Additional tuning time

As you may have guessed from yesterday's shot, there has been a new addition to the Sheol household.  I spotted her in the post Christmas sales and couldn't resist.  This beauty takes a little longer to tune than other guitars on account of the extra set of strings that she is blessed with.  However, the plus side of those strings is the luscious sound that she is capable of producing, once in tune.

I say "capable" because there is a learning curve involved in playing a 12 string guitar.  While they are tuned in the same way as an ordinary 6 string, the extra set of octave strings adds a degree of complexity which changes the way some songs are approached.  There are some songs that were written on a 12 string and which don't ever sound quite the same when played on a 6 string.  Play them on a 12 string however, and all of a sudden they feel right.  Its almost as if the world has rotated through 90 degrees ;-)

So for the last few days my fingers have been suffering somewhat as I've dug in and started to get to grips with that new approach.  Its a fabulous way to spend a Christmas holiday!  I'm very lucky - Cathy does really love the sound of a 12 string - so she's being very tolerant of the new addition and the practice involved.