't have the definition to actually get what I wanted with a pick.