This tuning, which we've named "Staggered Tritone Tuning", offers a truly unique and highly dissonant soundscape. Its open strings are composed entirely of augmented fourths (also known as tritones) across various octaves, resulting in a tense, unsettling, and open-ended sonic character. It fundamentally breaks away from traditional consonant harmonies, making it an excellent choice for experimental music, avant-garde compositions, film scores requiring tension, or genres like progressive metal and jazz fusion where complex, angular voicings are desired. This tuning encourages exploration outside of conventional chord shapes and scale patterns, fostering creativity through its inherent ambiguity and challenging harmonic norms.

Technical Analysis

The open strings are tuned to specific pitches that alternate between C and F# across different octaves: C2, F#3, C3, F#4, C4, F#5.

Analyzing the intervals between adjacent strings reveals a distinct and repeating pattern:

• String 6 (C2) to String 5 (F#3): An Augmented Fourth plus an Octave (a Major 11th, or 17 semitones).
• String 5 (F#3) to String 4 (C3): A Descending Diminished Fifth (or 7 semitones down, effectively an Augmented Fourth an octave lower).
• String 4 (C3) to String 3 (F#4): An Augmented Fourth plus an Octave (a Major 11th, or 17 semitones).
• String 3 (F#4) to String 2 (C4): A Descending Diminished Fifth (or 7 semitones down).
• String 2 (C4) to String 1 (F#5): An Augmented Fourth plus an Octave (a Major 11th, or 17 semitones).

This consistent alternation of C and F# pitches, always separated by a tritone (augmented fourth/diminished fifth) but with unusual octave displacements, defines the tuning's unique sonic character. While the input suggested "Aug Fourths", the staggered octave pattern is a more precise description of its intervallic structure.

Chordal Possibilities and Playing Style

The open string voicing itself (C-F#-C-F#-C-F# across various octaves) is inherently dissonant, functioning as an open C Augmented 4th or C Tritone sonority. Traditional major or minor chords are not readily available in open position without significant finger stretches or altered voicings. However, this tuning excels at creating:

• Tritone Voicings: By barring any fret, you will consistently generate C-F# relationships (or their transposed equivalents) across different octaves, creating dense, ringing tritones that can be powerful and unsettling.
• Power Chord Alternatives: While not traditional power chords, two-note voicings using the tritone interval can be very effective for heavy, dissonant riffs. Sliding a single finger or two across frets will produce parallel tritone shapes, which are excellent for generating atmosphere or aggressive textures.
• Dissonant Clusters: Experimenting with nearby frets will yield interesting, often jarring, clusters due to the inherent tension and intervallic spacing of the tuning.

This tuning encourages horizontal (melodic) playing and two-note intervallic harmonies over traditional vertical (chordal) strumming, making it ideal for creating suspense, drama, or exploring atonal and polytonal ideas in your music.

How to Tune to Staggered Tritone Tuning

To achieve the unique sound of Staggered Tritone Tuning, please adjust your guitar strings carefully according to the following instructions. It's crucial to use a reliable tuner for accuracy, tuning from standard EADGBe.

• String 6 (Low E): Tune down 4 semitones to C2. This is a significant drop. For prolonged use or heavier playing, considering a heavier gauge string for optimal tension and tone is advised.
• String 5 (A): Tune down 3 semitones to F#3.
• String 4 (D): Tune down 2 semitones to C3.
• String 3 (G): Tune down 1 semitone to F#4.
• String 2 (B): Tune up 1 semitone to C4.
• String 1 (High E): Tune up 2 semitones to F#5.

As a general guide, if string movements exceed 4 semitones up or down, it is often advisable to consider using a different string gauge to maintain proper string tension and avoid potential string breakage or intonation issues. String 6, in particular, reaches this threshold.