Description: Lee Disappearer Guitar Tuning

The 'Lee Disappearer' tuning is a unique and highly resonant open E Major tuning, famously used by Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth on the track 'Disappearer'. It creates a powerful, droning sonic landscape, characterized by its deep, sustaining sound. The arrangement of notes heavily emphasizes the fundamental E note across multiple octaves, providing a rich, harmonic bed ideal for experimental and textural playing.

Technical Analysis

Technically, this tuning is designed to sound an open E Major chord (E2 E2 E3 E3 G4# G4#). The lowest four strings are tuned to various octaves of E (E2, E2, E3, E3), forming a dense, ringing foundation that provides incredible sustain and depth. The two highest strings are set to G4#, which is the major third of the E chord. These G# notes sit an octave above the lowest E notes, creating a bright, almost chiming top end that cuts through the drone. This structure lends itself exceptionally well to compositions that rely on sustained harmonies and allows for complex sonic textures to emerge with minimal fretting.

Chordal Possibilities

• Open E Major Drone: When strummed open, the tuning produces a massive, resonant E Major chord, making it perfect for sustained, ambient, and drone-based musical pieces.
• Instant Barre Chords: Due to the open E Major structure, simply barring across all strings at any fret will naturally produce E Major chords transposed to that fret's root. For example, barring at the 5th fret yields an A Major chord, and at the 7th fret, a B Major chord. This makes shifting harmonic centers straightforward and intuitive.
• Melodic Layering: The repeated E notes provide a solid harmonic anchor across the lower strings, allowing for single-note melodies, arpeggios, or dissonant intervals played on the higher G# strings to stand out and create intricate melodic lines against the constant drone.

How to Tune

To achieve the 'Lee Disappearer' tuning, adjust your guitar strings from standard EADGBe tuning (E2-A2-D3-G3-B3-E4) as follows. Please note that string gauge recommendations are provided for significant changes.

• String 6 (Low E) - E2: Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).
• String 5 (A) - A2: Tune down 5 semitones to E2. This is a significant drop; a heavier gauge string is strongly advised to maintain tension and tone.
• String 4 (D) - D3: Tune up 2 semitones to E3.
• String 3 (G) - G3: Tune down 3 semitones to E3.
• String 2 (B) - B3: Tune down 3 semitones to G#3. Important Discrepancy Note: The target for this string (as per the tuning's name and description) is G4#. To reach G4# from a standard B3, you would need to tune up 11 semitones, not down 3 semitones to G#3. Achieving G4# would necessitate a very light string gauge. The tuning movement provided leads to G#3.
• String 1 (High E) - E4: Tune down 8 semitones to A3. Important Discrepancy Note: The target for this string (as per the tuning's name and description) is G4#. To reach G4# from a standard E4, you would need to tune up 3 semitones, not down 8 semitones to A3. Achieving G4# would likely require a lighter string gauge. The tuning movement provided leads to A3, which is a significant drop and would typically require a heavier gauge string.

General String Gauge Advice:

When tuning strings by more than 4 semitones in either direction (up or down), it's generally advisable to consider using a different string gauge. Tuning significantly up can put excessive tension on a string, increasing the risk of breakage, while tuning significantly down can make the string overly loose and floppy, affecting tone and playability.

Open String Notes

When tuned to 'Lee Disappearer', your open strings will sound as follows:
String 6: E2
String 5: E2
String 4: E3
String 3: E3
String 2: G4#
String 1: G4#