This tuning has just blown my mind and I went out and bought some new strings and started the new “project” ASAP. Thanks to you, Ella and Rhett for the great video and information
Reminds me of an extreme version of what some west African soukous guitarists have done a long time by replacing the D string with another high e and tuning it to D
This is very cool. I've always been hesitant with alternate tunings because I don't want to feel like I'm starting over with all my chords, etc. But this is awesome - you play the same chord shapes and get new sounds. Maybe break out of my old ruts and come up with new melody ideas.
LOL. RU-vid is such a great place for finding people who have just suddenly "discovered" something that's been around for decades. This tuning's been around since at least 1978 which is when I picked up on it, and I certainly did invent it, so I KNOW it wasn't invented in 2008 by Weissman. Probably it's been around at least 75 years, if not longer. I applied something similar to a left-handed guitar, so the guitar could be played with right-hand fingerings and still produce the same chords as a right handed guitar (although with different voicings). BTW, that inverted interval on the middle strings is called "re-entrant" tuning.
this is a gem of a video - new tuning that sounds awesome that I'd never have thought of - and some great recommendations for new guitarists to listen to too - thanks
Two possible outcomes to this (and Rhett's) video: - In a JHS-like phenomenon, the community goes wild, buying up all the lefty guitars, driving their price through the roof. - Manufacturers tune in and decide to now offer all of their models, in all colours, left-handed (for right-handed guitarists, of course). Both seem like a win for us lefties. 😆
something similar that i tried was switching the A string and B string gauges so that there was a high string low and a low string high. it didn't work very well for me because i didn't file the nut, and also the difference of gauges next to each other would probably still be an issue even with a filed nut, but it was handy to have the high and low strings right next to each other. definitely worth exploring further.
Hi R.J, great content as always. As this video is about «inverted» and I happen to have discover your work watching videos you made on Eastwood tenor guitar, I wanted to share an idea with you. At some point I tried to simplify things for myself and part of that process was about removing string. 4 strings is inviting but depending the tuning I tried I was either lacking the range of the guitar (DGBE or CFAD) or the the feel of the standard guitar tuning (CFAD, GDAE, GDAD, open tuning). I was working on chord inversion in DGBE, specifically the D chord, in the fondamental position it is R 5th 8th 3rd. I wanted to keep the repetition of notes at the base on the third string so 3rd R 10th 5th and then 5th 3rd 5th R : That kind of voicing are used often on plectrum banjo tuning and have a nice ring. My fingers refuse to bend into position, it was helpless. Sometime I practice the guitar leaving some strings aside, and realize that I can fret those inversions using the low E. It changes the voicing a litthe but sound nice. Back to the 4 strings instruments, the «standard guitar tuning» feel and the range, I think that going from Dgbe to dgbE and ultimately Edgb is pretty neat. The result is the same as removing strings from a 6 strings (keeping 1, 3, 4 and5) but the though process different if that make sense. Not only it is extremely familiar but it should be practical for slide playing. I tried to search for people using such tuning and I did not. I'm not gifted with music and I would not make a good advocate for such a tuning but if you have some 4 strings Eastwood I though that may be you could try it. It won't sound new as the «inverted» tuning notheless the tuning could have some use to 4 (or8) strings instruments and players used to 4 strings instruments (tenor guitars, plectrum banjo, bouzouki, octave mandoline are the kind of instrument I've in mind). Anyway that post it too long ;)
Yeah RJ - really cool. I would totally convert one of my lesser used guitars to try this out - but before I do, I’m wondering - what is it like for lead playing; riffs, scale runs, string bends, r&b 6ths and sliding 4ths, etc Maybe you could do another video where you show how it sounds with single line stuff …? Cheers - SC
The 1st time I saw this was Seals acoustic “Deep Water” (Live Church Studios)… In 1991 both Seal and his guitarist 🌟 Gus Isidore 🌟 reverse the guitar string order top to bottom. I thought it was a clever theatrical trick to hides the nuances of the chord progressions, but later understood it was a thing. Check that performance out, the acoustic guitar work is/was amazing. The YT video is a bit old and blurry but in an old VCR it was clearly strung inversion and it produced extra high end guitar sound shimmer.
1x EB Regular Slinky set plus 1x EB Super Slinky set will make a Fein and Slinky Ella Rae set: 11 16 26 17 32 46 (*other string manufacturers are available...)
This is so cool R.J.!!! Thanks for sharing it. I like your idea of changing the lowest E to 1 octave higher; it certainly gets into even more piano-like voicings... close voiced and clusters on top of all the funkiness. Plus you gave me an excuse to buy another guitar!!! LOL Even if it's a lower priced model. Thanks again!
Wish I had known this when first picking up a guitar. As a Lefty back in the day, lefty guitars were thin on the ground. This would have been great to know. I get the E minor sounding almost major. It sounds like a mix of Octave AND minor... weird but very cool.
An easier way to test this out without all the string-changing and setup issues is to just raise 5th string to B and drop 2nd string to A. You do have to think about it differently if you want to use your mind to pick your voicings - you can't just transfer standard voicings over like the inverted version, and you can't either just flip them upside down since the D and G strings are still in standard order - but you can explore by ear and it's not too hard to think about. Also, power chords are a still pretty easy shape to grab.
Raising the high? low? whichever E string an octave from the inverted really sounds harp or lute like. And that small change put this tuning into something I can see myself using, it suddenly becomes a "New Nashville Tuning" where you can already hear the amazing overdubs being recorded with it.
I like your take on it (I also like the original, they both sound great am o can think of uses for them both). An other way that might be useful with your take is as a tuning for a two or more guitar band situation. Look forward to trying it. Really appreciate the sharing from all of you, thank you Ella, RJ and Rhett
03/29/2023: Hello, I am retired 77-years young, and I love your informative videos. May I ask you to do a video on the best "wireless" over the ear headphones that don't need a computer or Bluetooth phone. I seek to just plug in an adapter to headset jack on amp and play. I could only find Waza headset that simply had an adapter to plug in amp, but the price point is about $400.00. I am just a home hobbyist and do not wish to pay that much. My EART Guitar T-380, Modern Humbucker Pickups, Double Coil Split, Two Point Tremolo Bridge, stainless steel fret wires electric Guitar guitar only cost me that much. So, what do you think? Regards form Orlando, Florida 🙂
Just a thought what if you put a set of Nashville tuning strings on the guitar and play these cord voicings along with your standard guitar tuning so that when you double track the rhythm what would that sound like? I’m just curious. When I double track nowadays, I like the Nashville tuning high with the standard but if the Nashville was tuned inverted, I’m curious what that would be great video. Thanks I’ve done watched.Rhett’s Video it was great thanks for the info again
The first time I saw this type of tuning was 15 years ago. I was watching the Rock band, Hardline’s music video Fever Dreams. I notice the guitarist playing his guitar with strings reversed, but the strings were in the regular order. Blew me away.
My God! Now I have to go and get a lefty. This is incredible. Love you guys,but your f_cking with my head!😎🤓 You sound great doing it. Hope there's more to come of this!
I'm fairly certain inverted guitar tuning long pre-dates 2008. Albert King, Dick Dale, and Doyle Bramhall III all played left handed with their strings upside down. On occasion, Jimi Hendrix did, too, but he mostly played with his bass strings on top. Regardless, it is a unique sound.
I need to try this, but my mind is melting on the 'upside down' part. It seems like you can play a right handed guitar, held normally and reverse the order of the strings, high E on top.....Or.... use just use left handed guitar and turn it upside down?
Brilliant! Thank you, RJ, and all involved. I briefly thought of trying this once in the late 70s (probably because of Jimmy Page and blues players using open tunings), but then I heard Holdsworth in April '77 on Jean Luc Ponty's "Enigmatic Ocean" and immediately forgot everything else.
This is great! But, please don't refer to this as 'inverted tuning', that already exists. 'Inverted tuning' was pioneered by left-handed players such as Dick Dale and Albert King, and is - logically enough - EBGDAE. As a right-handed player, it has been my go-to tuning for about 20 years, I didn't find out about Dale, King et al until later. This tuning seems to be an inverted combination of high-strung and 5ths tunings - may I suggest 'Inverted re-enterent fifths' as a concise label. On a more general note, I think it's great that guitarists in general are so much more open to trying alternative tunings than when I started playing (in the 80s! 🙄)
It's a beautiful solution to a challenge on the guitar for getting close voicings without have to stretch one's fingers or having to learn a different set of chord fingerings. It seems to me this is a variation on "Reentrant" tunings, that date back centuries. One of the other things that can be done is to play fast scale lines, but finger them like arpeggios, which results in a gorgeous Harp-like effect. Magical A guitar with a "Zero Fret" could make switching over to Inverted Tuning even easier. 🤔 Here's a good example of Reentrant Tuning played on the Baroque Guitar: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vJPVS_uZitI.html
If we treat the pairs of strings like single notes and the whole tuning as a chord, it's now the lowest to the top, the middle in the middle, and the top to the bottom. Music theory people, is this first inversion, second inversion...? (I know, I'm pushing it)
