Tuning Overview: Yvette Young's Blossom (GBDADE) Tuning

This unique guitar tuning, identified as GBDADE, is famously utilized in Yvette Young's intricate song "Blossom." It's designed to be played with a capo placed on the 3rd fret, which shifts the open string pitches higher and contributes to its characteristic bright and ringing quality.

Verbal Analysis

The GBDADE tuning offers a distinct sonic landscape, moving away from conventional guitar tunings to provide a more open and resonant feel. It maintains the highest string (E) at its standard pitch, which can provide a familiar anchor for melodic lines, while the lower strings are significantly altered. The overall feel is bright, expansive, and harmonically rich, perfectly suited for the intricate fingerstyle and tapping techniques often associated with Yvette Young's music. The specific adjustments create a suspended and open sound that invites arpeggiated melodic lines and complex voicings.

Technical Analysis

• Open String Notes: The tuning presents the following open notes from low to high: G2, B2, D3, A3, D4, E4.
• Harmonic Structure:
  • The lowest three strings (G2, B2, D3) form an open G Major chord. This provides a strong, clear harmonic foundation from the bass register.
  • The presence of repeated 'D' notes (D3 on the 4th string and D4 on the 2nd string) along with an 'A' (A3 on the 3rd string) creates an open, resonant quality, lending itself well to suspended and extended chord voicings.
  • The full open string set (G-B-D-A-D-E) does not form a simple conventional chord but rather a rich, complex harmony. It can be interpreted as a Gmaj9sus4(add13) type sound, suggesting a sophisticated, airy, and somewhat ethereal character ideal for ambient and progressive styles.
• Chordal Opportunities:
  • Open G Major: Easily achievable by strumming strings 6, 5, and 4.
  • D Sus2 / D5: Strings 4, 3, and 2 (D-A-D) naturally form a Dsus2 or D5 chord, offering a neutral yet full sound that can be easily incorporated into melodic phrases.
  • This tuning is particularly conducive to fingerstyle playing, where individual notes can be articulated to create complex arpeggios and melodic patterns. The open string harmonies invite exploration of upper extensions and suspensions, making it versatile for intricate compositions.
• Capo Application: With the capo on the 3rd fret, the effective open notes become A#2 (Bb2), D3, F3, C4, F4, G4. This further brightens the sound and shifts the tonal center to a new, higher key, providing a fresh harmonic palette for composition and improvisation.

Open String Notes

• 6th String (Low E): Tuned to G2
• 5th String (A): Tuned to B2
• 4th String (D): Tuned to D3
• 3rd String (G): Tuned to A3
• 2nd String (B): Tuned to D4
• 1st String (High e): Tuned to E4

How to Tune (from Standard EADGBe)

To achieve the GBDADE tuning from standard EADGBe, follow these string adjustments. Pay close attention to the number of semitones each string needs to be adjusted using a reliable tuner.

• 6th String (Low E): Start from E2. Tune up 3 semitones to G2.
• 5th String (A): Start from A2. Tune up 2 semitones to B2.
• 4th String (D): Start from D3. Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). It remains D3.
• 3rd String (G): Start from G3. Tune up 2 semitones to A3.
• 2nd String (B): Start from B3. Tune up 3 semitones to D4.
• 1st String (High e): Start from E4. Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). It remains E4.

Important Tuning Note: When tuning strings up or down by more than 4 semitones (either positive or negative), it is generally advisable to consider using a different gauge string set to prevent excessive tension or looseness, which could damage your guitar or cause tuning instability. For this specific tuning, all adjustments are within a safe range for standard string gauges.