Verbal Analysis

This unique GGCGBE tuning, famously featured in Kurt Vile's 'Blackberry song,' offers a truly distinctive sonic landscape. It leans into a rich, open, and slightly melancholic character, perfect for creating vast, atmospheric soundscapes and shimmering arpeggios. The doubled low G strings provide a powerful drone foundation, giving the tuning a robust, full-bodied feel that is both earthy and ethereal. As the original description aptly puts it, it's "flippin sick" and provides a creative playground for open chord voicings and melodic improvisation, especially suited for indie rock, folk, and ambient styles where resonance and texture are key.

Technical Analysis

Open String Notes:

G2 G2 C3 G3 B3 E4

Interval Relationships (6th to 1st String):

• 6th (G2) to 5th (G2): Unison (P1)
• 5th (G2) to 4th (C3): Perfect 4th (P4)
• 4th (C3) to 3rd (G3): Perfect 5th (P5)
• 3rd (G3) to 2nd (B3): Major 3rd (M3)
• 2nd (B3) to 1st (E4): Perfect 4th (P4)

Open Chord Voicing:

When strummed open, this tuning produces a rich Gsus4(add6) chord, consisting of G (root), C (suspended 4th), B (major 3rd), and E (major 6th), with the G doubled at the lowest registers (G-C-E-G-B-E). This rich, complex voicing offers immediate harmonic depth. The presence of the C and E alongside the G and B provides a bright, ringing quality. The tuning also allows for easy access to C Major sonorities, effectively functioning as a C/G (C Major over a G bass) if the lower G is emphasized.

The standard G-B-E on the upper three strings keeps familiar melodic patterns accessible, while the altered lower strings push players into new harmonic territories, encouraging drone-based playing and wide-interval voicings. The unison low G strings create a powerful, sustained resonance, while the subsequent Perfect 4th and Perfect 5th intervals open up vast, ethereal soundscapes for fingerstyle or strumming. The Major 3rd and Perfect 4th on the higher strings contribute to a bright, chime-like quality, making it versatile for both rhythmic accompaniment and melodic lead lines.

How to Tune to GGCGBE

This section outlines the string adjustments required to achieve the 'Kurt Vile Blackberry song' tuning from standard E Standard tuning (E2-A2-D3-G3-B3-E4).

• 6th String (Low E) to G2: Tune up 3 semitones. This brings your E2 string up to G2. Please exercise care when tuning up 3 semitones, as this is a significant tension increase.
• 5th String (A) to G2: Tune down 2 semitones. This brings your A2 string down to G2.
• 4th String (D) to C3: Tune down 2 semitones. This brings your D3 string down to C3.
• 3rd String (G) to G3: Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). Your G3 string remains G3.
• 2nd String (B) to B3: Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). Your B3 string remains B3.
• 1st String (High E) to E4: Keep as is; no change (0 semitones). Your E4 string remains E4.