Nashville tuning (high strung)

Last updated

Nashville or high-strung tuning refers to the practice of replacing the wound E, A, D and G strings on a six-string guitar with lighter gauge strings to allow tuning an octave higher than standard. [1] This is usually achieved by using one string from each of the six courses of a twelve-string set, using the higher string for those courses tuned in octaves.

The Pink Floyd song "Hey You" from the album The Wall and the Kansas song "Dust in the Wind" [2] from their Point of Know Return album use this form of guitar tuning. In "Hey You", David Gilmour replaced the low E string with a second high E (not a 12-string set, low E's octave string) such that it was two octaves up. The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" features a 12-string guitar played by Keith Richards and a guitar with Nashville tuning played by Mick Taylor. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" featured two acoustic guitars, one Nashville strung, overdriven through a cassette recorder. [3] James Williamson used Nashville tuning on "Gimme Danger" [4] on Raw Power by the Stooges. Elliott Smith used a variant of Nashville tuning with a twelve-string guitar on XO for the song "Tomorrow Tomorrow." [5] Pat Metheny is known for using Nashville tuning on several occasions, notably his song "Phase Dance" from his group's debut album. [6] [7] Similarly, Andy Fairweather Low used a high-strung guitar on his 1975 UK hit single "Wide Eyed and Legless", taken from his La Booga Rooga album. [8] [9]

Other songs featuring the tuning include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Mattacks</span> English drummer

David James Mattacks is an English rock and folk drummer, best known for his work with British folk rock band Fairport Convention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charango</span> Small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family

The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, from the Quechua and Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments were introduced by the Spanish during colonialization. The instrument is widespread throughout the Andean regions of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, northern Chile and northwestern Argentina, where it is a popular musical instrument that exists in many variant forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twelve-string guitar</span> Fretted string instrument optimized for richer sounds

A twelve-string guitar is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in octaves, with those of the upper two courses tuned in unison. The gap between the strings within each dual-string course is narrow, and the strings of each course are fretted and plucked as a single unit. The neck is wider, to accommodate the extra strings, and is similar to the width of a classical guitar neck. The sound, particularly on acoustic instruments, is fuller and more harmonically resonant than six-string instruments. The 12-string guitar can be played like a 6-string guitar as players still use the same notes, chords and guitar techniques like a standard 6-string guitar, but advanced techniques might be tough as players need to play or pluck two strings simultaneously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appalachian dulcimer</span> Fretted string instrument

The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of the fingerboard, and its fretting is generally diatonic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seven-string guitar</span> Fretted string instrument

The seven-string guitar adds one additional string to the more common six-string guitar, commonly used to extend the bass range or also to extend the treble range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baritone guitar</span> Variation on the standard guitar

The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schecter, Jerry Jones Guitars, Burns London and many other companies have produced electric baritone guitars since the 1960s, although always in small numbers due to low popularity. Tacoma, Santa Cruz, Taylor, Martin, Alvarez Guitars and others have made acoustic baritone guitars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Gambale</span> Australian jazz fusion guitarist (born 1958)

Frank Gambale is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released twenty albums over a period of three decades, and is known for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hey You (Pink Floyd song)</span> 1979 single by Pink Floyd

"Hey You" is a power ballad by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on their 1979 double album The Wall. It also appeared as the B-side to the "Comfortably Numb" single in 1980. The song, along with "The Show Must Go On", was edited out of Pink Floyd – The Wall to prevent the film from running too long; however, a rough version is available as an extra on the 25th Anniversary Edition DVD of The Wall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Course (music)</span>

A course, on a stringed musical instrument, is either one string or two or more adjacent strings that are closely spaced relative to the other strings, and typically played as a single string. The strings in each multiple-string course are typically tuned in unison or an octave.

Stephen Gregory is an English jazz saxophonist and composer. He plays tenor, alto, soprano and baritone saxophone as well as the flute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reentrant tuning</span> Break in an otherwise ascending or descending order of string pitches

On a stringed instrument, a break in an otherwise ascending order of string pitches is known as a re-entry. A re-entrant tuning, therefore, is a tuning which does not order all the strings from the lowest pitch to the highest pitch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass guitar tuning</span>

Each bass guitar tuning assigns pitches to the strings of an electric bass. Because pitches are associated with notes, bass-guitar tunings assign open notes to open strings. There are several techniques for accurately tuning the strings of an electric bass. Bass method or lesson books or videos introduce one or more tuning techniques, such as:

An eight-string bass guitar is a type of bass guitar with double course strings normally tuned in octaves, with both strings in a course usually played simultaneously. As on a 12-string guitar, this produces a natural chorus effect due to the subtle differences in string pitch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guitalele</span> String instrument

A guitalele, also called a ukitar, or kīkū, is a guitar-ukulele hybrid, that is, "a 1/4 size" guitar, a cross between a classical guitar and a tenor or baritone ukulele. The guitalele combines the portability of a ukulele, due to its small size, with the six single strings and resultant chord possibilities of a classical guitar. It may include a built-in microphone that permits playing the guitalele either as an acoustic guitar or connected to an amplifier. The guitalele is variously marketed as a travel guitar or children's guitar. It is essentially a modern iteration of the Quint guitar.

John David Williams is a Welsh bassist and songwriter known equally for his work with Dave Edmunds and for his songwriting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Thornton</span> Musical artist

Edward Thornton, better known as "Tan Tan", is a Jamaican trumpeter, whose career began in the 1950s.

"My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" is a song widely attributed to Clarence Williams, who obtained a copyright in 1933, although the melody was recorded under various names years earlier. The song became popular performed by Hank Williams for MGM and reached number 4 on the country chart in 1949.

<i>La Booga Rooga</i> 1975 studio album by Andy Fairweather Low

La Booga Rooga was the second solo album by Andy Fairweather Low, and was released by A&M Records in 1975.

"Wide Eyed and Legless" is a song written and performed by Andy Fairweather Low in 1975. The track peaked at No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart in December that year. It had originally been published on Fairweather Low's album, La Booga Rooga, which was released earlier the same year. The track was produced by Glyn Johns.

References

  1. "High-strung/ Nashville tuning" (PDF). Daddario.com. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  2. "Kansas' Kerry Livgren Shares The Story Behind "Dust In The Wind"". Guitarworld.com. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  3. "Jumping Jack Flash". July 2, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-07-02.
  4. "The Stooges' James Williamson - Guitar Moves - Episode 1". YouTube. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  5. ""Heaven Adores You" Elliott Smith Documentary". Video.billboard.com. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  6. "Pat Metheny: Question & Answer". www.patmetheny.com. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  7. 1 2 "What is Nashville Tuning? - Strings Direct". Strings Direct -. March 14, 2019.
  8. La Booga Rooga (record sleeve). UK: A&M Records. 1975.
  9. William Ruhlmann. "La Booga Rooga - Andy Fairweather Low | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  10. "The Smiths' 20 greatest guitar moments, ranked". August 17, 2021.
  11. Songs That Saved Your Life - the Art of the Smiths 1982-87 (Revised ed.). Titan Books. February 2013. ISBN   9781781162590.