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Hi

i purchased the Guinnevere lesson

in the video Neil tunes his guitar as follows - EBDGAE

Neil's Tab notes the tuning as DAGDBE

All other sources note the tuning as EBDGAD

so of course - i'm really confused

can someone please help

many thanks
-Ethan

Hi Ethan and welcome to TG!

You didn't notice that in the tab the strings are numbered!

Remember the first string is the high E-string, the topstring. The sixth string is the low E, bottom string.

So from top to bottom is indeed, DAGDBE. But vice verse, it's of course EBDGAD!

Happy playing!

cheers

Vanessa

nesh16041972 wrote:

Hi Ethan and welcome to TG!

You didn't notice that in the tab the strings are numbered!

Remember the first string is the high E-string, the topstring. The sixth string is the low E, bottom string.

So from top to bottom is indeed, DAGDBE. But vice verse, it's of course EBDGAD!

Happy playing!

cheers

Vanessa

Vanessa, saying "first string" / "high E-string" and "sixth string" / "low E" / "bottom string" could be misinterpreted.

Does "first string" mean from the "top" or from the "bottom"? Similarly, does "high E" refer to tone or position?
The same thing goes with "sixth string" and "low E".

The "top string" and "bottom string" I think are clear. But then again someone might confuse "bottom" with tone and not position.

Perhaps, it is better to refer to the "thickness" of the strings. For example, from the thickest string to the thinnest string the tuning is: EBDGAD

Just my 2 cents.

daryl wrote:

nesh16041972 wrote:

Hi Ethan and welcome to TG!

You didn't notice that in the tab the strings are numbered!

Remember the first string is the high E-string, the topstring. The sixth string is the low E, bottom string.

So from top to bottom is indeed, DAGDBE. But vice verse, it's of course EBDGAD!

Happy playing!

cheers

Vanessa

Vanessa, saying "first string" / "high E-string" and "sixth string" / "low E" / "bottom string" could be misinterpreted.

Does "first string" mean from the "top" or from the "bottom"? Similarly, does "high E" refer to tone or position?
The same thing goes with "sixth string" and "low E".

The "top string" and "bottom string" I think are clear. But then again someone might confuse "bottom" with tone and not position.

Perhaps, it is better to refer to the "thickness" of the strings. For example, from the thickest string to the thinnest string the tuning is: DAGDBE

Just my 2 cents.

...the confusion is thickening...

Vanessa is correct. Tunings are generally described from low to high, 6th string to 1st string, thickest to thinnest. When I use the terms bottom and top they refer to pitch, not directions in space. The bottom string is the 6th, or thickest. If you are on the D string (4th) and I want you to move to the G string (3rd), I would say go 1 string higher, as you are moving to a higher pitch. Directions should always be described with pitch in mind. On the piano the notes are laid out in 1 dimension so it's easy to get used to moving to the right to go higher and left to go lower. The guitar has notes laid out in 2 dimensions, allowing for different interpretations of up and down.

Standard tuning is EADGBE. The tuning for Guinnevere is EBDGAD. The video clearly describes raising the 5th string from A to B, lowering the 2nd string from B to A, and lowering the 1st string from E to D.

The pdf of the tab shows the string numbers in a confusing order but the numbers are correct, just listed in 2 columns of 3. It is best to get used to thinking of them and labeling them consistently the way I mentioned above. This is also how they appear on a standard chord chart from left to right (a box chart with the strings represented with vertical lines and the frets with horizontal lines).

Neil

Thanks for the confirmation Neil!

Daryl, I do understand what you mean, but this should be every teacher's first lesson. I figure that Ethan already knows that but got mixed up by the confusing order of the strings numbered, which is what GuitarPro does. I sometimes read it wrong too, just not noticing the numbers.

Thank you everyone - i was definitely confused

now all i have to do is work out the tune

i promise to keep you posted.

best
-E

I love the song and am looking forward to hearing/seeing your progress on it!

cheers

Vanesa

ethan417 wrote:

Thank you everyone - i was definitely confused

now all i have to do is work out the tune

i promise to keep you posted.

best
-E