The new standard tuning (NST) is a special type of guitar tuning (CGDAEG), introduced by Robert Fripp of King Crimson, who has stated that the tuning "flew by" while he was sweating in a sauna in September 1983.[1][2][3] Fripp began using the tuning in 1985 after stepping out of the spotlight before beginning his Guitar Craft seminars.[4] Although used by a small number of players in comparison to the standard guitar tuning (referred to as 'Old Standard Tuning' by NST players), it has gained some popularity among experimental guitarists, and is the tuning taught at Fripp's Guitar Craft. The tuning is (from low to high): CGDAEG, and can be remembered by the mnemonic "California Guitarists Drop Acid Every Gig", according to the program booklet sold at the UK end of the Double Trio tour.
Robert Fripp has recently suggested the tuning be renamed to, "Guitar Craft Standard Tuning or C Pentatonic tuning".[5]
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The lowest four strings are tuned just like a cello, i.e. in fifths from a low C. The next-to-highest string is another fifth up from the A to an E, and the first string is a minor third up from the E to a G. Since the lowest five strings are tuned in fifths, typical fingerings for chords and scales used on the violin, cello, and mandolin are applicable here. The minor third between the top strings allow denser chords in the high range of the scale, and easier access to some elementary chord tones (typically the thirteenth for chords with the root note on the sixth string, and the ninth and flat ninth for chords with the root note on the fifth string, see chord). NST has a greater range than the Old Standard Tuning, approximately a perfect fifth greater (a major third lower and a minor third higher).
Scales across two strings in NST also line up nicely into coherent tetrachords or four-note patterns that have a visually rational relationship (whole and half-tone relationships have a remarkable symmetry that can be easier to learn than the OST whose intervals from 6 to 1 have the (inconsistent) major third thrown in the middle of the scale.
This fifths-based tuning does present a downside, however: wider harmonic intervals between consecutive strings make certain closely voiced jazz chords impractical requiring an interpretive voicing on the part of the guitarist.
String swapping may also be advisable: the low C may be loose unless the gauge is increased and the high G may require something rather gossamer, thus many Guitar Craft participants use an .011-.058 set for acoustic.[4]
Robert Fripp exclusively uses the New Standard Tuning in his guitar playing. He started using it in 1984 and has used it on all recordings since then, both as solo artist and within King Crimson, among others.
At Guitar Craft seminars and courses, students work exclusively in NST. The education is not completely centered around the tuning; however, it was originally used as a tool to push students to begin from scratch, renew themselves and approach their playing in a different way. The idea is that with a completely different guitar tuning than the one you're accustomed to, none of your regular chords or licks will work, and you will have to find new ways of musical expression with the guitar.[6]
The tuning is most notably used by Guitar Craft players including The League of Crafty Guitarists, the California Guitar Trio, Bert Lams, Los Gauchos Alemanes, Gitbox Rebellion, BigTime Trio, Zum, the Atomic Chamber Ensemble, the Seattle Guitar Circle, Tuning the Air, Curt Golden, Steve Ball (musician), Europa String Choir, Fabio Mittino, Lost Pedro, Tom McCarthy of Chicago's Luminance Ensemble, and thousands of Guitar Craft students around the world. In 1999, Fripp mentioned in his journal that King Crimson singer/guitarist Adrian Belew had been experimenting with the NST for live and studio work centered around Crimson's then-current album, The ConstruKction of Light. Trey Gunn, Crimson's touch guitar player from 1994 to 2003, as well as Markus Reuter of TUNER use variants of this tuning on their 8- and 10-string instruments. Finnish musician Heikki Malmberg exclusively uses a 7-string guitar tuned in NST with an additional low F.
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