Verbal Description: Draum Tuning

The Draum tuning is an audacious and deeply experimental setup, purpose-built for explorations into free improvisation, avant-garde music, and abstract sound design. It radically departs from conventional guitar tunings, forging an open sonic landscape characterized by extreme low frequencies, microtonal inflections, and rich dissonance. This is not a tuning for traditional chord progressions or melodic lines; instead, it offers a vast, untamed palette for crafting dense textures, percussive elements, and sonic phenomena that defy easy categorization. Musicians approaching Draum should brace for a journey into uncharted territory, where the conventional rules of harmony and structure are reimagined. The irregular, often conflicting, intervals between strings – particularly the staggeringly low pitches on the 5th, 3rd, and 1st strings – necessitate a unique approach to technique, favoring unusual fingerings, slides, and non-standard articulation to exploit its inherent sonic potential.

Technical Analysis: Draum Tuning

The Draum tuning is characterized by a highly unusual arrangement of notes that delves into exceptionally low registers, pushing the boundaries of what is typically achievable on a 6-string guitar. The open strings are tuned as follows, from thickest to thinnest:

• 6th String: D#2 (D Sharp in the 2nd Octave)
• 5th String: F1 (F in the 1st Octave – an extraordinary pitch, lower than the lowest note on a standard 4-string bass, which is E1)
• 4th String: C#3 (C Sharp in the 3rd Octave)
• 3rd String: E2 (E in the 2nd Octave – remarkably low for this string position)
• 2nd String: A#3 (A Sharp in the 3rd Octave)
• 1st String: A2 (A in the 2nd Octave – an extremely low pitch for the high E string)

When analyzed by ascending pitch, the open strings present the notes: F1, D#2, E2, A2, C#3, A#3. The open strum of these notes will produce an intensely dissonant and resonant sound, dominated by its profound low-end frequencies. The close proximity of D#2 (6th string) and E2 (3rd string) creates a strong minor second cluster, fostering immediate tension. Similarly, the relationship between A2 (1st string) and C#3 (4th string) forms a major third. Due to these irregular and often clashing intervals, conventional major, minor, or dominant chords are not inherently formed in the open position. Instead, the tuning facilitates the creation of complex sonic textures and percussive impacts, making it ideal for experimental compositions. The dramatically low tunings, especially for the 5th, 3rd, and 1st strings, necessitate the use of much heavier gauge strings to maintain proper tension, intonation, and to prevent string instability or breakage. Attempting this tuning with standard string sets is highly inadvisable and may result in damage to the instrument or strings.

Current Tuning Notes:

• 6th String: D#2 (D Sharp in the 2nd Octave)
• 5th String: F1 (F in the 1st Octave - exceptionally low)
• 4th String: C#3 (C Sharp in the 3rd Octave)
• 3rd String: E2 (E in the 2nd Octave - unusually low)
• 2nd String: A#3 (A Sharp in the 3rd Octave)
• 1st String: A2 (A in the 2nd Octave - extremely low)

How to Tune from Standard EADGBe (E2-A2-D3-G3-B3-E4):

• 6th String (Low E): Tune up 2 semitones from E2 to F#2. (Note: Tuning up 2 semitones is generally within a safe range for this string.)
• 5th String (A): Tune down 1 semitone from A2 to G#2. (Note: Tuning down 1 semitone is generally within a safe range for this string.)
• 4th String (D): Tune up 2 semitones from D3 to E3. (Note: Tuning up 2 semitones is generally within a safe range for this string.)
• 3rd String (G): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) from G3 to G3. (Note: No change required for this string.)
• 2nd String (B): Tune up 1 semitone from B3 to C4. (Note: Tuning up 1 semitone is generally within a safe range for this string.)
• 1st String (High E): Tune down 5 semitones from E4 to A3. (Important Safety Note: Tuning down 5 semitones is a substantial change. For optimal tension, intonation, and to prevent string instability or damage, it is highly recommended to use a heavier gauge string for the 1st string.)