Eleventwelfth's Echo Tuning: A Sonic Exploration

This unique guitar tuning, which we've named "Eleventwelfth's Echo Tuning" due to its resonant and expansive qualities, was notably used by the band Eleventwelfth on their self-titled EP in 2017. It ventures significantly from standard tuning to create a distinctive harmonic landscape, making it ideal for experimental, ambient, or progressive rock styles that require a bright, open, and slightly complex sound.

Verbal Analysis

The overall sound of Eleventwelfth's Echo Tuning is bright, resonant, and carries an inherent sense of spaciousness, yet with a subtle tension due to its unique intervalic structure. When strummed open, the tuning forms a rich E Major chord with an added F#, giving it an Emaj(add9) or Emaj2 quality. This creates an immediate, full-bodied sound that is both familiar in its major tonality and intriguingly complex with the added extension.

The open strings lend themselves particularly well to droning notes and intricate fingerstyle passages, allowing the root (E) and fifth (B) to ring out across different octaves, while the G# (major third) firmly establishes the major key. The F# on the 3rd string adds a bright, slightly suspended, or Lydian-esque quality, pushing the sound beyond a simple major chord into something more atmospheric and evocative. This tuning encourages exploration of open string harmonies and melodic phrases that weave through its resonant landscape, potentially inspiring new chord voicings and riff ideas that capitalize on its inherent brightness and openness.

Technical Analysis

The tuning features the following open string notes from low to high:

• String 6: E2
• String 5: G3#
• String 4: B2
• String 3: F4#
• String 2: B3
• String 1: E4

Compared to standard E A D G B E tuning, this setup maintains the low E (6th string) and the high B (2nd string) and E (1st string), providing familiar anchors. However, the middle strings are significantly altered:

• The 5th string is tuned to G3#, creating a major third interval with the low E, and an unexpected interval from its standard A2 position.
• The 4th string is tuned to B2, forming a perfect fifth with the low E, yet creating a wide, dissonant diminished fifth with the 5th string G3#.
• The 3rd string is tuned to F4#, a major second above the low E (two octaves higher), but creates a perfect fourth with the 4th string B2.

The resultant intervallic structure across the open strings (E2 - G3# - B2 - F4# - B3 - E4) creates a rich, complex harmonic texture that is both grounded in E Major but with extended qualities, offering a wide array of sonic possibilities.

Open Chords and Accessibility

When played open, the strings form an **E Major 9 (no 7th)** or **Emaj(add9)** chord: E-G#-B-F#-B-E. This chord sounds full and inspiring immediately, offering a strong harmonic foundation. Due to the open E and B strings, power chords centered around E and B will be readily available and powerful. The presence of the G# and F# creates opportunities for bright, major-key melodic phrases and arpeggios that resonate beautifully.

However, the non-standard intervals on the middle strings (specifically the G3# on the 5th string, B2 on the 4th, and F4# on the 3rd) will require rethinking traditional chord shapes. Standard barre chords and common open chord voicings will need significant adjustment or re-fingering to adapt to these altered intervals. This aspect encourages players to explore new shapes and voicings that capitalize on the open strings and the unique relationships between them, potentially leading to fresh and innovative musical ideas distinct from standard tuning.

How to Tune Eleventwelfth's Echo Tuning

To achieve Eleventwelfth's Echo Tuning, you will adjust your guitar strings from standard tuning (E-A-D-G-B-e) as follows. For movements exceeding 4 semitones up or down, considering a different string gauge is generally advised to maintain string tension and integrity, though this tuning mostly involves smaller adjustments.

String 6 (Low E): Tune to E2. Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).

String 5 (A string): Tune to G3#. Tune down 1 semitones.

String 4 (D string): Tune to B2. Tune down 3 semitones.

String 3 (G string): Tune to F4#. Tune down 1 semitones.

String 2 (B string): Tune to B3. Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).

String 1 (High e): Tune to E4. Keep as is; no change (0 semitones).