This unique tuning, prominently featured in Antoine Dufour's captivating piece "Hide and Seek", transforms the guitar's sonic landscape into a rich and complex tapestry ideal for intricate fingerstyle arrangements. It deviates significantly from standard tuning, opening up new harmonic possibilities and melodic pathways characteristic of Dufour's virtuosic style.

Technical Analysis

The open strings are tuned to D2-A2-E3-G4#-A3-E4 (from low to high). This tuning presents a fascinating array of intervals:

• The low three strings (D2-A2-E3) establish a strong perfect fifth relationship, laying a resonant, open foundation.
• The jump from E3 to G4# on string 3 creates a major third interval, adding brightness. Note the specific octave (G4#), which provides a very high and bright quality on this string.
• The subsequent A3 on string 2 creates a very tight minor second (semitone) interval with the G4# on string 3. This close cluster (G4#-A3) is a hallmark of tunings designed for intimate voicings, potential dissonant harmonies, or for easy melodic movement around a sustained note.
• The highest string is E4, a perfect fifth above the A3 on string 2, completing the tuning with a familiar harmonic interval.
• Overall, the tuning features repeated A and E notes across different octaves (A2, A3; E3, E4), which provides a natural resonance and allows for octave work without much effort. The interplay of major thirds, perfect fifths, and the striking semitone on the middle strings makes this tuning highly expressive and conducive to melodic and polyphonic playing.

Open Chords and Voicings

While not forming a simple open major or minor chord, the open strings offer unique harmonic clusters:

• The low D-A provides a solid power chord foundation.
• Strings 5, 4, and 3 (A2-E3-G4#) present an A major triad in an open voicing, with the G# being a third and the E a fifth.
• Considering strings 4, 3, and 2 (E3-G4#-A3), you have elements of an E major chord (E, G#) combined with an A. This creates a rich, ambiguous sound, possibly hinting at an Emaj(add4) or an Amaj7 (inverted). The G4#-A3 semitone provides an intense, ringing quality.
• The full open tuning D-A-E-G#-A-E resonates with an expansive, almost orchestral quality, hinting at complex jazz or contemporary classical harmony. It's particularly well-suited for D Lydian or an A major tonality with a low D pedal, offering a bright and floating sound. The design clearly supports advanced fingerstyle techniques, allowing for drones, hammer-ons, and pull-offs to create intricate melodic lines over sustained harmonies.

How to Tune

To achieve Antoine Dufour's Hide and Seek Tuning from standard EADGBe, follow these steps:

• 6th String (Low E): Tune the E2 string down 2 semitones to D2.
• 5th String (A): Keep the A2 string as is; no change (0 semitones). It remains A2.
• 4th String (D): Tune the D3 string up 2 semitones to E3.
• 3rd String (G): Tune the G3 string up 1 semitone to G#3.
• 2nd String (B): Tune the B3 string down 2 semitones to A3.
• 1st String (High E): Keep the E4 string as is; no change (0 semitones). It remains E4.

Please note: All string movements are within safe limits (less than 4 semitones up or down) for standard guitar strings. Always tune carefully and check string tension.