This unique and highly expressive tuning, famously employed by Alexander Misko in his captivating cover of George Michael's "Careless Whisper," transforms the guitar into an instrument of profound depth and unexpected harmonic textures. It's a tuning designed for intricate melodic lines, percussive techniques, and expansive soundscapes rather than conventional chordal strumming.

Verbal Analysis

At its core, "Misko's Careless Whisper Tuning" offers a dark and resonant foundation with its deeply dropped low C and F strings. This creates a powerful, almost orchestral bottom end. However, the true character emerges further up the neck with an extremely unconventional re-entrant arrangement: the 3rd string (G4#) is tuned higher than the 2nd string (G3). This, coupled with the wide jumps and prominent tritones (D-G# and G-C#) found across the open strings, generates a tense, dramatic, and often dissonant sound that lends itself perfectly to Misko's fingerstyle virtuosity and percussive playing. It’s a tuning that encourages exploration beyond traditional guitar voicings, inviting players to discover new harmonic possibilities and melodic paths.

Technical Analysis

The open notes for this tuning are: C2 - F2 - D3 - G4# - G3 - C5# (from lowest to highest string).

Let's examine the intervals between adjacent open strings:

• 6th String (C2) to 5th String (F2): A Perfect 4th (P4, 5 semitones). This provides a strong, stable foundation often found in dropped tunings.
• 5th String (F2) to 4th String (D3): A Major 6th (M6, 9 semitones). A wide, open interval that contributes to the tuning's expansive quality.
• 4th String (D3) to 3rd String (G4#): A Compound Augmented 4th (Octave + A4, 18 semitones). This is an extremely wide and dissonant interval, immediately introducing tension and an exotic feel, spanning over an octave.
• 3rd String (G4#) to 2nd String (G3): A descending Compound Minor 2nd (Octave + m2, 13 semitones down). This is a re-entrant interval where the 3rd string is higher than the 2nd string, creating a striking feature central to Misko's unique voicings and melodic inversions.
• 2nd String (G3) to 1st String (C5#): A Compound Augmented 4th (Octave + A4, 18 semitones). This is another extremely wide and dissonant interval, spanning two octaves and an augmented fourth, further emphasizing the tuning's non-standard nature and facilitating high-register melodic flourishes.

Given the complex and re-entrant nature of this tuning, traditional open chords are not readily available in their standard shapes. Instead, the tuning provides unique opportunities for:

• Open Voicings with Tritones: The open strings themselves (C-F-D-G#-G-C#) form a rich, dissonant cluster, particularly due to the prominent Compound Augmented 4th intervals. These can be exploited for jazz fusion, experimental music, or percussive tapping.
• Melodic Runs and Arpeggios: The wide intervals and re-entrant string order facilitate unusual melodic patterns and wide-ranging arpeggios that would be impossible in standard tuning.
• Specific Harmonies: While not forming a simple C major or minor, the low C and F provide a strong root/fourth foundation for more complex harmonies. The D-G# and G-C# tritone relationships, spanning across octaves, suggest the potential for altered dominant chords or scales like Lydian Dominant or diminished scales when fretted.
• Tapping and Percussive Techniques: The string layout seems particularly well-suited for two-hand tapping and other percussive techniques, allowing Misko to create incredibly dense and layered musical textures.

Open String Notes:

• 6th String: C2
• 5th String: F2
• 4th String: D3
• 3rd String: G4#
• 2nd String: G3
• 1st String: C5#

How to Tune:

To achieve this distinctive tuning, start from standard EADGBe tuning and adjust each string as follows:

• 6th String (Low E): Tune down 4 semitones to C2.

  Note: Tuning down 4 semitones significantly reduces string tension. For optimal playability and intonation, consider using a heavier gauge string for the low E.

• 5th String (A): Tune down 4 semitones to F2.

  Note: Tuning down 4 semitones significantly reduces string tension. For optimal playability and intonation, consider using a heavier gauge string for this string.

• 4th String (D): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to D3.
• 3rd String (G): Tune up 1 semitone to G4#.
• 2nd String (B): Tune down 4 semitones to G3.

  Note: Tuning down 4 semitones significantly reduces string tension. For optimal playability and intonation, consider using a heavier gauge string for this string.

• 1st String (High E): Tune down 3 semitones to C5#.

  Note: Tuning down 3 semitones noticeably reduces string tension. While not exceeding the general recommendation for a gauge change, be aware of the looser feel.

This tuning involves significant changes in string tension, especially on the 6th, 5th, and 2nd strings. Careful setup, and potentially a different string gauge, is recommended for the best playing experience and to avoid intonation issues.