FCCACF Guitar Tuner

FCCACF Never Meant (mikes Part) - Guitar tuning, chords & scales

Description - Never Meant (mikes Part)

never meant never meant never meant never meant never meant never meant never meant

Tuning Analysis: Never Meant (Mike's Part)

This unique guitar tuning, known as Never Meant (Mike's Part), is famously associated with the iconic song of the same name by American Football. It represents a significant departure from standard E Standard tuning, crafting a distinctive sonic landscape that is characteristic of the emo and math rock genres. The tuning is specifically designed to facilitate open, resonant voicings, often favoring arpeggiated melodic lines and chimey, sustained textures.

Verbal Analysis

At its core, this tuning feels expansive and open, with a clear harmonic center. The lowest string is tuned to F2, providing a deep, rich foundation that extends below the standard E. The combination of notes across the open strings (F-C-C-A-C-F) immediately forms a clear F Major chord, essentially making this an 'open F' tuning. This means that simply strumming the open strings will yield a beautiful, full F Major sound, which is incredibly useful for creating lush backdrops or immediate harmonic impact without complex fingerings.

The presence of two adjacent C notes (C3 and C3) on the 5th and 4th strings creates a powerful, resonant drone effect in the mid-range. This can be exploited for rhythmic textures, sustained harmonic beds, or pedal tones. The irregular intervals between strings, such as the perfect 5th, unison, major 6th, minor 3rd, and perfect 4th, encourage players to explore beyond conventional chord shapes. This fosters a unique approach to the fretboard, inspiring unusual voicings and melodic patterns that are synonymous with the song it's named after, characterized by its intricate, intertwining guitar parts and clean, sparkling tones.

Technical Analysis

The open string notes are F2, C3, C3, A3, C4, F4 (from the lowest 6th string to the highest 1st string). This configuration can be analyzed as an F Major triad (F-A-C) with significant doubling of the root (F) and the fifth (C) across different octaves. Specifically, the harmonic structure is:

6th String: F2 (Root)
5th String: C3 (Fifth)
4th String: C3 (Fifth)
3rd String: A3 (Major Third)
2nd String: C4 (Fifth)
1st String: F4 (Root)

This tuning strongly emphasizes the F Major tonality, making it highly suitable for songs in F Major or related keys. The distinct intervals between the strings are as follows:

String 6 (F2) to String 5 (C3): Perfect 5th (7 semitones)
String 5 (C3) to String 4 (C3): Unison (0 semitones)
String 4 (C3) to String 3 (A3): Major 6th (9 semitones)
String 3 (A3) to String 2 (C4): Minor 3rd (3 semitones)
String 2 (C4) to String 1 (F4): Perfect 4th (5 semitones)

Open and Accessible Chords

Due to its open F Major structure, several chords and voicings are immediately available or easily reachable:

Open F Major: Strumming all strings open yields a rich, full F Major chord.
F Major Variations: Simple partial barres or single-finger fretting can create inversions or extensions of F Major chords across the neck.
C Major/C Sus: Given the strong presence of C notes, C Major or suspended C chords might be easily formed with minimal effort, especially if the A string is avoided or fretted to a G or G#.
Barre Chords: Barring all strings at a given fret will transpose the F Major chord up the neck. For example, a barre at the 1st fret would yield F# Major, at the 3rd fret a G# Major, and at the 5th fret, it would become a Bb Major chord (Bb-F-F-D-F-Bb, a Bb6 chord). This allows for easy transposition of the core F Major sound across the fretboard.

How to Tune

To achieve the 'Never Meant (Mike's Part)' tuning from standard E Standard tuning (E-A-D-G-B-E), follow these steps carefully. Please note the recommendations regarding string gauge for significant changes.

6th String (Low E): Tune up 1 semitone from E2 to F2. This is a moderate tension increase.
5th String (A): Tune up 3 semitones from A2 to C3. Exercise caution; this is a noticeable increase in tension.
4th String (D): Tune down 2 semitones from D3 to C3. This will reduce string tension.
3rd String (G): Tune up 2 semitones from G3 to A3. This is a moderate tension increase.
2nd String (B): Tune up 1 semitone from B3 to C4. This is a moderate tension increase.
1st String (High e): Tune up 1 semitone from E4 to F4. This is a moderate tension increase.

Important Note: Generally, when tuning a string up or down by 4 or more semitones, it is advisable to consider using a different gauge string to maintain optimal string tension, intonation, and string life. For this specific tuning, the 5th string's 3-semitone increase is on the higher side but typically manageable with standard gauge strings. Always perform these changes slowly and check your intonation after any significant tuning adjustments.

Open String Notes: