Quote:
Originally Posted by BloodFoxTK
the terminology is what bothers me.
why call them "high strings" if they are thicker than the standard 4/6 strings?
i've had people tell me that the extra strings on a 7 and 8-string guitar are thinner because they've heard the term "high strings" and assumes that the strings get thinner the more are added.
as to the tuning, i have no idea. maybe the 5th Bass string is tuned slightly up to make it more audible?
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In common parlance, a pitch is higher if it is more cycles per second (measured in Hertz) than another. Therefore, 256Hz is higher than 100Hz. A higher pitched string is typically thinner, to deal with tension and inharmonicity. If you've heard thicker string being referred to as "high strings," then the person who is saying that is operating on a different reality than the consensus that Western musicians follow.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moss
When you look at the circle of 5ths, the C actually makes more sense. Not sure why it was decided to go with a 4th on a guitar between the G and B strings.
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Guitar is a chording instrument. The third between the G and B string, as well as the fourth between B and high E, make it easier to play chords across all of the strings. Bass plays mostly one note at a time, so having the tuning be consistent is more important. Similar to guitar (chording instruments): ukelele, banjo. Similar to bass (single note instruments): violin family instruments.