John, you mentioned Earl Scruggs tuning his banjo sharper to give it a brighter sound but is'nt this because the strings are tighter rather than just of a higher pitch? If you play a guitar just above the bridge it will have a very different sound to playing it much higher (=higher up!) even though the pitch is the same. The main problem here is that some fortunate people can really "feel" music and just can't explain it to those like me who can't. Rather like explaining colour to the blind. Very interesting replies. Dr John