Kite Guitar: Difference between revisions

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The standard tuning is the '''downmajor tuning''', in which adjacent open strings are tuned a downmajor 3rd apart. Alternative tunings use an upminor 3rd or an upmajor 3rd. All three tunings are isomorphic, thus there is only one shape to learn for any chord. A "semi-isomorphic" tuning alternates downmajor and upminor 3rds, and every chord has two shapes. In addition, there are open tunings such as DADGAD.

* [http://tallkite.com/misc_files/The%20Kite%20Tuning%20downmajor%20fretboard.pdf Fretboard chart for the downmajor tuning]

* [http://tallkite.com/misc_files/The%20Kite%20Tuning%20upminor%20fretboard.pdf Fretboard chart for the upminor tuning]

* [http://tallkite.com/misc_files/The%20Kite%20Tuning%20DADGAD%20fretboard.pdf Fretboard chart for the DADGAD tuning]

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But anyway, the two designs can coexist on the same fretboard by simply inserting an extra fret between the 1st and 2nd instead of moving the 2nd fret lower as I have done, and by varying the tuning of the open strings as you please. It's a fantastic way to access the resources of 41edo on a guitar, without having an absurd number of very closely-spaced frets!"

How to implement the half-fret capo trick: An extra fret slot is cut to allow insertion of a temporary fret in between the 1st and 2nd (permanent) frets. The slot stops short of the treble side of the fretboard. So gravity holds it in place, plus of course the capo. The temporary fret has the barbs on the side of the tang filed off. The extra slot is a bit wider, so the fret can be pulled out easily. It goes in from the side, under the strings, so the strings don't need to be loosened. It can be inserted and removed on stage between songs. The fret is a bit longer, sticks out about 1/2 inch, so that you can pull it out easily.

How to implement the half-fret capo trick: An extra fret slot is cut to allow insertion of a temporary fret in between the 1st and 2nd (permanent) frets. (If the guitar has a zeroth fret, the temporary fret can go between the 0th and 1st frets.) The slot stops short of the treble side of the fretboard. So gravity holds it in place, plus of course the capo. The temporary fret has the barbs on the side of the tang filed off. The extra slot is a bit wider, so the fret can be pulled out easily. It goes in from the side, under the strings, so the strings don't need to be loosened. It can be inserted and removed on stage between songs. The fret is a bit longer, sticks out about 1/2 inch, so that you can pull it out easily.

== Fretboard Charts (downmajor tuning) ==

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[[File:The Kite Tuning 4.png|none|thumb|1036x1036px]]

This shows all the notes, not just the natural ones. But it's too much work to memorize all this. Just learn where the 7 natural notes are, and learn your intervals. Since the open strings don’t work as well, one tends to think more in terms of intervals than notes.

[[File:The Kite Tuning 5.png|none|thumb|1037x1037px]]Some keys are somewhat awkward to play in. For example, a G scale is either too close to the nut to have a major 2nd, or else way up at the 16th fret where the fret spacing becomes too cramped to play comfortably. There's a "sweet spot" for the tonic on the lowest 3 strings, from about the 6th fret to about the 12th fret. This defines a 3x7 rectangle containing 21 keys, roughly every other one of the 41 possible keys. In 12-edo, all 12 keys are needed so that e.g. the vocalist can get within 50¢ of their ~~ideal~~ range. In 41-edo, using only these 21 keys, one can get within 30¢ of the ~~ideal~~ range. So the other 20 keys aren't really needed. The ~~lowest string of an 8~~-string ~~is tuned to vD not~~ D ~~so that the common keys of C,~~ G~~, D and A fall in the sweet spot~~.

[[File:The Kite Tuning 5.png|none|thumb|1037x1037px]]Some keys are somewhat awkward to play in. For example, a vG scale is either too close to the nut to have a plain major 2nd, or else way up at the 16th fret where the fret spacing becomes too cramped to play comfortably. There's a "sweet spot" for the tonic on the lowest 3 strings, from about the 6th fret to about the 12th fret. This defines a 3x7 rectangle containing 21 keys, roughly every other one of the 41 possible keys. The lowest string of an 8-string is tuned to vD not D so that the common keys of C, G, D and A fall in this sweet spot.

In 12-edo, all 12 keys are needed so that e.g. the vocalist can get within 50¢ of their optimal range. In 41-edo, using only these 21 keys, one can usually get within 30¢ of the optimal range. (There are two keys 88¢ apart, so sometimes one must settle for 44¢ from optimal.) 30¢ from optimal is sufficient, 15¢ from optimal is overkill, so the other 20 keys aren't really needed. The 21 most comfortable keys on a 6-string guitar are: A vBb ^Bb vB ^B C vDb Db ^C# D vEb ^Eb vE ^E vF ^F Gb ^F# G vAb ^Ab.

=== Scale Shapes ===

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In the upmajor tuning, the octave is at (+1,+3+1), and (6th, 0) = (5th, 3rd & 1). The unison is at (+2,-3-3), and (6th, 3rd & 3) = (4th, 0).

The Kite guitar can be tuned to a specific pitch using the [http://tallkite.com/misc_files/EDOtuner.txt.zip EDOtuner], a free strobe tuner for microtonal guitars (requires [https://www.reaper.fm/ Reaper] or [https://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/ ReaJS]).

The Kite guitar can be tuned to a specific pitch using the [http://tallkite.com/misc_files/EDOtuner.txt.zip EDOtuner], a free strobe tuner for microtonal guitars (requires [https://www.reaper.fm/ Reaper] or [https://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/ ReaJS]). Presets for the Kite guitar can be found here: http://tallkite.com/misc_files/js-MIDI_EDOtuner_txt.ini In Reaper, select Options/Show REAPER Resource Path and put the .ini file in the Presets folder.

== Chord Shapes (downmajor tuning) ==

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 The standard tuning is the '''downmajor tuning''', in which adjacent open strings are tuned a downmajor 3rd apart. Alternative tunings use an upminor 3rd or an upmajor 3rd. All three tunings are isomorphic, thus there is only one shape to learn for any chord. A "semi-isomorphic" tuning alternates downmajor and upminor 3rds, and every chord has two shapes. In addition, there are open tunings such as DADGAD.
-* [http://tallkite.com/misc_files/The%20Kite%20Tuning%20downmajor%20fretboard.pdf Fretboard chart for the downmajor tuning]
 * [http://tallkite.com/misc_files/The%20Kite%20Tuning%20upminor%20fretboard.pdf Fretboard chart for the upminor tuning]
 * [http://tallkite.com/misc_files/The%20Kite%20Tuning%20DADGAD%20fretboard.pdf Fretboard chart for the DADGAD tuning]
@@ Line 151: / Line 150: @@
 But anyway, the two designs can coexist on the same fretboard by simply inserting an extra fret between the 1st and 2nd instead of moving the 2nd fret lower as I have done, and by varying the tuning of the open strings as you please. It's a fantastic way to access the resources of 41edo on a guitar, without having an absurd number of very closely-spaced frets!"
-How to implement the half-fret capo trick: An extra fret slot is cut to allow insertion of a temporary fret in between the 1st and 2nd (permanent) frets. The slot stops short of the treble side of the fretboard. So gravity holds it in place, plus of course the capo. The temporary fret has the barbs on the side of the tang filed off. The extra slot is a bit wider, so the fret can be pulled out easily. It goes in from the side, under the strings, so the strings don't need to be loosened. It can be inserted and removed on stage between songs. The fret is a bit longer, sticks out about 1/2 inch, so that you can pull it out easily.
+How to implement the half-fret capo trick: An extra fret slot is cut to allow insertion of a temporary fret in between the 1st and 2nd (permanent) frets. (If the guitar has a zeroth fret, the temporary fret can go between the 0th and 1st frets.) The slot stops short of the treble side of the fretboard. So gravity holds it in place, plus of course the capo. The temporary fret has the barbs on the side of the tang filed off. The extra slot is a bit wider, so the fret can be pulled out easily. It goes in from the side, under the strings, so the strings don't need to be loosened. It can be inserted and removed on stage between songs. The fret is a bit longer, sticks out about 1/2 inch, so that you can pull it out easily.
 == Fretboard Charts (downmajor tuning) ==
@@ Line 162: / Line 161: @@
 [[File:The Kite Tuning 4.png|none|thumb|1036x1036px]]
 This shows all the notes, not just the natural ones. But it's too much work to memorize all this. Just learn where the 7 natural notes are, and learn your intervals. Since the open strings don’t work as well, one tends to think more in terms of intervals than notes.
-[[File:The Kite Tuning 5.png|none|thumb|1037x1037px]]Some keys are somewhat awkward to play in. For example, a G scale is either too close to the nut to have a major 2nd, or else way up at the 16th fret where the fret spacing becomes too cramped to play comfortably. There's a "sweet spot" for the tonic on the lowest 3 strings, from about the 6th fret to about the 12th fret. This defines a 3x7 rectangle containing 21 keys, roughly every other one of the 41 possible keys. In 12-edo, all 12 keys are needed so that e.g. the vocalist can get within 50¢ of their ideal range. In 41-edo, using only these 21 keys, one can get within 30¢ of the ideal range. So the other 20 keys aren't really needed. The lowest string of an 8-string is tuned to vD not D so that the common keys of C, G, D and A fall in the sweet spot.
+[[File:The Kite Tuning 5.png|none|thumb|1037x1037px]]Some keys are somewhat awkward to play in. For example, a vG scale is either too close to the nut to have a plain major 2nd, or else way up at the 16th fret where the fret spacing becomes too cramped to play comfortably. There's a "sweet spot" for the tonic on the lowest 3 strings, from about the 6th fret to about the 12th fret. This defines a 3x7 rectangle containing 21 keys, roughly every other one of the 41 possible keys. The lowest string of an 8-string is tuned to vD not D so that the common keys of C, G, D and A fall in this sweet spot.
+In 12-edo, all 12 keys are needed so that e.g. the vocalist can get within 50¢ of their optimal range. In 41-edo, using only these 21 keys, one can usually get within 30¢ of the optimal range. (There are two keys 88¢ apart, so sometimes one must settle for 44¢ from optimal.) 30¢ from optimal is sufficient, 15¢ from optimal is overkill, so the other 20 keys aren't really needed. The 21 most comfortable keys on a 6-string guitar are: A vBb ^Bb vB ^B C vDb Db ^C# D vEb ^Eb vE ^E vF ^F Gb ^F# G vAb ^Ab.
 === Scale Shapes ===
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 In the upmajor tuning, the octave is at (+1,+3+1), and (6th, 0) = (5th, 3rd & 1). The unison is at (+2,-3-3), and (6th, 3rd & 3) = (4th, 0).
-The Kite guitar can be tuned to a specific pitch using the [http://tallkite.com/misc_files/EDOtuner.txt.zip EDOtuner], a free strobe tuner for microtonal guitars (requires [https://www.reaper.fm/ Reaper] or [https://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/ ReaJS]).
+The Kite guitar can be tuned to a specific pitch using the [http://tallkite.com/misc_files/EDOtuner.txt.zip EDOtuner], a free strobe tuner for microtonal guitars (requires [https://www.reaper.fm/ Reaper] or [https://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/ ReaJS]). Presets for the Kite guitar can be found here: http://tallkite.com/misc_files/js-MIDI_EDOtuner_txt.ini In Reaper, select Options/Show REAPER Resource Path and put the .ini file in the Presets folder.
 == Chord Shapes (downmajor tuning) ==