C4, part 3

 

It may be time to move a couple of tunings between instruments.  That's never occurred.  

Since day 1 of the 36-string, the right side has always been in E contra octave/unison tuning.  The left side is always in a pretty dense intervallic tuning that includes Major and minor ninths, sevenths, and seconds.  This makes for a wide range of contrasts between the two necks, with the left side being in a tuning aimed more at harmonic cluster structures, and the right side being sonorous and open.  In terms of my tunings, although they are in the same registers, the two tunings on the 36 are like black and white, and could not be more different.  

While the 36's tuning arrangement provides extremes of contrast and variation, I'd estimate that 90% of my playing on the 36 occurs on the left side using the dense cluster-based tuning.

Contraguitar C4 is tuned to contra E.  As is the right side of the 36-string Double Contraguitar: same tuning in the same register.  Originally, C4's E contra tuning was all octaves and intervals, like the tuning on the right side of the 36.   Even though I had the same E contra tuning on two different instruments, the fabric and texture of these two instruments were very different, as they each have different voices.  

At the moment, C4 is in a hybrid tuning which I discussed in this blog post.  It's a beautiful sound.  It's akin to taking some of the courses from the left side of the 36, and dropping them into the middle of the right side of the 36.  It's a very intriguing tuning, but I'm finding that's it not really the harmonic environment I want on this instrument.  C4's voice is very open and resonant.  The 36's voice is more focused and direct, and almost compressed in comparison to C4.  That's not a bad thing, as all acoustic instruments have their own voice and no two sound the same.  I love both equally.  However, I think C4's voice is more welcoming to the rich bloom of its original octave/unison tuning.

Setting up a second intervallic tuning on the right side of the 36 would be a very similar approach to the setup on both the 28-string Double Contraguitar and and 24-string Double Subcontraguitar.   Those instruments have both necks in the same register, with the 28 in E contra and the 24 in D subcontra, but two different intervallic tunings.  This enables me to move between necks on the 24 and 28 and maintain the harmonic structure and environments I'm creating in any given piece at any time.  If the 36's two tunings are black and white, then imagine the tuning on the 24 to be blue and orange, and the tunings on the 28 to be yellow and purple.  Differing; yet complementary colors.  If on the 36 I'm using the left side 90% of the time, then I'd estimate on the 24 and 28 that I'm using the left side 55% to 60% of the time.  Side note: On the doubleneck instruments, I've found that there is always one of the two tunings to which I gravitate more than the other, and that tuning always goes on the left neck.

Ergo, setting up the right side of the 36 with a complementary intervallic tuning will provide a pallet that is perhaps richer than the current one, but certainly one that will be utilized more as I've discovered on the 24 and 28.  

Additionally, doing so will bring a new intervallic tuning that I've not had.  I'll create a new tuning for the right side of the 36 that's not yet existed.  Therefore, I'm not only changing the harmonic colors on the 36, but essentially inventing an entirely new color in the process.  

This is going to impact how I perceive and use the 36.  It's my primary instrument, so I'm excited about starting on this project.

More to come.

-kk