Kite Guitar: Difference between revisions

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This is a brief explanation, see also the longer one at [[Kite Guitar explanation for non-microtonalists]].

The Kite guitar (or bass, mandolin, banjo, etc.) combines the beauty of just intonation with the freedom of an equal temperament. It has 41 notes per the octave instead of 12. [[41edo|41-tET or 41-equal]] approximates 7-limit just intonation to within 3-6 [[cents]], and chords sound gorgeous! But a guitar with 41 frets per octave is ~~difficult~~ to play. ~~The~~ Kite ~~guitar~~ cleverly omits every other fret. Thus while the frets are closer together than a standard guitar, ~~they're not so close as to be unplayable~~. The interval between open strings is 13 steps of 41. 13 is an odd number, ~~thus~~ <u>all 41 pitches are present on the guitar</u>. Each string has only half of the pitches, but any adjacent pair of strings has all 41.

The Kite guitar (or bass, mandolin, banjo, etc.) combines the beauty of just intonation with the freedom of an equal temperament. Kite guitar is short for Kite-''fretted'' guitar. It has 41 notes per the octave instead of 12. [[41edo|41-tET or 41-equal]] approximates 7-limit just intonation to within 3-6 [[cents]], and chords sound gorgeous! But a guitar with 41 frets per octave is physically challenging to play. Kite-fretting cleverly omits every other fret. Thus while the frets are closer together than a standard guitar, the Kite guitar is still quite playable. The interval between open strings is 13 steps of 41. Because 13 is an odd number, <u>all 41 pitches are present on the guitar</u>. Each string has only half of the pitches, but any adjacent pair of strings has all 41.

Omitting half the frets (known as [[skip-fretting]]) in effect moves certain pitches to remote areas of the fretboard, and makes certain intervals difficult to play. Magically, it works out that the remote intervals are the ones that don't work well in chords, and the ones that aren't remote are the ones that do work well. For example, the sweet 5-limit major 3rd, a [[5/4]] ratio, is easily accessible, but the dissonant 3-limit major 3rd [[81/64]] isn't. (3-limit & 5-limit refer to the largest prime number in the frequency ratio.)

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In addition, important 7-limit intervals like [[7/6]], [[7/5]] and [[7/4]] are easy to play. This means the Kite guitar can do much more than just play sweet Renaissance music. It can put a whole new spin on jazz, blues and experimental music. The dom7 and dom9 chords are especially calm and relaxed, revealing just how poorly 12-tET tunes these chords. But dissonance is still possible, in fact 41-tET can be far more dissonant than 12-tET. And 41 notes means that the melodic and harmonic vocabulary is greatly expanded, allowing truly unique music that simply isn't possible with 12 notes.

~~The Kite guitar has 1.7 times as many frets as a standard guitar. Even with these additional frets, the Kite guitar is still quite playable.~~ The interval between open strings is usually a major 3rd, not a 4th. Thus new chord shapes must be learned. However, the Kite guitar is isomorphic, meaning that chord shapes can be moved not only from fret to fret but also from string to string. Thus there are far fewer shapes to learn. (Open tunings, which are non-isomorphic, are also possible.) Tuning in 3rds not 4ths reduces the overall range of the guitar. Thus a 7-string or even an 8-string guitar is desirable.

The interval between open strings is usually a major 3rd, not a 4th. Thus new chord shapes must be learned. However, the Kite guitar is isomorphic, meaning that chord shapes can be moved not only from fret to fret but also from string to string. Thus there are far fewer shapes to learn. (Open tunings, which are non-isomorphic, are also possible.) Tuning in 3rds not 4ths reduces the overall range of the guitar. Thus a 7-string or even an 8-string guitar is desirable.

=== Photographs ===

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Another option is a baritone guitar tuned to the top 5 or 6 strings of the full-8, but lowered by an octave.

A bass guitar can of course be fretless and tuned EADG as usual. This avoids the need for extra strings and custom microtonal frets. If fretted, a bass would be tuned ~~similarly~~ to guitar, but an octave lower. It would ideally be 6 strings. A conventional 5-string bass often has the 5th string tuned to B below low E. The analogous Kite bass has a Bb below the low vD. Tuning this way makes a deep-5 or deep-6 tuning.

A bass guitar can of course be fretless and tuned EADG as usual. This avoids the need for extra strings and custom microtonal frets. If fretted, a bass would be tuned in major 3rds, similar to the lower strings of a Kite guitar but an octave lower. It would ideally have 6 strings. A conventional 5-string bass often has the 5th string tuned to B below low E. The analogous Kite bass has a Bb below the low vD. Tuning this way makes a deep-5 or deep-6 tuning.

* 6-string bass: full-6 (the guitar's low-6 down an octave) or deep-6 (full-6 down a vM3)

* 5-string bass: low-5 or possibly deep-5 or high-5

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 This is a brief explanation, see also the longer one at [[Kite Guitar explanation for non-microtonalists]].
-The Kite guitar (or bass, mandolin, banjo, etc.) combines the beauty of just intonation with the freedom of an equal temperament. It has 41 notes per the octave instead of 12. [[41edo|41-tET or 41-equal]] approximates 7-limit just intonation to within 3-6 [[cents]], and chords sound gorgeous! But a guitar with 41 frets per octave is difficult to play. The Kite guitar cleverly omits every other fret. Thus while the frets are closer together than a standard guitar, they're not so close as to be unplayable. The interval between open strings is 13 steps of 41. 13 is an odd number, thus <u>all 41 pitches are present on the guitar</u>. Each string has only half of the pitches, but any adjacent pair of strings has all 41.
+The Kite guitar (or bass, mandolin, banjo, etc.) combines the beauty of just intonation with the freedom of an equal temperament. Kite guitar is short for Kite-''fretted'' guitar. It has 41 notes per the octave instead of 12. [[41edo|41-tET or 41-equal]] approximates 7-limit just intonation to within 3-6 [[cents]], and chords sound gorgeous! But a guitar with 41 frets per octave is physically challenging to play. Kite-fretting cleverly omits every other fret. Thus while the frets are closer together than a standard guitar, the Kite guitar is still quite playable. The interval between open strings is 13 steps of 41. Because 13 is an odd number, <u>all 41 pitches are present on the guitar</u>. Each string has only half of the pitches, but any adjacent pair of strings has all 41.
 Omitting half the frets (known as [[skip-fretting]]) in effect moves certain pitches to remote areas of the fretboard, and makes certain intervals difficult to play. Magically, it works out that the remote intervals are the ones that don't work well in chords, and the ones that aren't remote are the ones that do work well. For example, the sweet 5-limit major 3rd, a [[5/4]] ratio, is easily accessible, but the dissonant 3-limit major 3rd [[81/64]] isn't. (3-limit & 5-limit refer to the largest prime number in the frequency ratio.)
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 In addition, important 7-limit intervals like [[7/6]], [[7/5]] and [[7/4]] are easy to play. This means the Kite guitar can do much more than just play sweet Renaissance music. It can put a whole new spin on jazz, blues and experimental music. The dom7 and dom9 chords are especially calm and relaxed, revealing just how poorly 12-tET tunes these chords. But dissonance is still possible, in fact 41-tET can be far more dissonant than 12-tET. And 41 notes means that the melodic and harmonic vocabulary is greatly expanded, allowing truly unique music that simply isn't possible with 12 notes.
-The Kite guitar has 1.7 times as many frets as a standard guitar. Even with these additional frets, the Kite guitar is still quite playable. The interval between open strings is usually a major 3rd, not a 4th. Thus new chord shapes must be learned. However, the Kite guitar is isomorphic, meaning that chord shapes can be moved not only from fret to fret but also from string to string. Thus there are far fewer shapes to learn. (Open tunings, which are non-isomorphic, are also possible.) Tuning in 3rds not 4ths reduces the overall range of the guitar. Thus a 7-string or even an 8-string guitar is desirable.
+The interval between open strings is usually a major 3rd, not a 4th. Thus new chord shapes must be learned. However, the Kite guitar is isomorphic, meaning that chord shapes can be moved not only from fret to fret but also from string to string. Thus there are far fewer shapes to learn. (Open tunings, which are non-isomorphic, are also possible.) Tuning in 3rds not 4ths reduces the overall range of the guitar. Thus a 7-string or even an 8-string guitar is desirable.
 === Photographs ===
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 Another option is a baritone guitar tuned to the top 5 or 6 strings of the full-8, but lowered by an octave.
-A bass guitar can of course be fretless and tuned EADG as usual. This avoids the need for extra strings and custom microtonal frets. If fretted, a bass would be tuned similarly to guitar, but an octave lower. It would ideally be 6 strings. A conventional 5-string bass often has the 5th string tuned to B below low E. The analogous Kite bass has a Bb below the low vD. Tuning this way makes a deep-5 or deep-6 tuning.
+A bass guitar can of course be fretless and tuned EADG as usual. This avoids the need for extra strings and custom microtonal frets. If fretted, a bass would be tuned in major 3rds, similar to the lower strings of a Kite guitar but an octave lower. It would ideally have 6 strings. A conventional 5-string bass often has the 5th string tuned to B below low E. The analogous Kite bass has a Bb below the low vD. Tuning this way makes a deep-5 or deep-6 tuning.
 * 6-string bass: full-6 (the guitar's low-6 down an octave) or deep-6 (full-6 down a vM3)
 * 5-string bass: low-5 or possibly deep-5 or high-5