String numbering

[Strange1]

...I have a question. Many times on this board I see that users refer to string location on mandos as GDAE. My training (such as it is) is that the 1st string on any inst is the one fartherest from the inst holder. ie:on the mandolin it is the E. When teaching guitar I always noted the the strings are (in order of 1 thru 6) is EBGDAE. Why do so many refer to them the exact opposite. Have I been wrong all these years?

Jaack

[jmcgann]

On both instruments the highest pitch is string 1. The lowest pitch is string 4 on mando and string 6 on guitar. However they are usually written low to high- GDAE for mando and Guitar EADGBE. So 654321.

You'll see tunings written low to high AND high to low. There's disagreement there...I like low to high myself and that's what I use. The steel guitar players are all over the map when they list tunings.

That's whay they call the popular tuning on guitar for Irish music DADGAD and not DAGDAD http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[howbahmando]

I've only ever seen standard guitar tuning referred to as EADGBE, myself.

I think the idea behind low to high is, you're looking at the front of the instrument (hanging on a wall or whatever) and "reading" the string names from left to right.

[EdSherry]

I prefer to think of "low to high" as referring to pitch, rather than in terms of physical location (e.g., toward the floor vs. toward the ceiling, or "left" vs. "right"). #The "low E" string is the lowest pitched one, which (in playing position) is physically "higher" (farther away from the ground) than what I usually refer to as the "high-E" string.

I've most commonly seen EADGBE referred to as "654321", so that the 6th string is the low E and the 1st is the high E, rather than the reverse (as Strange1 used to do). #But as John says, I've seen it written both ways (confusingly!).

[groveland]

Except if you're a lefty. Then it's the other way, except when it's not. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Strange1]

nope same with lefty as with righty. unless playing a RH inst upside down. But don't do that, all the notes run out an fall on the floor.

[Eugene]

Why not use Helmholtz's conventions to specify range and wholly eliminate any ambiguity? They've been around a great long time and simply make sense. Standard tuning for mandolin: g-d'-a'-e" and guitar: E-A-d-g-b-e'.

[Strange1]

Yep Eugene, except I do it backwards Mando.EADG. Guitar, EBGDAE. or 1234, 123456. Makes no diff.

Jack

[Eugene]

A lot of people go high to low. If you specify range instead of simply using upper-case letters, there's no ambiguity at all: e"-a'-d'-g and e'-b-g-d-A-E.

[250sc]

I have a friend who moves towords the nut when I tell him to go up the neck. Communication can be trying at times.

[howbahmando]

And of course low-to-high matches the way chords are spelled ... unless there's people out there who say an A chord is spelled E C# A http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif