Tenor Guitar GDAE tuning and beginner in Jazz

[69Yanks]

Hi,

I found this great forum and all of the material from the site. I am new to jazz and love the sound of smooth jazz standards that Dirk provides tutorials to.

I said to myself, wow, maybe I can learn this on the Fender Tenor Tele I have. Unfortunately, there is not much in music notation/tabs and lessons for my GDAE tuned instrument. I have Guitar Pro 8 for pc which can transpose from 6 strings to 4 strings. It is a bit of work.

I see Dirk provides guitar pro files as part of the package which I may do the annual subscription to. Then there are the other courses too. Can anyone suggest a path for me for learning jazz on the gdae tenor? Thanks.

[pecktime]

‘Normally’ tenor guitars are tuned in 5ths from low to high (C G D A like a tenor banjo), or like the four high strings on a guitar (D G B E low to high) like Tiny Grimes.

with your tuning it’s all fourths like a bass up an octave, so any material that doesn’t use the top two strings of a guitar will work.

alternatively, you could investigate ‘P4’ tuning guitarists- the ones who tune all in fourths.

However- and this advice is coming from someone who owns and has played tenor guitar and experimented with fourths tuning, your best option is to tune like the high pitch strings on a guitar (‘Chicago tuning’).

[Rob MacKillop]

You have the same tuning as the so-called Irish tenor banjo. Jazz tenor banjoists tune CGDA, and there is a lot of jazz help for that tuning.

I agree with Pecktime, Chicago tuning might be your best bet, then you can - with some editing - read guitar books.

[GuyBoden]

Hi,

I found this great forum and all of the material from the site. I am new to jazz and love the sound of smooth jazz standards that Dirk provides tutorials to.

I said to myself, wow, maybe I can learn this on the Fender Tenor Tele I have. Unfortunately, there is not much in music notation/tabs and lessons for my GDAE tuned instrument. I have Guitar Pro 8 for pc which can transpose from 6 strings to 4 strings. It is a bit of work.

I see Dirk provides guitar pro files as part of the package which I may do the annual subscription to. Then there are the other courses too. Can anyone suggest a path for me for learning jazz on the gdae tenor? Thanks.

So, you have Four strings tuned G-D-A-E, I'd say that is tuning in fifths.

Suggestions:

1.) I would keep creating your own chord/scale charts.

2.) Start by using three note chords. 1st-7th-3rd(10th) for Major, 1st-b7th-b3rd(b10th) minor and 1st-b7th-3rd(10th) Dominant chords, sometimes these are called shell voicings.

3.) All Jazz music notation is good for any tuning, but sometimes you may need to transpose it for your instrument's range.

[pecktime]

Also- there’s a really good b*njo forum :

Banjo Hangout - banjo forum, lessons, videos, jukebox, and more - Banjo Hangout

that will have heaps of resources for your tuning.

[Mick-7]

there is not much in music notation/tabs and lessons for my GDAE tuned instrument. I have Guitar Pro 8 for pc which can transpose from 6 strings to 4 strings. It is a bit of work.

Why are you tuning it like that? The most common tuning for a tenor guitar is in fifths, C-G-D-A, like the tenor banjo, viola, and cello. And as others have mentioned, a common alternate tuning is D-G-B-E, like the top four strings of a 6 string guitar or a baritone ukulele.

P.S. - Violins are also tuned as you've tuned your guitar: G-D-A-E.

[69Yanks]

I have it tuned GDAE because I switched over from the mandolin to tenor or octave mandolin.

[alltunes]

So why not look to jazz material written for mandolin? I play mandolin also and lessons by Isaac Eicher are some of my favorite in the jazz mandolin style. He also has a few on his own website you can download. Some of the chord stretches will be a little tough on tenor, but you can adapt…trim the chords down to 3rds and 7ths.


In The Style Of Isaac Eicher, Vol. 1 | DC Music School

[69Yanks]

Thanks! I was not aware of his material. Was using peg head nation Aaron Weinstein but he was a bit advanced for me.

Thank you all for your help.