Verbal Analysis

The Pure Morning Tuning, famously employed by Placebo on their track of the same name, offers a distinctively dark and resonant soundscape. It's an intriguing variation on a Drop D style, but shifted up a semitone to D# (D# A# D# G# C C). This lower D# provides a powerful, brooding foundation, ideal for heavy, driving riffs and atmospheric chord voicings, creating a sonic landscape that is both intense and melancholic, characteristic of Placebo's style.

The tuning makes open D#5 power chords (D# A# D#) incredibly accessible on the lowest three strings, delivering an immediate and impactful sound. The unique arrangement of the upper strings, particularly the unison C4s on the two highest strings, creates a haunting shimmer or a focused, piercing drone when played together. This unison allows for interesting melodic and harmonic interplay with minimal fretting, while the wider intervals on the lower strings provide a robust and expansive sonic palette. The combination of open strings (D# A# D# G# C C) hints at a D#sus4 chord with an added Major 6th (C), creating a rich, slightly dissonant, and evocative texture perfect for emotive passages and unique harmonies.

Technical Analysis

This tuning sets the guitar's open strings to D#3, A#3, D#4, G#4, C4, C4. When analyzing the intervals relative to the lowest D#3:

• String 6 (D#3): Root
• String 5 (A#3): Perfect 5th
• String 4 (D#4): Octave
• String 3 (G#4): Compound Perfect 4th (G# is a Perfect 4th above D#)
• String 2 (C4): Major 6th
• String 1 (C4): Major 6th

The open string notes (D#, A#, G#, C) form a distinctive D#sus4(add6) chord, creating a unique harmonic texture that is both grounded by the D# and infused with a certain brightness from the Major 6th (C). This combination lends itself to atmospheric and emotionally resonant passages. The interval between the 4th (D#4) and 3rd (G#4) strings is a Perfect 4th, while the 3rd (G#4) and 2nd (C4) strings form a Minor 3rd. The top two strings (C4 and C4) are a unison, providing a unique textural element for drones or focused melodies.

How to Tune

To achieve the Pure Morning Tuning, start from standard EADGBe tuning and follow these precise adjustments:

• String 6 (Low E to D#3): Tune down 1 semitone.
• String 5 (A to A#3): Tune up 1 semitone.
• String 4 (D to D#4): Tune up 1 semitone.
• String 3 (G to G#4): Tune up 1 semitone.
• String 2 (B to C4): Tune up 1 semitone.
• String 1 (High E to C4): Tune down 4 semitones. Please exercise significant caution with this substantial tension drop. For optimal performance, intonation stability, and string longevity, considering a different gauge string (e.g., a heavier gauge for standard E to compensate for the drop) for the 1st string is strongly advised.

String 6: D3#

String 5: A3#

String 4: D4#

String 3: G4#

String 2: C4

String 1: C4