Ostrich guitar
Ostrich guitar is an alternative guitar tuning in which all the guitar strings are tuned to the same pitch class (often D,[1] but A# and B have also been noted).[2] The term was coined by The Velvet Underground's Lou Reed after the pre–Velvet Underground song "The Ostrich" by Lou Reed and The Primitives, on which this tuning was first used. Reed later applied it on the 1967 album The Velvet Underground & Nico on the songs "Venus in Furs" and "All Tomorrow's Parties".
1d ----- * downtuned to d (from e to d) 2d ----- * uptuned to d (from B to d) 3D ----- * downtuned to D (from G to D) 4D ----- * left at standard 5D ----- * uptuned to D (from A to D) 6D ----- * downtuned to D (from E to D)
According to an interview with drummer Maureen Tucker in What Goes On? No. 4, Reed's ostrich guitar was a guitar that had had its frets removed, and was stolen shortly after the album sessions.
References
- ^ Lou Reed biography at IMDB
- ^ Harvard, Joe (2007) [2004]. The Velvet Underground & Nico. 33⅓. New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8264-1550-4.