Altered Tunings For Electric Bass
Getting Started
By Cliff Engel
Now that I've outlined the numerous benefits and possible potential of altered tunings in the introduction of this series of lessons on altered tunings, I'd like to offer a few suggestions on how you can get started composing music through altered tunings on electric bass.
Equipment:
The Bass:
With regard to all the advances in bass technology over just the past couple years, the standards by which bass design was measured has been raised significantly. The construction materials utilized in bass building have improved dramatically. The actual designs of basses have also greatly enhanced their playability. By combining a multi-laminated neck with graphite reinforced truss rods and attaching the upper bout of a single cutaway bass body to the neck, basses are more stable than ever and more resistant to adverse climate changes and the extreme tension placed on multi-string basses.
Basses comprised of composite or carbon fiber necks provide the most stable platform for altered tunings. You can place a composite bass neck under a ridiculous amount of string tension and pressure and it will not reveal any variance in pitch. I maintain a bass specifically dedicated and setup for altered tunings. Although it would be a bonus if you could dedicate a bass exclusively to altered tunings, it is in no way necessary. With a couple slight modifications, altered tunings can be utilized on practically any bass in production today. If you are using a bass with a laminated or wooden neck, you'll most likely need to adjust the truss rod along with the string and pickup height to achieve maximum results in playability and tone. However, with so many variables here to keep in mind, you will need to experiment with your own particular instrument. If you are utilizing altered tunings, especially really high tunings which place a significant amount of tension on a bass with a wooden neck, I would always recommend tuning the instrument back to standard E-A-D-G tuning after each session.
The Strings:
Although I use a custom gauge set of La Bella Hard Rockin' Steel strings designed specifically for altered tunings (.022, .034, .044, .054), virtually any steel or nickel-plated set will work. Again, much of this will be left to your own personal preference. I prefer steel to nickel-plated strings for tonal purposes. Steel strings are brighter than their nickel counterparts and facilitate a more defined overtone or harmonic series. The lighter the gauge of strings, the wider spread you'll be able to tune them. For example, without causing unwanted string tension to your bass with standard strings (.040, .060, .080, .100), you will only be able to tune each string around a whole step in either direction (the distance of a major second interval). Depending on your string height, you may be able to tune the strings down two whole steps (the distance of a major third interval) or more without having to re-adjust your bass. Generally speaking, it is much easier on your instrument to tune down as opposed to tuning higher. However, with a much lighter string gauge (a piccolo set), you will be able to tune the bass over a much larger interval spread, usually the distance of an octave or more in each direction on each string. There are several string manufacturers besides La Bella which also offer lighter string gauges (piccolo strings). The XL280's (.020, .032, .042, .052) are a popular piccolo set offered by D'Addario.
Tunings:
Here are just a few of my favorite altered tunings which you can begin to experiment with on a 4-string electric bass:
E-B-D-A - tuning the standard A and G-strings up a whole step
E-A-E-B - tuning the standard D-string up a whole step and the G-string up two whole steps (major third)
C-G-D-G - tuning the standard E-string down two whole steps (major third) and the A-string down a whole step
D-A-D-A - tuning the standard E-string down a whole step and the G-string up a whole step
C-G-D-A - tuning the standard E-string down two whole steps (major third), the A-string down a whole step, and G-string up a whole step
Keep in mind that by utilizing piccolo strings these tunings can be transposed up an octave.
My personal favorite tuning is C-G-D-A or cello tuning. This tuning has almost become my "standard altered tuning." In cello tuning, the intervals between the lowest and highest open strings are now a major thirteenth apart compared to the minor tenth interval available in standard tuning (the open E-string to the open G-string). This larger interval spread will allow you to play voicings that are virtually impossible to play in standard tuning, often with just one finger! Plus, now with your bass tuned to the range of a cello, you can easily adapt music from the enormous library of cello repertoire. The Bach Cello Suites never sounded so good!
In order to maintain a sense of familiarity with the fingerboard, I would suggest beginning your explorations into altered tunings by simply altering only one or two strings on your bass. Then, as you become more confident and adventurous, change the tuning of all four strings. Although I wouldn't consider a tuning such as C-F-Bb-Eb to be an altered tuning (technically speaking this is considered a transposition since the bass would still be tuned in fourths), you will notice a timbral change in the instrument's overall sonority. For example, if you were working on a composition based in the key of the lowest tuned string, you could create music which sounds brighter or darker depending on the key center, even if the bass is still tuned in perfect fourths. Even though an altered tuning may seem to become somewhat unconventional from string to string (strings tuned to intervals other than perfect fourths), you can always easily relate your position on the fingerboard at any given time to the open string which you are playing on. No matter what the tuning of the open string, the intervals from the open string to any closed note will always remain the same. The note at the 12th fret is always going to be one octave higher than that string's open note. The note at the 7th fret is always going to be a perfect fifth above that string's open note. Accordingly, the ratios of the harmonic series stay the same as well. Intervals on a single string of a fretted instrument never change, and the harmonic ratios and distances from the fundamental will always maintain the exact same relationship to the fingerboard regardless the tuning. By simply counting intervals up from the open string, you will never be lost.
When first experimenting with altered tunings, try not to theoretically analyze what you are playing too deeply. Learn to listen to the bigger concept of sound and transcend what is the tradition of the instrument. With altered tunings, you can easily play lush chordal voicings and activate all new sets of harmonics that were never doable on a bass in standard tuning. Now, double, triple, and even quadruple-stops are even manageable. The possibilities are almost infinite. Don't allow the traditional limitations of the bass to inhibit the creativity that lies within. You are only limited by your imagination. Remember, there is more to playing bass than just playing bass!
Equipment:
The Bass:
With regard to all the advances in bass technology over just the past couple years, the standards by which bass design was measured has been raised significantly. The construction materials utilized in bass building have improved dramatically. The actual designs of basses have also greatly enhanced their playability. By combining a multi-laminated neck with graphite reinforced truss rods and attaching the upper bout of a single cutaway bass body to the neck, basses are more stable than ever and more resistant to adverse climate changes and the extreme tension placed on multi-string basses.
Basses comprised of composite or carbon fiber necks provide the most stable platform for altered tunings. You can place a composite bass neck under a ridiculous amount of string tension and pressure and it will not reveal any variance in pitch. I maintain a bass specifically dedicated and setup for altered tunings. Although it would be a bonus if you could dedicate a bass exclusively to altered tunings, it is in no way necessary. With a couple slight modifications, altered tunings can be utilized on practically any bass in production today. If you are using a bass with a laminated or wooden neck, you'll most likely need to adjust the truss rod along with the string and pickup height to achieve maximum results in playability and tone. However, with so many variables here to keep in mind, you will need to experiment with your own particular instrument. If you are utilizing altered tunings, especially really high tunings which place a significant amount of tension on a bass with a wooden neck, I would always recommend tuning the instrument back to standard E-A-D-G tuning after each session.
The Strings:
Although I use a custom gauge set of La Bella Hard Rockin' Steel strings designed specifically for altered tunings (.022, .034, .044, .054), virtually any steel or nickel-plated set will work. Again, much of this will be left to your own personal preference. I prefer steel to nickel-plated strings for tonal purposes. Steel strings are brighter than their nickel counterparts and facilitate a more defined overtone or harmonic series. The lighter the gauge of strings, the wider spread you'll be able to tune them. For example, without causing unwanted string tension to your bass with standard strings (.040, .060, .080, .100), you will only be able to tune each string around a whole step in either direction (the distance of a major second interval). Depending on your string height, you may be able to tune the strings down two whole steps (the distance of a major third interval) or more without having to re-adjust your bass. Generally speaking, it is much easier on your instrument to tune down as opposed to tuning higher. However, with a much lighter string gauge (a piccolo set), you will be able to tune the bass over a much larger interval spread, usually the distance of an octave or more in each direction on each string. There are several string manufacturers besides La Bella which also offer lighter string gauges (piccolo strings). The XL280's (.020, .032, .042, .052) are a popular piccolo set offered by D'Addario.
Tunings:
Here are just a few of my favorite altered tunings which you can begin to experiment with on a 4-string electric bass:
E-B-D-A - tuning the standard A and G-strings up a whole step
E-A-E-B - tuning the standard D-string up a whole step and the G-string up two whole steps (major third)
C-G-D-G - tuning the standard E-string down two whole steps (major third) and the A-string down a whole step
D-A-D-A - tuning the standard E-string down a whole step and the G-string up a whole step
C-G-D-A - tuning the standard E-string down two whole steps (major third), the A-string down a whole step, and G-string up a whole step
Keep in mind that by utilizing piccolo strings these tunings can be transposed up an octave.
My personal favorite tuning is C-G-D-A or cello tuning. This tuning has almost become my "standard altered tuning." In cello tuning, the intervals between the lowest and highest open strings are now a major thirteenth apart compared to the minor tenth interval available in standard tuning (the open E-string to the open G-string). This larger interval spread will allow you to play voicings that are virtually impossible to play in standard tuning, often with just one finger! Plus, now with your bass tuned to the range of a cello, you can easily adapt music from the enormous library of cello repertoire. The Bach Cello Suites never sounded so good!
In order to maintain a sense of familiarity with the fingerboard, I would suggest beginning your explorations into altered tunings by simply altering only one or two strings on your bass. Then, as you become more confident and adventurous, change the tuning of all four strings. Although I wouldn't consider a tuning such as C-F-Bb-Eb to be an altered tuning (technically speaking this is considered a transposition since the bass would still be tuned in fourths), you will notice a timbral change in the instrument's overall sonority. For example, if you were working on a composition based in the key of the lowest tuned string, you could create music which sounds brighter or darker depending on the key center, even if the bass is still tuned in perfect fourths. Even though an altered tuning may seem to become somewhat unconventional from string to string (strings tuned to intervals other than perfect fourths), you can always easily relate your position on the fingerboard at any given time to the open string which you are playing on. No matter what the tuning of the open string, the intervals from the open string to any closed note will always remain the same. The note at the 12th fret is always going to be one octave higher than that string's open note. The note at the 7th fret is always going to be a perfect fifth above that string's open note. Accordingly, the ratios of the harmonic series stay the same as well. Intervals on a single string of a fretted instrument never change, and the harmonic ratios and distances from the fundamental will always maintain the exact same relationship to the fingerboard regardless the tuning. By simply counting intervals up from the open string, you will never be lost.
When first experimenting with altered tunings, try not to theoretically analyze what you are playing too deeply. Learn to listen to the bigger concept of sound and transcend what is the tradition of the instrument. With altered tunings, you can easily play lush chordal voicings and activate all new sets of harmonics that were never doable on a bass in standard tuning. Now, double, triple, and even quadruple-stops are even manageable. The possibilities are almost infinite. Don't allow the traditional limitations of the bass to inhibit the creativity that lies within. You are only limited by your imagination. Remember, there is more to playing bass than just playing bass!
