The All-Fourths Tuning (P4)

tuningsfretboard

The all-fourths tuning, also known as the P4 tuning, is a regular tuning that has a measure of popularity among electric guitar players in particular.

The all-fourths tuning on the six-string guitar

Because it is a regular tuning, the interval between every pair of successive open strings is equal (a perfect fourth). As a consequence, there is perfect pattern regularity across the fretboard. This eliminates the need for alternative systems like the CAGED system, which belongs to the domain of standard tuning.

Players associated with the P4 tuning

Tom Quayle

Tom Quayle is a jazz-rock virtuoso well known from YouTube and a prominent advocate of the all-fourths tuning.

Tom Quayle

Stanley Jordan

Stanley Jordan is known for his two-handed tapping, which the regular fourths layout supports particularly well.

Allan Holdsworth

Jazz-rock patriarch Allan Holdsworth also made extensive use of this tuning, particularly in his SynthAxe days, when he could switch tunings at the press of a button.

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