What if all strings were tuned to the same pitch class? Say, D♭?

On "The Ostrich," Lou Reed and the Primitives did just this. They chose A♯.

A pitch class is the set of all pitches that are a whole number of octaves apart. For instance, the pitch class of D♭ encapsulates every D♭ in every octave.

Mechanically, it's not feasible to tune the lowest and highest strings to the same D♭, but if we spread those D♭'s across a couple octaves, from the low to the high strings, we are in good shape.

Stuffier types call this a "trivial" tuning, but not in the pejorative. While standard tunings are built from fourths (and a sneaky major third), trivial tunings are built from unisons (and, by extension, octaves).

Strumming all strings open, we get a thick, chorused drone effect; a Big Note. We can bar up and down the neck to play awkward, lumbering melodies with our Big Note. What else can we do with this tuning?

We can use an open drone on the low string(s) as a pedal tone while we play melodies on the higher strings. We can invert this approach, playing bass lines on the low string(s) against an open drone on the upper strings.

Tertian "cowboy chords" are off the table. Tone clusters, ordinarily challenging to realize in standard tuning, are a breeze. We can comfortably play dense, dissonant "sonic masses" built from the interval of a second.

We have favorable conditions for slide playing, either across groups of strings or across them all to produce dramatic glissando effects. Try tilting the slide to shift opposing strings out of tune, which intensifies the chorusing.

While Ostrich / trivial tuning saw further use by Reed in his work with the Velvet Underground & Nico, it remains niche. It was used by Soundgarden on “Mind Riot” off Badmotorfinger (pitch class E). The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” uses a close variant, with the lowest string tuned to B and the rest to D.

With a standard-gauge string set, some strings will need to be tuned uncomfortably low or high in order to get them all into the same pitch class. This uneven tension across the strings will present intonation issues and a poor playing experience.

It is ideal to select custom gauges using a string tension calculator, and to set the guitar up accordingly if you plan to work in Ostrich tuning.

Years ago, I set up a cheap Ibanez superstrat this way, with great results. I settled on C, which felt like a neat, natural choice and granted an extended low register that made for great droning and sludging. The octave spread looked like this: C2 C3 C3 C3 C4 C4.

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