Zanders Comments on Playing in Altered Tunings

Can the songs from Sonorous be played with

regular bass strings?
The answer is yes - most of my compositions on
Sonorous can indeed be played with regular bass
strings. However, youd be playing them at a
lower pitch than me (and sometimes in a different
key). Still, all you need to do is have the correct
INTERVALS between strings and you can follow
the TAB set out in the transcription book! I often
tune pieces slightly differently each time I play
them - all that really matters is that the intervals
between the strings remain the same. Remember
that playing my tunes at lower pitches will most
likely add a darker, more haunting tone. Itll be
important to maintain a clear tone, so you might
choose to add some treble and mids to your EQ,
and drop the bass slightly. As a side note, it is
quite common to play pieces at a lower pitch for example, double bassists will often perform
Bachs cello suites an octave lower than written.
Below, Ive detailed how to play each composition with regular bass strings.(Note: tunings are
from lowest string to highest string)
Epic Love
I tune my bass C#, G#, B, E, but I recommend
that you tune to E, B, D, G. This tuning retains
the intervals between the strings that I use, so
youll just be playing the piece in a lower key. To
use this tuning, simply tune your A-string up to a
B. Then you can simply follow the TAB set out in
the book.
Circle of Melodies
I tune my bass D, F#, B, E. The simplest option
here is to simply tune your E string to F, and
leave all the other strings (so youll have F, A ,
D, G). Then youll have the intervals required to
follow the tab.

Accelerate
This tune is in fourths, so just follow the TAB and
youre good to go!
She Danced
I tune my bass to Bb, Eb, C, F. This is a difficult
set of intervals to achieve on standard bass
strings, but I recommend using a tuning of D, G,
E, A. So drop tune your E-string to a D and your
A-string to a G and tune your D-string up a tone
to an E, and your G-string up to an A.
Tribal Chant
I tune my bass C#, F#, C#, E. The tuning I recommend is E, A, E, G. To achieve these intervals, simply tune your D-string up to an E.
Hope
I tune my bass D, G, A, G for this tune. I recommend you use this same tuning. Drop tune your
E-string to a D, your A-string to a G and your
D-string to an A.
Looking Glass
My tuning is C, E, B, G but I recommend you
try D, F#, C# and A. To do this, drop tune your
E-string to D, your A-string to F#, your D-string to
C#, and tune your G-string up to an A.
Meditation in E
This is the only tune you wont be able to replicate using standard bass strings. This is due to
the wide intervals used in the tuning E, E, A, C#.
Sencilla
This piece is in standard fourths, so just keep
your bass E, A, D, G and follow the TAB!

I, Resolute
I tune my bass C, A, C, G, but the most suitable
tuning if you are using standard gauge strings
is D, B, D, A. To use this tuning, detune your
E-string to D, tune your A-string up a tone to a B,
and your G-string up a tone to an A.
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