Kite Guitar: Difference between revisions

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== Fretboard Charts (downmajor tuning) ==

This chart is in relative not absolute notation, meaning it shows intervals not notes. ~~Down at~~ the bottom is P1, a perfect unison. This is the tonic of the scale, or the root of the chord. This chart shows all the intervals within easy reach of this note, up to an octave. There are four "rainbows": one of 2nds, one of 3rds, one of 6ths, and one of 7ths. These plus the 4th, 5th, 8ve, and a few other notes add up to 25 of the 41 notes. Every single ratio of [[odd-limit]] 9 or less appears here.

This chart is in relative not absolute notation, meaning it shows intervals not notes. At the bottom is P1, a perfect unison. This is the tonic of the scale, or the root of the chord. This chart shows all the intervals within easy reach of this note, up to an octave. There are four "rainbows": one of 2nds, one of 3rds, one of 6ths, and one of 7ths. These plus the 4th, 5th, 8ve, and a few other notes add up to 25 of the 41 notes. Every single ratio of [[odd-limit]] 9 or less appears here.

[[File:The Kite Tuning.png|none|thumb|416x416px]]

This chart is the same, but extends much further. Some ratios change in the higher octaves, e.g. 16/15 becomes not 32/15 but 15/7.

[[File:The Kite Tuning 2.png|none|thumb|~~1000x1000px~~]]

[[File:The Kite Tuning 2.png|none|thumb|900x900px]]

This chart extends even further, showing the "rainbow zones" and the "off zones". When two guitarists play together, it's very natural for one to play chords in the lower rainbow zone, and another to solo in the higher rainbow zone. The open strings tend to be in an off zone, unless the tonic is fairly close to the nut, or else up around the 14th fret. [[File:The Kite Tuning 3.png|none|thumb|~~1113x1113px~~]]

This chart extends even further, showing the "rainbow zones" and the "off zones". When two guitarists play together, it's very natural for one to play chords in the lower rainbow zone, and another to solo in the higher rainbow zone. The open strings tend to be in an off zone, unless the tonic is fairly close to the nut, or else up around the 14th fret. [[File:The Kite Tuning 3.png|none|thumb|900x900px]]

This chart shows the actual notes of an 8-string Kite guitar. The notes in red are the open strings of a ~~12edo~~ guitar~~. A 6-string is usually tuned to the middle 6 strings of an 8-string~~. The ideal string gauges for this tuning are discussed in the "For Luthiers" section. Every 4th fret has a dot, and every 12th fret has a double dot. Three dots equals a 5th.

This chart shows the actual notes of an 8-string Kite guitar. The notes in red are the open strings of a 12-edo guitar. The ideal string gauges for this tuning are discussed in the "For Luthiers" section. Every 4th fret has a dot, and every 12th fret has a double dot. Three dots equals a 5th.

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

[[File:The Kite Tuning 4.png|none|thumb|900x900px]]

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.

A 6-string guitar is usually tuned to the middle 6 strings of an 8-string:

[[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 5th fret to about the 12th fret. This defines a 3x8 rectangle containing 24 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, A and E fall in this sweet spot. D is tuned to A-440 standard pitch, to bring these 5 keys as close to 12-edo as possible. D agrees exactly, A is 2.5¢ sharp of 12-edo, E is 5¢ sharp, ~~etc~~.

[[File:Fretboard 4-6.png|none|thumb|900x900px]]

This chart 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 anyway.

[[File:The Kite Tuning 5.png|none|thumb|900x900px]]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 5th fret to about the 12th fret. This defines a 3x8 rectangle containing 24 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, A and E fall in this sweet spot. D is tuned to A-440 standard pitch, to bring these 5 keys as close to 12-edo as possible. D agrees exactly, A is 2.5¢ sharp of 12-edo, E is 5¢ sharp, and so forth along the spiral of 5ths.

In 12-edo, all 12 keys are needed so that a vocalist can get within 50¢ of their optimal range. In 41-edo, using only these 24 keys, one can get within 30¢ of the optimal range. 30¢ from optimal is sufficient, 15¢ from optimal is overkill, so the other 17 keys aren't really needed. The 24 most comfortable keys on a 6-string guitar are: A vBb ^Bb vB ^B C ^C vDb Db ^C# D vEb ^Eb vE E ^E vF ^F Gb ^F# G vAb ^Ab ^G#.

[[File:Kite Guitar Fretboard for a 6-string.png|none|thumb|~~1037x1037px~~]]

[[File:Kite Guitar Fretboard for a 6-string.png|none|thumb|900x900px]]

=== Scale Shapes ===

@@ Line 157: / Line 157: @@
 == Fretboard Charts (downmajor tuning) ==
-This chart is in relative not absolute notation, meaning it shows intervals not notes. Down at the bottom is P1, a perfect unison. This is the tonic of the scale, or the root of the chord. This chart shows all the intervals within easy reach of this note, up to an octave. There are four "rainbows": one of 2nds, one of 3rds, one of 6ths, and one of 7ths. These plus the 4th, 5th, 8ve, and a few other notes add up to 25 of the 41 notes. Every single ratio of [[odd-limit]] 9 or less appears here.
+This chart is in relative not absolute notation, meaning it shows intervals not notes. At the bottom is P1, a perfect unison. This is the tonic of the scale, or the root of the chord. This chart shows all the intervals within easy reach of this note, up to an octave. There are four "rainbows": one of 2nds, one of 3rds, one of 6ths, and one of 7ths. These plus the 4th, 5th, 8ve, and a few other notes add up to 25 of the 41 notes. Every single ratio of [[odd-limit]] 9 or less appears here.
 [[File:The Kite Tuning.png|none|thumb|416x416px]]
 This chart is the same, but extends much further. Some ratios change in the higher octaves, e.g. 16/15 becomes not 32/15 but 15/7.
-[[File:The Kite Tuning 2.png|none|thumb|1000x1000px]]
+[[File:The Kite Tuning 2.png|none|thumb|900x900px]]
-This chart extends even further, showing the "rainbow zones" and the "off zones". When two guitarists play together, it's very natural for one to play chords in the lower rainbow zone, and another to solo in the higher rainbow zone. The open strings tend to be in an off zone, unless the tonic is fairly close to the nut, or else up around the 14th fret. [[File:The Kite Tuning 3.png|none|thumb|1113x1113px]]
+This chart extends even further, showing the "rainbow zones" and the "off zones". When two guitarists play together, it's very natural for one to play chords in the lower rainbow zone, and another to solo in the higher rainbow zone. The open strings tend to be in an off zone, unless the tonic is fairly close to the nut, or else up around the 14th fret. [[File:The Kite Tuning 3.png|none|thumb|900x900px]]
-This chart shows the actual notes of an 8-string Kite guitar. The notes in red are the open strings of a 12edo guitar. A 6-string is usually tuned to the middle 6 strings of an 8-string. The ideal string gauges for this tuning are discussed in the "For Luthiers" section. Every 4th fret has a dot, and every 12th fret has a double dot. Three dots equals a 5th.
+This chart shows the actual notes of an 8-string Kite guitar. The notes in red are the open strings of a 12-edo guitar. The ideal string gauges for this tuning are discussed in the "For Luthiers" section. Every 4th fret has a dot, and every 12th fret has a double dot. Three dots equals a 5th.
-[[File:The Kite Tuning 4.png|none|thumb|1036x1036px]]
+[[File:The Kite Tuning 4.png|none|thumb|900x900px]]
-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.
+A 6-string guitar is usually tuned to the middle 6 strings of an 8-string:
-[[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 5th fret to about the 12th fret. This defines a 3x8 rectangle containing 24 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, A and E fall in this sweet spot. D is tuned to A-440 standard pitch, to bring these 5 keys as close to 12-edo as possible. D agrees exactly, A is 2.5¢ sharp of 12-edo, E is 5¢ sharp, etc.
+[[File:Fretboard 4-6.png|none|thumb|900x900px]]
+This chart 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 anyway.
+[[File:The Kite Tuning 5.png|none|thumb|900x900px]]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 5th fret to about the 12th fret. This defines a 3x8 rectangle containing 24 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, A and E fall in this sweet spot. D is tuned to A-440 standard pitch, to bring these 5 keys as close to 12-edo as possible. D agrees exactly, A is 2.5¢ sharp of 12-edo, E is 5¢ sharp, and so forth along the spiral of 5ths.
 In 12-edo, all 12 keys are needed so that a vocalist can get within 50¢ of their optimal range. In 41-edo, using only these 24 keys, one can get within 30¢ of the optimal range. 30¢ from optimal is sufficient, 15¢ from optimal is overkill, so the other 17 keys aren't really needed. The 24 most comfortable keys on a 6-string guitar are: A vBb ^Bb vB ^B C ^C vDb Db ^C# D vEb ^Eb vE E ^E vF ^F Gb ^F# G vAb ^Ab ^G#.
-[[File:Kite Guitar Fretboard for a 6-string.png|none|thumb|1037x1037px]]
+[[File:Kite Guitar Fretboard for a 6-string.png|none|thumb|900x900px]]
 === Scale Shapes ===