Why the Heck Would Anyone Want a 5-String Guitar?
by Freddy Angelico
Six years ago, we took a chance on one of our boldest creations: the Warren Ellis 5. It combines the strings of our tenor guitars (G-D-A-E, low to high) with the strings of our tenor baritone guitars (C-G-D-A, low to high) to create an all new instrument. The strings are C-G-D-A-E low to high, from the C below standard guitar tuning to the high E of standard guitar tuning. That's some serious range! We designed it as a 5-string tenor guitar.
The Warren Ellis 5
We quickly learned, however, that real players weren't interested in what this instrument was "supposed" to be. Players of all stripes took this platform and ran with it in directions we couldn't have imagined. The Warren Ellis 5 is for boundary-pushing players who don't want their ideas limited by tradition.
Avant-Garde: the Robert Fripp Approach
In the 1980s, King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp was struggling with the limitations of standard guitar tuning. He found that standard guitar tuning—comprised mostly of fourths with a seemingly random major third in the middle—prioritized the formation of chords over the melodic freedom he desired. An idea came to him in 1983. "I was... in the sauna at half past 10 in the morning, almost asleep, and the tuning flew over my head," says Fripp. We clearly need to spend more time in the sauna.
Robert Fripp
Fripp's solution? A fifths-based tuning with a minor third on top: C-G-D-A-E-G, low to high. This tuning, which he called "New Standard Tuning," had loads of advantages for his approach. First, by starting with a low C, he devised an instrument with a wider sonic range than standard guitars. Second, the fifths-based tuning instantly cleaned up the fretboard geography; scales slide up the fretboard instead of zigzagging, and the wide intervals create lush, piano-like chords. Finally, it snapped him out of years of muscle memory and shook things up, forcing him to be intentional about his playing.
Eagle-eyed readers may notice that the Warren Ellis 5's stock tuning matches the first five strings of New Standard Tuning, and there's no better guitar out there on the market for exploring this tuning. Take a listen to "Taking the Veil" by David Sylvian, one of the first tunes recorded by Fripp in New Standard Tuning:
Listen to the way those rhythm guitar figures move in parallel up and down the neck. Pulling that off with the "power chord" shapes of standard guitar tuning would be a lot more challenging than the simple two-string barre that New Standard Tuning affords. The big intervallic jumps in the lead guitar parts sound super athletic, but fall naturally under your fingers in a fifths-based tuning.
Open Tuning: the Keith Richards Approach
During a break from touring in the late 60s, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards leaned into his blues influences and began experimenting with open tunings. He eventually settled on Open G, which produces a full G chord when you strum the strings without fretting any notes. This allowed him to riff around the chord using simpler shapes
Somewhere down the line, Richards decided to remove the low E string from the guitar entirely. "I'm going to get nowhere more with six-string guitar," Richards recently said, waving the possibility away as if it was nonsense to have the low E string in the first place. The resulting tuning, low to high, is G-D-G-B-D. "There's five strings. There's only three notes," explains Richards. With fewer pitches to keep track of, Richards quickly developed his signature style of syncopated back-and-forth motion between the root chord and the IV chord.
His sound is unmistakable, and it just can't be replicated faithfully on a standard-tuned six string. It almost allows you to be two guitar players at once; the low strings provide the "rhythm" while the on-off motion on the high strings provide the "lead." Anyone looking to explore playing in this style will find the Warren Ellis 5 comes in clutch. Replace the strings with the highest five strings of a standard electric guitar set, tune it up to this Keef Standard Tuning, and you'll be riffing in no time.
New School: the Jacob Collier Approach
Few musicians in recent memory have advanced the cause of the unabashedly nerdy more than Jacob Collier. He's a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, and producer whose style defies categorization. Collier's primary instrument is piano, and he loved the dense, cluster-y chords one can create on piano. Hearing Joni Mitchell create some of those same textures on guitar led Collier to begin exploring guitar in his late teens. After playing four-string tenor guitar in a unique D-A-E-A (low to high) tuning for ten years, he eventually wanted to add a high D to create some symmetry and balance. Collier explains, "I think of a 5-string guitar as an augmentation of a 4 rather than a reduction from a 6."
Jacob Collier
His signature five-string tuning, D-A-E-A-D low to high, has loads of advantages. You can create a rich sounding major chord with just one finger. Fifths on the low strings create a strong foundation for your sound, and fourths on the top allow for compact, repeatable lead patterns. In a way, Collier's tuning is the "best of both worlds" between standard guitar and tenor guitar. It's a clever compromise that allows the player to emulate either sound, or create something brand new.
Pulling off Collier's tuning on the Warren Ellis 5 is a snap: simply tune the C, G, and D strings up one whole step, and tune the E string down one whole step. This is a five-string guitar tuning designed with a five-string instrument in mind, and it's a perfect fit on the Warren Ellis 5.
Alright, I'm Convinced. How Do I Get Started?
Six-string guitar players may find the prospect of tuning in fifths or playing an instrument with one less string a little daunting, but we promise it is a rewarding and fun experience. Check out this YouTube video which we hope will invite six-string players into the world of five-string guitar. You'll be up and running in no time, creating and exploring new sonic territory.