Tuning Overview:

This is a truly distinctive and harmonically rich guitar tuning, aptly described by its creator as an "extended Bb minor sound in inversion." It immediately presents a lush, complex chord, ideal for creating evocative, ambient, or cinematic soundscapes. The arrangement of notes lends itself to open string drones and expansive arpeggios, offering a wide palette for melodic and harmonic exploration without needing to fret many notes.

Technical Analysis:

The open strings of this tuning lay out the notes: C#3, A#3, F3, G#4, C4, D#5. Enharmonically, these notes are Db3, Bb3, F3, Ab4, C4, Eb5. When combined, these notes perfectly form a Bb minor 11 chord with a C# (Db) in the bass (Bbm11/C#). This specific voicing includes the root (Bb), minor 3rd (Db), perfect 4th (Eb, as 11th), perfect 5th (F), minor 7th (Ab), and 9th (C), all layered over a Db bass note.

This creates a sophisticated harmony that is immediately available by strumming the open strings. The intervals between adjacent strings are particularly noteworthy and contribute to its unique character:

• String 6 (C#3) to String 5 (A#3): Minor 7th
• String 5 (A#3) to String 4 (F3): Diminished 5th (Tritone)
• String 4 (F3) to String 3 (G#4): Major 10th (15 semitones), creating a significant melodic leap.
• String 3 (G#4) to String 2 (C4): Diminished 5th (Tritone), moving downwards.
• String 2 (C4) to String 1 (D#5): Major 10th (15 semitones), another substantial melodic jump.

The broad intervals between the middle strings (F3 to G#4 and C4 to D#5) give this tuning a very wide dynamic and melodic range, distinguishing it from more compact tunings. The open tuning also conveniently groups notes such as the top three strings (G#4, C4, D#5) which, when viewed enharmonically (Ab4, C4, Eb5), form an Ab Major Triad in 1st inversion. This triad is the V chord of the Db (C#) key, adding harmonic strength and resolution possibilities within the overall Bb minor context.

Playing Potential:

Given the open string's complete Bbm11/C# chord, this tuning excels in drone-based music, fingerstyle arpeggios, and slide guitar. Standard chord shapes will require significant re-learning and adaptation. However, new voicings for minor 7th, 9th, and 11th chords in the Bb/Db family become readily available. The unique interval spread offers opportunities for rich, non-linear melodic phrases and suspensions. Experiment with partial barres and single-note lines across the wider string gaps to discover its full expressive potential.

Open String Notes:

• String 6 (low E): C#3
• String 5 (A): A#3
• String 4 (D): F3
• String 3 (G): G#4
• String 2 (B): C4
• String 1 (high E): D#5

How to Tune:

To achieve this unique tuning, adjust each string from its standard position as follows:

• String 6 (Low E): Tune to C#3 by tuning down 3 semitones.
• String 5 (A): Tune to A#3 by tuning up 1 semitones.
• String 4 (D): Tune to F3 by tuning up 3 semitones.
• String 3 (G): Tune to G#4 by tuning up 1 semitones.
• String 2 (B): Tune to C4 by tuning up 1 semitones.
• String 1 (High E): Tune to D#5 by tuning down 1 semitones.

Note on String Gauge: The individual string movements required for this tuning are within a reasonable range (less than 4 semitones up or down), so a standard string gauge set should generally be suitable. However, the overall range of the tuning across all strings is quite wide, and individual string tension may vary.