The guitar's standard tuning - EXPLAINED

[@ServingMyJesus]

For decades I have wondered why the top two strings are not F & C. Thank you so much for this precise and clear explanation.

[@stevenjones6780]

Apparently "Legato King" Tom Quayle tunes his guitar in straight 4th's like that, but I see him more as a single line player rather than a chord monster. Either way, he's about as fluid as can be like Alan Holdsworth was.

[@jmoffitt36]

All 4th tunings can be cool for some stuff. Like model music since the scales/modes and triads have same shapes/patterns across the strings.

[@davidfung7902]

In this context, it’s really interesting to watch the old video by the late Emmett Chapman, inventor of the Chapman Stick, which is tuned in even intervals across the range, but adds the additional quirk of putting the largest gauges of string in the center of the neck. He loved the uniform intervals that allowed for a slightly wider reach for new chord voicings. I love the idea of it, but practically speaking, when I’ve had the chance to try one out, I find that the “bass” strings are fingered with the left hand, but the strings are flipped from thing to thicker. And the five “guitar” strings are tuned in equal intervals (instead of the asymmetrical B string) and played with the wrong hand.

[@thegreatgambeeno]

Some older string instruments tuned to 4ths. Imagine the dude that figured out how to make barre chords easier along the way. Probably had some others all like, "nah man, these kids with their drop tuning, they don't even know how to really play." Just like, well, some guitarists do today XD

[@isomeme]

@@thegreatgambeeno , when the second person hit a rock with a stick, the first person told them they were doing it wrong.

[@InfoInContext]

This has got to be one of the best videos explaining music theory and illustrating the reasoning behind the fretboard I’ve seen in over 40 years. Thank you for explaining it so thoroughly!

[@beesoftheinvisible4021]

@@InfoInContext absolutely agree.

[@krisspkriss]

I am curious why you like this video. Is it learning about the circle of fifths, the pentatonic scale, or how he put a color wheel on the notes. I can solo through utilizing scales and modes of those scales, or through justy adding passing notes between the chord tones. I fail to see how the color coding helps in either regard. When he imposed the CAGED chord system over the fretboard, I failed to see how it added anything but confusion. To each their own and if it works for you, then I can't knock it much. I just don't see how any of this is easier than just memorizing the notes on the fretboard. Beyond that learning the fretboard is all memorizing patterns for triads, inversions, and relative motion between chords. I just don't see how it helps there either. Anywho, I was just wondering if anyone has the time and patience to explain what I am missing. With 40 people agreeing that this is the bee's knees, I suspect I am missing something.

[@InfoInContext]

@@krisspkriss hi 👋🏼- you’re right, people learn differently, that is always ok. For some people memorizing helps them make sense of how something works. That’s perfectly fine. Others prefer to see how and why it works - what’s the story or rationale behind it (whichever way that resonates with them) for them to expand their knowledge of a particular subject. I like how he explained because of the analytical way I like to learn. By helping me visualize the science and the ergonomics, it opened my understanding not only for the guitar, but for other similar strings instruments. In short it made it more fun to learn - for me. Hope this answers your question. Take care!

[@krisspkriss]

@@InfoInContext Thank you!

[@J-B-Free]

Connection between circle of fifths , pentatonic scale and color wheel….Mind Blown!! Thanks

[@michaelprozonic]

but totally meaningless. it has nothing to do with why the strings are tuned the way they are.

[@ole-helliklobben-seth143]

I use all 4ths tuning, and have used that as my regular tuning for about two years now. I think some people think of it as kind of limited or kinda like a "gimmik", like Tom Quayle for legato stuff. But I have found that especially as a jazz musician that you break out of that approach after a while, and really find that you can do almost the same stuff as with regular tuning. Its has really just everything to do with your creativity rather than tuning. I have just found that all 4ths makes learning and playing from ear more intuitive. Also you lose almost all of standard repertoire for the guitar, but that's something I wanted on purpose, breaking away from that standard "guitar sound" that can be hard to get away from. Since I´ve realized that I can't play the normal stuff anyways, I now tune in this tuning: C# - F# - B - E - A - D Something that was inspired by a jazz guitarist called Karl Bjorå. He tunes in C# standard. I have just found that this lower tuning resonates better with both me and the guitar. Hope that this helps the small audience who have thought about making these changes

[@DannyHood-j]

Are you sure tuning C# F#, B, E ,A and D? C# standard tuning doesn’t make sense to me. Nor does E flat standard, or E standard, or B standard nor G standard nor D standard tuning. There is ONLY ONE STANDARD TUNING? Tuning to piano. Guitar notes match piano. Half step lower is NOT standard tuning to me. Half step lower on 6 sting you could call E flat tuning. Van Halen Jimi Hendricks Steve ray Vaughn etc are usually tuned half step low. But I have NO reason to call drop D tuning or C # tuning STANDARD. (into the void) tuning. I’ll never call standard tuning.. I tune my guitar through tuner (set on Standard) or to ‘piano’ is standard tuning to me. Simple. Whole step down D tuning wouldnt be Drop D tuning and neither one should be called STANDARD tuning.

[@DannyHood-j]

Half step low tuning or E flat tuning Is NOT E flat STANDARD TUNING. Your tuned E flat not STANDARD. STANDARD should be simple understanding. Standard tuning where piano play C chord And you rip through C scale A min it matches. After warming up on MUSICAL finger exorcisms

[@forderf]

@@DannyHood-j standard just means the intervals between the strings are the same as normal e standard tuning. So if you were to say e flat standard tuning it means that every note goes flat, but it’s still “standard” because the distance between the notes that the open strings play is the same. If you were to tune to e flat standard and put a capo on the first fret you’ll be back to regular standard tuning. It’s all the same

[@sotvrno93]

​@@forderfdidnt knew about that. Thanks

[@timrichard]

@@ole-helliklobben-seth143 Me too... I wanted to break out of the cliché licks I kept repeating, and make it easier to improvise. And cut down on all the pattern memorisation... No Caged or similar systems. I tuned to EADGCF, but didn't like the extra tension when bending the top two strings. So now I'm Eb Ab Db Gb B E.

[@gordonmitchell729]

Excellent explanation. Thank you for teaching a 77 year old muso who has never starved because of the guitar, and, as my wife says, my voice that has made it possible to always earn dinner for our family. I play rhythm guitar and because I always sang lead singer, I never studied playing lead patterns. I’m struggling a bit these days but I am enjoying trying to catch up. 🖖👀

[@Scottocaster6668]

Great graphics while you explain👍🏻 My remembering the string names: E very A sshole D eserves (to) G et B eat (up) E ventually Idk, it worked for me 😆

[@sylv-tc8uj]

😂

[@FurtiveSkeptical]

Eddie Ate Dynamite Good Bye Eddie.💥🎸🎶

[@kingofkleen1]

🤣😂

[@fmphotooffice5513]

Aside from an honestly clunky ~2 minutes at the beginning, this is a WONDERFUL presentation, perfectly edited and displayed. The previews of the +1000 pages of PDFs also look promising. Regards.

[@isomeme]

I'm a pianist, and I had always wondered about that odd kink in the guitar's perfect-4th tuning pattern. Thanks for explaining it! I tend to forget that practical considerations can be more important than idealized symmetry. 🙂

[@DannyHood-j]

Perfect fourth tuning? I don’t even know what that is? I tune guitar to piano (standard tuning often.). The notes on guitar match notes on you piano. If you ripped through C scale from lowest to highest on piano I could only go 3 octaves. On 24 frets. If I played Stratocaster it be even less. It might be 3 octaves. Any player get more on 7 strings 24 fret. After adapting 7 strings. Whole month non stop. Don’t touch 6 string adapting 7 stings. If you play out clubs or parties for money. Dont get rid of it WAIT until you have weeks off play 7 string everyday. Now its no big deal i can switch

[@vince.inthevoid8158]

@@DannyHood-j this is bad advice. If you get a seven you can play it as well as any other instrument. If your goal is to only be able to play one specific instrument at a time I guess this would work but I think most people would rather be able to pick up any guitar and jam. Playing both instruments won’t magically make you forget things you’ve learned because the fret board is a little bit bigger on one. It will still take you time to get used to the 7 but playing your 6 will not make a lasting difference fast you acclimatize to the 7, but it can stunt your 6 playing. Especially if you’re new. Not playing your 6 string could just end up in you playing it sloppy because now your muscle memory for the last month straight has been trained to play bigger frets. Maybe this did work for you but most people won’t notice much of a difference moving to a 7. It’s just a little bit bigger. I really don’t get why you refused to touch your 6 for weeks. Also the straight piano tuning is really just going to stunt your playing. You can’t play most songs with chords because you don’t have the notes staggered. You can’t play most non chord based riffs because you would needlessly be jumping up and down the board in between each note. I’m sure you could write your own stuff in this tuning and it could definitely still sound good, it’s just very limited. There also the fact that your guitar will now have significantly less notes on it. So that means your music will now have a limited progression.

[@dmoore0079]

@DannyHood-j Perfect 4ths refers to the interval between the open strings. The B string breaks the pattern.

[@isomeme]

@dmoore0079 , another way to think of a perfect 4th interval is as 5 half-steps. So for example if you start at E, then moving 5 half-steps up from there hits the notes F, F#, G, G#, A. So A is a perfect 4th above E, and indeed the two lowest open strings of a guitar in standard tuning are E and A. It's easier to visualize intervals on a piano, where each key is a half-step above its neighbor to the left. So to find the 4th of E you can just play E and then play keys up from there, counting until you reach 5. All the intervals have unique half-step counts. The octave is 12, the perfect 5th is 7, the minor 3rd is 3, and so forth.

[@TheWooTubes]

The Perfect Fourth is the confusing name for 5 semi-tones. A Perfect Fifth is 7 semi-tones. That's the 'distance' (interval) from the 1st to the 4th/5th notes of any major scale. 2-2-1 or 2-2-1-2.

[@michaellombard894]

Every Alcoholic Drinks Gin Before Eating

[@minhuang8848]

Ein Anfänger Der Gitarre Hat Eier

[@WraithBlackthorn]

So now you have to remember 32 letters instead of six?

[@gothael]

Eh, don't care for that one.

[@gothael]

​@@minhuang8848 no, that's not quite right.

[@bellachi9575]

I’ve played guitar for 67years (self taught). This is the first explanation I’ve seen that is articulated masterfully. Thank you!!

[@GlenProwle]

That is the best explanation i have seen on how the guitar is arranged, circle of fifths and all that. Thanks Mike!

[@bryanramer6439]

I've been playing guitar for 20 years and have known music theory just as long. Because of your excellent video , I can now visualize a few new correlations and patterns that I didn't even know existed until now

[@tosh96]

I just wanted to say that this is the best explanation covering standard tuning and the circle of fifths that I have come across. The visualisations make it so easy to understand. Thank you! 🙏🏼

[@gregh5521]

Over many years, I tried to understand the fretboard. You made it much more understandable. I played for quite a while and tried unsuccessfully to play guitar. This will really help.

[@hiphopchild9540]

A) get a cheap keyboard in a toy store ( 10 bucks max, it needs to be in tune thought) it's easier to understand the theory on a piano keyboard, it lays there in a linear fashion UNLIKE guitar. B) think of the guitar nut as a sixth finger...meaning EADGBE is a E chord (a weird one but a chord) hence the barre chords... C) music theory is simple mathematics, really , 12 items and a set of discriminating rules : if Jack and Peter are in the same room they will fight, so you can never invite those two in the same group (scale). You have to choose. Peter or Jack. 3) building chords: when you done set the group (a.k.a scale) with ONE simple discriminating rule you can build little harmonious groups : Jack, Frank , Maurice and Janet can go along , then Paul, Robert and Janet they are ok but if Frank is here Robert has to go, unless you want to "ruin" the party kind of...Peter can't get along with any of that group, plus him and Jack will for sure fight. don't give up, there's no bad students only bad teacher

[@Toadbabe]

Awesome video. I have been playing the guitar for over 40 years and you hit the nail on the head at 7:10 that the shift in the bottom two strings has always been bothering me. My guitar teacher simply said it’s so you can play bar chords, which didn’t satisfy me because that might explain one string, but not both. I finally understand - thank you!!!

[@lexfunk]

I love you, man. Never has this been explained in such a clear, concise and relatable way before (for me at least). You have yourself a new follower. I wish I would have seen this many moons ago. Thanks!

[@RicardoMarlowFlamenco]

Juan Bermudo, circa 1550s, said the “guitarra” which was like the modern ukulele at the time, or strings 1-4 only of a modern guitar with a capo around 3rd fret or higher, was the same idea as the “vihuela” (basically a Spanish 6 string lute), with an added bass string and treble string. So vihuela=guitar with 2 added strings. These were thought of as idea for intabulating vocal music (motets that had 5 or 6 vocal parts typically). That gives a similar tuning to ours, EADF#BE (capoed at 3 or higher). Only the third string is different. He also said to glue the frets in position for the shitty singers of the time (frets were tied by string and could move to better intonate the instrument as desired), basically at what we call Equal temp today (!!!! 470 years before Cher used auto tune!!!😂). One of Bermudo’s buddies, Luis de Venegas realized a few years later, that the Vihuela tuned lower (take off the capo) was better for catching ALL the vocal motets he encountered (the range of human voices perfectly matched with a standard pitch modern guitar, in other words, with third string tuned down to F#). So they liked the body style of the guitar better, and it was WAY cheaper to make guitars than Vihuela, so over time they added strings BELOW (starting with 5th being A) and finally 6 in the 1800s (took for ever to reinvent the E pitch vihuela), but we keep the 3rd at G instead of F#. So the real answer as to why the guitar is tuned and pitched like it is, is because of the range of the HUMAN VOICE.

[@robertbernardo783]

I suggest that you make a video of this explanation. It is good! Thank you for your insight.

[@robertspearko8809]

Don't forget hands

[@mal2ksc]

It also was impractical at the time to tune any HIGHER because they just couldn't make good enough strings to deal with more tension than the high E. This is still a little bit of a problem, although 12-string sets have an octave G which is higher, and Robert Fripp's New Standard Tuning switched from a G at the top to an A once suitable strings became available. (Now CGDAEA).

[@briandonaldson612stringgui8]

Exactly, and there is no devil involved. Do more research. Also, if one changes the G string to F#, one will get Renaissance tuning just like a lute. JMHO

[@davidalder6558]

Elephants And Donkeys Grow Big Ears ! Excellent explanation of the fret board Mike. Thank you for your effort. Keep up the great work. Dave

[@robwagner7545]

My first instrument was violin, so I couldn't understand why the tuning wasn't consistent, string to string. Then, I got to barre chords and knew functional why. This video helps understand the theory behind it. Brilliant!

[@tl3ss]

@@robwagner7545 if you haven’t already, look into tenor guitars. Most are tuned similar to instruments in the violin family - octave down violin tuning (GDAE) or viola (CGDA). I understand the practical reasons behind standard E guitar tuning, but always struggled with it due to it throwing off the “grid” due to the B string major third interval. Playing a tenor guitar for the first time was a revelation. Everything makes so much more sense (to me, everyone is different obviously.)

[@tomdaoust]

Excellent explanation with terrific graphics. Nice work. I don't think more than 1 in a hundred guitar players understands the brilliance of standard guitar tuning. Now I'm one of those 1 in a hundred. Thanks.

[@ianstephenson6596]

I have beeb studying and learning Piano for a year - I have now moved to the Guitar - I have been perplexed by the layout of the neck and strings - I have searched everywhere for - WHY ! your video is perfect - thankyou - at last an explanation and extremely well explained

[@GilbertGryfud-mu3zi]

Once the scales are in the circle you refer to say, BD&E, are “related” but I don’t how those next to each other are related. Amazing teacher, you are!

[@IvanCronyn]

@@GilbertGryfud-mu3zi Yeah, I’d also like to know what you meant by related … this is the bit I’m stuck on

[@CelticTexican]

Thanks! This explains so much of how it all is tied together. Great video. At my age however, I’ll have to rewatch it several times.

[@chrish931]

Great explanation, meanwhile I've been playing in various open tunings and DADGAD so long I forget sometimes standard exist.

[@DaMillennial]

Omg! This deserves more reach! Seen so many video none of them made it this easy to understand everything!

[@johnnyz7752]

Very informative, and your graphics really supported your explanation. ❤

[@AaronSegalMD]

Fun lesson. Pneumonic ("noo-mon-ik") = related to the lungs Mnemonic ("ne-mon-ik") = a memory aid using a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations

[@BeefVellington]

@@AaronSegalMD lol

[@hegemonycricket2182]

@@AaronSegalMD i think autocorrect did you dirty

[@jakefriesenjake]

@@AaronSegalMD not "new-mon-ik"?

[@AaronSegalMD]

@@jakefriesenjake new-mon-ik would still be the lung word... Pneumonic

[@gdn101]

In the first example, Johnny gets sick and dies.

[@Randomstuff77654]

This video was so full of useful information I’m going to watch it at least 3 times to absorb it. Thank you!!

[@TheOKellys]

Excellent video. Your graphics kill it. Well done!

[@mrvideotape8911]

Great explanation and visuals! I have been teaching myself how to playforr just a few months. this is first video I've seen on music theory that doesn't make me feel like they are speaking another language.

[@virtualobject]

That's what you call quality content. Literally marvelous.

[@docmupsy]

These are brilliant observations! For me, being given the "big picture" , at least, quells the myriad of 'whys? ' & makes patterns and systems meaningful. Now, who came up with this back in history?

[@douglaspate9314]

Mike; this is BRILLIANT! Thank you I have always asked this question and no-one has been able to give me an answer I could accept

[@Tipledan]

great stuff. its been decades since i learned this but never seen it so well done other than mel bay did it.

[@marksnyder1215]

Thanks never had it explained in such a practical way 😊

[@brianbrino4310]

Thank you sooo much for your kind effort and help!

[@draughonc]

Wow, this is cool. 51 and just learning guitar. Very helpful to understand the Why.

[@danialm8122]

your animation is already in my head but i can't explain to people. I will use your video to explain this.

[@K22channel]

I follow many good guitar authors.. Paul Davis.. Jack Lizzo...Richy Beato .. etc etc but this is the first time I have heard such a fact about the meccanic of the guitar👍👍👍👍thank you so much

[@clamum9648]

Thanks for the video. Also picked up the PDFs; I've been wanting something that'll show me what chords go together, I'm really musically dumb and the PDFs look really nice.

[@ShawnMathew-n9f]

Wow... Now it all makes sense... This is brilliant! 🎉

[@charlesford157]

Mine is now "Eat All Day Get Bowel Explosion". At least for now. Great explanation, it makes imperfect sense.

[@hellraiser361]

Great lesson mate… I was hanging on your every word. Well done

[@johnharpdalton4092]

Ive been playing EADGCF since the 1970s. Dan Armstrong suggeated it to me when we used to jam at his home in London. It has a few advantages.

[@Necrodave]

I have watched a few videos on this now and holy crapola.. Something about the way you linked the concepts together, with the shapes and colours was just *penny drop*. Finally feel like I "get" it now and it's not just some abstract concept 🎉

[@darrylhubbard931]

@Mike George>>> Your animation is brilliant, I need to watch this video again and again until I get it drilled into my thick skull. Fantastic teaching there Mr. Mike you have a new subscriber... Cheers from Canada

[@nomadexplorer6682]

Brilliant decoding ! Guitar mysteries are well explained. The lesson has strengthened me. Thanks Mike.

[@PeterLucibelli]

I've been playing way too long and never realized or had this explained the way you just did it. Unbelievable.

[@souravdasmusic]

Elephant and donkeys grow big ears

[@JackT13]

Arctic Days Grow Colder Every Afternoon (5th fret)

[@avi4767]

That's close to mine, "elephant and dogs got big ears"

[@larryh.5229]

@@souravdasmusic I learned with "dogs".

[@esobrev]

when i was very young my cousin said "elephants and dogs have big ears" and he must've misspoke, because i remembered that for years until i learned guitar in high school and i realized something was up, theres no H key. So I replaced it with "got" and that's why to me the mnemonic device is elephants and dogs got big ears.

[@siQtwitch-k5r]

eadgbe is still the easiest

[@pharmerdavid1432]

First time here, and at the beginning I almost left thinking "this is just beginner stuff", but then I watched the rest and was treated to my best guitar lesson ever!

[@Max-ys1dw]

Holy moly. This is a fantastic video. Thank you!

[@justmusicart725]

Really good stuff. I love the animated visuals to highlight the relations. Surprisingly simple and clear to the point. Thumbs up

[@iandiandi]

Brilliantly insightful, and if anything, makes the guitar even more fascinating than it already is. Thank you!

[@bilbobaggins5704]

Within the harmonic relationship of the circle of fifths is an interesting fact, Starting with the note C, it's harmonic series of overtones are from fundamental to C-C-G-C-E-G-Bb the first 6 partials in the series make up the C major chord, the 7th partial creates a dominant 7th chord.(CEGBb) and this generally leads one to the next note in the circle of fifths.... F major. The note F has a directly proportional harmonic series with the 7th partial creating a F dominant 7th chord, leading to Bb major and so on around the circle.

[@thehiddenyogi8557]

I really appreciate standard tuning, and the more ways I can learn to look at it, the more I appreciate it. However, you lost me when you were talking about the colors. But I will rewatch it again and hopefully catch your point. Yes, truly, music is geometry. A very interesting geometry indeed. I appreciate the elegance of standard tuning. The maximum of circle of fourths, tempered with the least amount of adjustment for diatonic forms, but with the most effect. I invented, or discovered, or rediscovered, an alternate tuning for playing Irish Traditional Music. Most Irish music is in modes of Dmaj pentatonic, so I tune the G down to an F#. I can also drop the low E to a low D. Although I keep it E for E dorian tunes sometimes. Dmaj69 chord. In standard tuning, if you simply tune the G down to an F# you actually transpose that kink a fourth down, which works well with Irish music, and probably an interesting tuning for all guitarists to check out. It is fun playing tunes in what I call "E dorian pentatonic." That is the dorian mode of the D maj pentatonic starting on the E....

[@3eye-hatrick]

Eat All Day Get Big Easy.. courtesy of D. Marks, literally, words to live by from a great guitar teacher. And thx for showing this note pattern easy to visualize, maybe this will help when I move a key sharp or flat on the board

[@marverickbin]

I like to think that the small shift to E and B is to restart the circle without passing to all 12 notes, so serves to add repetition. Thinking in 7 string guitar, it also has the lower B, so both are repetition. You need repetition to play chords on all strings. Specially because the guitar has more strings than we have fingers. Also, when we play a harmony that goes on the fifth circles, we usually dont go all way in the circle, there is always a shortcut.

[@p2w383]

Hey thank you very much you gave me a better insight of why the guitar is really built as it is. Hope this comment boosts you in the algorithm.

[@moatazelleithy3067]

I think it is easier than that, as the concept of the circles wasn't discovered maybe at the time they made the oud then the lute in which the guitar later came from I think the idea was to start setting the 6th string on E2 and put your hand on the fret board (which is known as the 1st position) you will find that you can only have four fingers on the frets (Duh). this 4th fret will be G2#. so set the next string to what comes after the G2# which is A2 (you will note that the 5th fret in the E2 string is A2 the same as the next string and I think this is why it is marked by a dot in the classical guitar) and you go on with that up to the shift after the G3 string) with this Idea you will find that just in the first position (using four fingers and the open strings) going from the top to bottom you have the notes up to the 12th fret in all of the E2 string,A2 string, D3 string, G3 string. and in the B3 string will have up to 9th fret notes. something also to be noted that the 7th fret is always the second fret on the next string down (I mean from E2 down to E4) and the 9th fret will be the 4th fret of the next string. as for the shift I think it came As you said for the chords as the guitar came from the Oud instrument and in Arabic music there are no chords. noting that Oud is set from C2 to C4(CFADGC) or from F2 to F4 (FADGCF) there was no shift I don't know about the lute which is also derived from the Oud but maybe the shift started there to allow for the chords.

[@RodriguezCarlitos-hd7ti]

Each Added Dollar Gets Betty Earings...persoanally I do well viewing things from a kids perspective when learning. It keeps things fun and fresh! But I always appreciate other perspectives! Thanks for the video!

[@WEdHarris]

One of the best explanations out there!! Thank you so much for doing this! I learned something today!

[@mikathegaything]

Basses are actually tuned in perfect 4ths all the way through, a 4 string is usually EADG, a 5 string is BEADG (still following the pattern of perfect 4ths), and a 6 string is BEADGC so it's all tuned in perfect 4ths which is interesting that it's not tuned like a standard guitar would be

[@dharmendrathacker165]

Ohhhhhh Voooooowww..!!! This is the first time I came to know about the Construction and Anatomy of the Guitar Fretboard..!!! Thank you soooooo much for the very useful information. Lord Swaminarayan bless you and your family and your Team.

[@WildWoodlandsSW]

Fascinating. Thankyou,look forward to more.

[@philippe-skylerblue6478]

Yep, also it gives you more whole notes to play higher up on the neck. If you tune B and E to C and F you get your B and E closer to the body of the guitar.

[@smaxwell7585]

The tuning is staggered on the B string most likely becuase the D, G and B open is a triad G chord. So then long ago a three string instrument as a predecessor to the guitar , a strummed open or bar up the neck ( barre only if you are French ) would always be a major chord . The lower E and A strings would have been added to play bass notes , and like the G is a fourth up from the D , so would the D be a fourth from the added bass string A , and so on the A a fourth up from the low E. The high E was also added a fourth up from B string to be consistent for an instrument tuned in 4ths . Therefore the modern guitar is tuned in 4ths from string to string with the exception of the G and B string which is only this way for the open string tiad G , allowing bar chords up the neck on the original three string instrument. The design of fourths is similar to fifths on a violin , each string being a fifth higher , yet the violin has no open three string triad as the guitar which in turn leads the modern guitar to be tuned in 4ths , but with the b string offset by a half interval.

[@mal2ksc]

Barred minor chords make more sense, as it's a lot easier to put one finger in front of a bar than behind it. So I think it's the GBE triad that is primary, not DGB although that is extremely useful when it's time to show off with harmonics.

[@sfawsf]

Excellent and concise explanation.

[@nolancote3393]

The guitar is tuned that way so bar chords are louder. Not because of some pefect symmetry of color or shape. Also you can still play chords in pefect fourths they just a-rent as large and dont led themselves as well to strumming. Tune your guitar however you want if it means your have more fun

[@lougeorge]

Helping me to understand the fretboard; Thankyou so much!

[@anestmusic]

Nice. I also think it's worth noting the the top three strings are tuned to an Em chord while strings 2-4 are tuned to G. Since the guitar evolved as an accompaniment instrument, those easily accessible chords make a big difference (as you noted at the end).

[@TerryClarkAccordioncrazy]

Great explanation. I'd always wondered why the guitar doesn't perfectly follow the circle of 5ths like the accordion left side or bass guitar.

[@TexLogan-du2yi]

Wow, you made is sound simple. For years I thought it was arcanely complicated.

[@Windmi11]

So interesting visuals I have here. When you bar a c chord dead center of the neck fret 5 G position C chord is dead center in the middle which makes that middle C. I dunno if that makes any sense but it does to me and I never seen anyone mention it.

[@hectorestrada9677]

There it is, the pentatonic scale hidden in plain sight. This has been a revelation.

[@jamesjosephsewell1094]

Elvis ate drugs goodbye elvis

[@albertarguelles3262]

Everything is so clear now. I get it Awesome

[@PASHKULI]

Some str. instr are in what is wrongly assigned as "perfect fourths" , others (violin, cello, etc.) are in "perfect fifths". Now p4 and p5 are INVERSIONS to each other, so "fourths" are suited to harmony, whilst "fifths" are suited for melody (but not exclusively).

[@PeterOlschnerMusic]

Well said! I love having open string perfect fifths as a cellist because it sounds really rich and harmonious to play across multiple strings. Not as easy to fret chords on a cello, however! Definitely different muscle memory from guitar playing.

[@mal2ksc]

Robert Fripp's New Standard Tuning is entirely in fifths except for the highest string which he'd LIKE to be a high B but there aren't any strings up to the task so he compromises it to another A. CGDAEA.

[@mutangpadan5311]

I’ve been adopting, ‘Every Apple Does Go Bad Eventually,’ since.

[@albertarguelles3262]

Weemockaboe I get it. Wow what a cool way to think about this and remember the circle and the harmonic tones too. Thanks

[@mr7oclock346]

I really started appreciating standard tunning when I was finally physically capable of doing Barre Chords

[@kevinkummerfield2377]

amazing job! Very complex stuff you made easy to understand, tres bien!

[@Taylor-vz4ot]

i remembered the notes for standard tuning long before i started playing guitar. the reason for this is in high school a member of the guitar club would wear the guitar club's shirt regularly (at least twice a week) and it had the standard tuning printed on the back. it also just so happened that out of the four classes we had each day (we were on what's called Block Scheduling) i happened to have to walk behind him to three of my classes. so thank you random guitar club dude i never met in person, because i knew the tuning before i ever picked up the instrument XD

[@potors]

1:03 goodbye eddie! 👋👋

[@rzutyjenkin398]

E and B are the sounds of the thickest strings in a seven-string guitar, and there the 4ths based patern interval is also preserved. So the two thinnest strings can be considered as a repetition of a seven-string guitar's two thickest strings in the higher octaves. String duplication is a popular procedure to enrich the sound. And why did they add two thinner ones in the six-string guitar instead of going with the tuning lower? Most likely, it seemed impossible for them to achieve this on a classical instrument, or simply higher tones seemed more useful. It makes no sense to me, of course, but let's remember that back then they didn't know what an overdrive was, lol.

[@b00ts4ndc4ts]

You make learning easier and clear. Thanks

[@kevinlopez-nu6jo]

My brother and I came up with "Every Alcoholic Drinks Good Beer everyday"!

[@garysloan9793]

That's not true though, they drink cheap beer or harder drinks unless they're wealthy

[@elj3ster]

@@garysloan9793 then it will be: Every (wealthy) Alcoholic Drinks Good Bear Everyday

[@christianhoffman7407]

I do it both phonetically along with your technique. EAD like read or lead, then G and BE like being so it is EAD-G-BE. The 3rd fret Gold Could Fund Best Damn Guitar. The B here is flat like the symbol for flat is B. The 4th fret is AD-G-BE-A with all being flat except B which I remember by the lower case b being the symbol for flat. 5th fret is AD-G-CEA. Fret 6 BEAD-F-B and they are all flat -except for the F which is coincidentally the first letter in the word flat so I just note that on this fret it is the only one *not* flat.The 8th is Chicken Fried BE Good Chicken. I remember that the BE is flat here like the symbol for flat is a character that looks like a lower case B. Then the reversal on that I use for fret 9, Do Good BE A Darling with all being flat except the BE Then like the 10th fret is Dont Get Caught Fighting After Dark. I have others and there are a couple frets Im still working on but those are the easiest to explain. Using this guys charts I am memorizing it using all flats, there is nothing wrong with that. One day I'll go back and memorize it the other way.

[@garysloan9793]

@@elj3ster My identical twin brother is killing himself with alcohol, he has been to rehab four times this year, spending more time in rehab than out of it and after his fourth visit, he got out and smoked meth laced with fentanyl that stopped his heart, he would have died if his fellow drug user was not prepared with narcan. I don't know, alcoholism and drugs and all of that can be funny if you don't have any personal experience with it, but I think we're getting to the point in society. That is a huge enough issue that has impacted enough of us to that, I'm personally ready for society as a whole to decide that there is no amusement to be found when a word "alcoholic" is present

[@elj3ster]

@@garysloan9793 bruh, not everything revolves around you

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

German has a pretty useful mnemonic: Ein Anfänger Der Gitarre Hat Eifer (a beginner of guitar has eagerness) The big difference is that in the german scale A♯/B♭ is B and B is H.

[@gredangeo]

Neat. I didn't know there was a phrase for EADGBe. I learned the letters as it was. learning all the words for the entire sentence, seems like more work.

[@joncloutier9597]

Finally, music theory I can actually understand 🤔. A big THANK YOU. 🙂

[@limpneckmike]

I sometimes like to adjust the tuning of just one string, and sometimes it creates cool song ideas, sometimes it’s a disaster. Lately I’ve been tuning the G string up to A and you can make some pretty sounding chords with it.

[@AlanThomas-hp3fn]

Always wonder about the 3 interval shift on the second string. Now I know 61 years playing. Good explanation. PS I decided some folks way smater that I figured it out and I didn't need to reinvent the wheel.

[@Codge5]

Fine work Sir 👏

[@JolynBowler]

Thank you. A friend shared the link. Appreciate you. 💙🌻💙

[@sprrwprnts]

Mi Ti Sol Re La Mi still sit pretty tight in my brain, although I haven't played in years.

[@FredandChase]

Great video!! I essentially taught myself the guitar almost 40 years ago after taking about 5-6 1 hr lessons from a guy that taught me the basic pentatonic scale. I can’t read music with any sort of speed whatsoever. I just learned the patterns and practiced over and over and over. Thank you so much for explaining the science behind it!

[@Nirabulator]

None of the theory here made any particular sense to me, but I do now understand why the first and second strings are tuned differently from the others. Ergonomics makes sense to me. It seems most people accept standard tuning as a given. I’ve never come across an explanation before, so I thank you for that. The rest was lost on me. Why does the chromatic scale begin with C instead of A? Color wheel? This is no doubt due to my near complete ignorance of music theory. I am pretty much a self-taught guitarist, which means I have had an ignoramus for a guitar teacher my whole adult life. I limp around on the fretboard writing songs for my own personal need to express myself. I’ll check out some more of your videos, and watch this one again, of course, to see if any of your ideas penetrates my thick skull. Thanks for this one! Will subscribe in another second or two.

[@SheepWaveMeByeBye]

The chromatic scale used to start with A a few centuries ago. Today it starts with C because there are no sharps or flats in the key of C making it easier to grasp.

[@Nirabulator]

@ Well, that makes sense to me. Thanks for the comment!

[@doughollingsworth6548]

Self taught here. Been at it since '84. Never knew about any theory, and guess I'm just doing it wrong. Have always used a variation of standard. Instead of a "B",tuned it E A D G C E. Weird right?🤪🎸🤘

[@robertsmith16286]

Anyone ever hear of a cello blaster? I got one of them. It’s five strings and the tuning is A,E,B,F#,C#. I would recommend everyone should have one, but they don’t sell them anymore. If anyone’s curious, it was made by Schecter.

[@BobU2b1]

Well... i loved the explication. Yet, still, fretboards remain daunting to me.