FACFAF Guitar Tuner
FACFAF Facfaf - Guitar tuning, chords & scales
This tuning, often associated with artists like The Tallest Man on Earth, is a rich and resonant open F Major tuning. It transforms the standard guitar into a powerful chordal instrument, allowing for full, ringing harmonies with minimal effort. The F-A-C-F-A-F sequence provides a bright, folky, and sometimes melancholic sound, perfect for fingerpicking arpeggios or strumming wide, open chords. Its drone-like quality on the low F and high F, coupled with the open A and C notes, creates a sympathetic resonance that truly sings.
Technical Analysis
This is a true Open F Major tuning. When strummed open, all six strings form an F Major chord (F-A-C). The notes are:
- String 6 (Low E): F2 (Root)
- String 5 (A): A2 (Major Third)
- String 4 (D): C3 (Perfect Fifth)
- String 3 (G): F3 (Octave Root)
- String 2 (B): A3 (Octave Major Third)
- String 1 (High E): F4 (Double Octave Root)
The repetition of the F-A-C triad across different octaves provides a full, harmonically complete sound. This arrangement makes it incredibly easy to play F Major and related chords simply by barring across frets. Sliding a single finger bar up the neck will give you all major chords, a common technique in open tunings. Minor chords or dominant chords can be easily achieved with slight finger modifications from a barred position.
How to Tune
To achieve the 'facfaf' tuning, you will adjust your strings from standard E Standard tuning (E-A-D-G-B-e) as follows:
- String 6 (Low E): Tune up 1 semitones to F2.
- String 5 (A): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) at A2.
- String 4 (D): Tune down 2 semitones to C3.
- String 3 (G): Tune down 2 semitones to F3.
- String 2 (B): Tune down 2 semitones to A3.
- String 1 (High E): Tune up 1 semitones to F4.
Important Note: While the string movements for this tuning are relatively small, generally tuning up 3 or 4 semitones or down more than 4 semitones from standard pitch may put excessive tension or looseness on your strings, respectively. For such extreme changes, a different gauge string set is often advised to maintain playability and avoid potential damage to your instrument or strings. Always tune slowly and carefully.
String 6 (Low E String): F2
String 5 (A String): A2
String 4 (D String): C3
String 3 (G String): F3
String 2 (B String): A3
String 1 (High E String): F4
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Capos for FACFAF
Capo | Tuning | Name |
---|---|---|
-2 | D#GA#D#GD# | Open D Alt |
-1 | EG#BEG#E | Drop Mayfield |
0 | FACFAF | Facfaf |
1 | F#A#C#F#A#F# | Mayfield |
2 | GBDGBG | Open G Major |
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Tuning Map
- Fret
- S6
- S5
- S4
- S3
- S2
- S1
- -13
- D#
- G#
- C#
- F#
- A#
- D#
- -12
- E
- A
- D
- G
- B
- E
- -11
- F
- A#
- D#
- G#
- C
- F
- -10
- F#
- B
- E
- A
- C#
- F#
- -9
- G
- C
- F
- A#
- D
- G
- -8
- G#
- C#
- F#
- B
- D#
- G#
- -7
- A
- D
- G
- C
- E
- A
- -6
- A#
- D#
- G#
- C#
- F
- A#
- -5
- B
- E
- A
- D
- F#
- B
- -4
- C
- F
- A#
- D#
- G
- C
- -3
- C#
- F#
- B
- E
- G#
- C#
- -2
- D
- G
- C
- F
- A
- D
- -1
- D#
- G#
- C#
- F#
- A#
- D#
- 0
- E
- A
- D
- G
- B
- E
- 1
- F
- A#
- D#
- G#
- C
- F
- 2
- F#
- B
- E
- A
- C#
- F#
- 3
- G
- C
- F
- A#
- D
- G
- 4
- G#
- C#
- F#
- B
- D#
- G#
- 5
- A
- D
- G
- C
- E
- A
- 6
- A#
- D#
- G#
- C#
- F
- A#
- 7
- B
- E
- A
- D
- F#
- B
- 1
- 0
- -2
- -2
- -2
- 1