)
A few months ago, I received my JC 5-string. What a nice instrument! All I had to do to get inspired with it was to take it out of the case. I wasn’t sure what the original tuning was, but my initial idea was to tune it like a banjo from the start (more on that soon). Instead of doing that right away, I’ve decided to keep the Jacob Collier palindromic tuning for a couple of weeks to see what I could do with it. He uses D, A, E, A, D, from lowest to highest string. This tuning mixes perfect fifths (D to A, A to E) and perfect fourths (E to A, A to D). It’s like a mirror around the E string in the center.
Here are a few scale runs for you to practice with this tuning. They all start and end on the low D string. Play slowly and try to name all the notes you’re playing to start getting used to the tuning. Try using fingerstyle, legato, alternate picking, or any picking style that suits you.
One of my favorite things to do with this tuning was to create voicings of different kinds. Most of them use open strings and open string drones. The chords below were all created by ear in one sitting. Feel free to play them consecutively or pick the ones that you like the best.
Click here to view 100 different voicings with the Jacob Collier signature 5 string
Finally, take a look at this short video, where I demonstrate various melodic and harmonic ideas.
Gustavo Assis-Brasil is a Brazilian-American guitarist, composer, educator, and author based in Boston, USA. He has written five books on hybrid picking and has taught clinics at Harvard University, USC, Berklee College of Music, and Musicians Institute. He is the chair of the Music Department at the Cambridge School of Weston. Gustavo has used .strandberg* guitars since 2015.
If you want to learn more from Gustavo’s advanced concepts, sign up for his Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/gustavoassisbrasil
For books, transcriptions, and much more, please visit Gustavo’s website at www.GustavoAssisBrasil.com
