The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
  1. #1

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    Anybody play the Marty Grosz tuning?--Bb F C G B D (6th to 1st) . As I play plectrum banjo--CGBD--no problem getting around the top 4 strings with that tuning on a 6 string guitar. But adding the Bb & F into the top 4 strings for chords on guitar? Anybody worked out chords on say the bottom 4 strings-Bb F C G strings or the bottom 3 strings?

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Here's a site that shows some of the grips available in this tuning:
    A#FCGBD Marty Grosz guitar tuning, chords & scales (gtdb.org)


    Lot's of info about their playing:
    Carl Kress and Marty Grosz — DjangoBooks Forum

    Carl Kress used a similar tuning except for the second string (Bb-F-C-G-A-D). Notice the closeness between the G and A strings... The world of music was once ruled by the banjo! There's magic in the CGBD. Eddie Peabody once said he rarely used the C string on the plectrum banjo. Everything was done on GBD.

    Older JG Forum thread:
    George Van Eps Tuning and strings (jazzguitar.be)

    Van Eps tuned AEADGBE but later lowered everything by a whole step. The pianistic thing about AEADGBE is that it presents two A strings an octave apart. One may substitute a lower bass note for any chord that has its root on the fifth string A by playing that root on the seventh string A instead, an octave lower.

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    Last edited by StringNavigator; 03-02-2023 at 11:44 PM.

  4. #3

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    Anybody worked out chords on say the bottom 4 strings-Bb F C G strings or the bottom 3 strings?
    I play cello C G D A a whole step up from the tuning above. While there are manageable 4 note voicings in the 1 5 3 7 || 3 7 5 1 || 5 1 7 3 || 7 3 1 5 family,
    I most often navigate a more versatile harmonic vocabulary combining 2 and 3 note structures. No doubt the addition of frets removes the added challenge of intonation, life of a chordal cellist......

    The upper strings on the other hand with a ma3rd and m3rd go in the other direction completely, making small intervals easier than standard guitar tuning. On the surface it seems like the goal of this tuning is to have versatile voicings in the higher strings and a big register to cover bass notes.

    Not familiar with Marty Grosz, will have to look him up.

  5. #4
    Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

    Anybody tried tuning the bottom 2 strings to regular guitar E and A and how that incorporates with the CGBD? As I play guitar as well as plectrum banjo no problem finding my way around the E and A--maybe worth a try.
    Last edited by swingtoneman; 03-05-2023 at 09:31 AM. Reason: Added wording