Verbal Description

This unique tuning, prominently featured in Novo Amor's song "Freehand," creates a deeply resonant and expansive soundscape. It moves away significantly from standard tuning by dropping the lowest three strings, establishing a profound bass foundation that is rich and almost orchestral. The higher strings, however, maintain their standard G-B-E configuration, offering familiar melodic intervals and allowing for shimmering arpeggios and clear lead lines over the deep bass.

The tuning's character likely lends itself beautifully to ambient, ethereal, or intricate fingerstyle compositions, allowing for open, ringing voicings and a sense of vast space. It encourages exploration of new harmonic possibilities, moving beyond conventional chord shapes to discover rich, complex textures.

Technical Analysis

This tuning is a variant of drop tuning, specifically with deeply lowered bass strings. The open notes are C2-F2-B2-G3-B3-E4, from lowest to highest string. Compared to standard E-A-D-G-B-E tuning, the changes are:

• 6th String: E down to C (a Major 3rd or 4 semitones down).
• 5th String: A down to F (a Major 3rd or 4 semitones down).
• 4th String: D down to B (a Major 3rd or 3 semitones down).
• 3rd String: G remains G (no change).
• 2nd String: B remains B (no change).
• 1st String: E remains E (no change).

The intervals between the open strings are highly unique:

• C2 to F2: Perfect 4th
• F2 to B2: Augmented 4th (Tritone)
• B2 to G3: minor 6th
• G3 to B3: Major 3rd
• B3 to E4: Perfect 4th

This combination doesn't form a simple major or minor chord across all six strings, suggesting it's designed for specific melodic lines, drones, or complex voicings rather than strumming open chords. The dissonant tritone (F-B) between the 5th and 4th strings creates tension that can be resolved or utilized for atmospheric effect.

Open String Chords / Voicings:

• While the full open tuning (C-F-B-G-B-E) is not a conventional chord, the top three strings (G-B-E) form an E minor triad, providing a familiar anchor for melodic playing or chord building.
• Combining the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd strings (B-G-B) offers a G Major inversion.
• The deeply dropped C and F on the lowest strings provide a powerful, extended bass range. Power chords on the lowest strings will have a distinctively heavy and growling quality.
• This tuning is ideal for fingerpicking, allowing individual notes to ring out and create lush, overlapping textures. Simple barres across certain frets can quickly yield interesting harmonies, such as a barre at the 3rd fret (G-C-E-Bb-D-G), offering a C Major 9 no 5 sound.

String 6: C2

String 5: F2

String 4: B2

String 3: G3

String 2: B3

String 1: E4

How to Tune

This tuning requires significant adjustments, particularly to the lower strings. For optimal playability and string longevity, especially with the substantial drops on the 6th, 5th, and 4th strings (4, 4, and 3 semitones respectively), considering a heavier gauge string set might be beneficial to maintain proper tension and avoid floppiness. Tuning down 4 or more semitones from standard often warrants a different string gauge for the best experience.

• String 6 (Low E) to C2: Tune down 4 semitones.
• String 5 (A) to F2: Tune down 4 semitones.
• String 4 (D) to B2: Tune down 3 semitones.
• String 3 (G) to G3: Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).
• String 2 (B) to B3: Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).
• String 1 (High E) to E4: Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).