Tuning Memory

[ninefingerbass]

Mr. Manring,
About 1 1/2 years ago I was introduced to your CD "Thonk". Amazing work I must say, but I do have some questions. With all your tunings and how they vary with each song and through out each song; how do you recall everything on the fly? Do you ever forget?

-Pierre

[Michael Manring]

Hi Pierre,

There are sort of two answers to your question: One is that I often get confused and make mistakes! But I think that’s an important part of the process. When you try out a strange new tuning it tends to push you out of your playing routines and give you the opportunity to think in a new way. Mistakes can be opportunities -- it’s just a matter of when and how you make them!

The other answer is that getting accustomed to working in altered tunings may not be quite as bizarre as you think. I work mostly with four string basses and with these there are only three adjacent string-pair intervals; in standard tuning they’re all perfect fourths. When you change tunings, the patterns of notes on each single string stay the same, so it’s just a matter of re-computing the three string to string relationships to mentally reconfigure tonal patterns. Every tuning has a distinct sound and flavor and as you work with one for a while you begin to get a feel for its particular qualities.