1) I recommend doing this on a guitar you don’t play too often so you can leave the guitar in the tuning. This is not your typical open tuning; hence if you put it on a guitar that can stay re-tuned, you may be more inclined to spend time experimenting.

 

2) The tuning is as follows:

6th =“C”   5th =“G”   4th =“C”   3rd =“G”   2nd =“G”   1st =“C”

 

1st lower the 6th or bass “E” string 2 whole steps till you reach “C”.

Then lower the 5th or “A” string 1 whole step till you reach “G”.

Then lower the 4th or “D” string 1 whole step till you reach “C”.

Keep the 3rd or “G” string as is.

Now lower the 2nd or “B” string 2 whole steps till it is a “G”.

Finally, lower the 1st or high “E” string 2 whole steps till you reach “C”.

 

You may have to go back over this process a few times since this is such a dramatic change of pitch & tension. And it may take a day or so for your guitar & strings to get used to this change & hold pitch without having to re-tune.

 

3) You now have 3 “C” notes on the open 6th, 4th & 1st strings with 3 more to be found by pressing on the 5th fret of the 5th, 3rd or 2nd strings. This is good to know in order to draw attention to the "key center", which is now “C”.

 

4) One of the most important things to keep track of with this tuning is where the "center point" occurs. This determines which mode you will be in & also helps you focus on the "tone center" of the piece you are creating. (Once you can stay true to the "tone center", experimenting with different "center points" in one piece is encouraged.)

 

5) By making the "center point" frets 4 & 5, you are in the Ionian mode, which is traditionally considered the Major scale, often expressed as Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do.

 

Once you plant the center point, you have 2 whole steps worth of notes behind the center & 2 whole steps worth of notes in front of the center. Since we are using frets 4 & 5 as our "center point" for most of this session, that means behind the center you have the open strings & the 2nd frets, then the "center point" of the 4th & 5th frets with frets 7 & 9 out in front. These frets are then usable across all 6 strings. This reveals 10 frets at a glance, of all the notes that are available for scales & chord construction.

 

6) Once you have the 10 frets blocked off in your view of the neck, the remaining two frets can be bridged in the following fashion. Place your Index (I) finger on the 9th fret of the 6th string, your Middle (M) finger on the 10th fret of the 6th string, your Ring (R) finger on the 11th fret of the 6th string & your Pinky (P) on the 12th fret of the 6th string.

 

Now as you play across the strings, starting with the 6th string, the fingering will be IRP on the 6th, IMP on the 5th, IRP on the 4th, IMP on the 3rd, IMP on the 2nd & IRP on the 1st string. Primarily, this can be the alignment of the fingers for the remaining 2 frets. Changing the center point changes where you place the bridge, since the other 10 frets will have shifted. For modes with open strings in the bridge, a quick substitute is the 12th fret for open. Once you set your fingers to mark the bridge point, play across the neck with the suggested fingering. When you are comfortable with the bridged notes, the bridge is a great area to experiment.

 

7) Without this becoming a lesson about modes, just know when you move the "center point" & play the new set of notes against the remaining open strings, you are indeed in one of 3 Major modes or 3 minor modes.

Ionian center = 4 & 5

Dorian center = 2 & 3

Phrygian center = open & 1 ( also 12 & 13 )

Lydian center = 11 & 12

Mixolydian center = 9 & 10

Aeolian center ( natural minor ) = 7 & 8

(Locrian center = 5 & 6. But the 5th, 3rd & 2nd strings are not played open, so I do not recommend this mode. However, you could use a partial capo across the 1st 5 strings at the 5th fret. Then the root of the open 6th string would be part of the formula.)

Enjoy...