Kite Guitar Exercises and Techniques by Kite Giedraitis
Exercises for the Kite Guitar by Kite Giedraitis, assumes the downmajor tuning. They are for a 6-string guitar, but can be adapted to a 7- or 8-string. Once you master them, there's no need to practice them further, because you'll naturally reinforce these skills in the course of singing and playing actual songs.
Vocal Exercises
The best way to internalize 41-edo is to sing 41-edo! Get in the habit of singing what you play and playing what you sing.
Beginning exercises:
- Start off by just matching pitch with various guitar notes.
- Play a simple melody and sing along with the guitar.
- Play and sing this melody again, but sing each note first and play it afterwards, to check yourself.
- Play a chord and sing it as an arpeggio.
- Play this chord again, but omit one note, and sing the missing note. Play the note to check yourself.
- Make up your own exercises!
Advanced exercises:
- Play and sing a chromatic melody (steps of one fret).
- Play and sing a microtonal melody (steps of a half-fret).
- Play and sing a melody that uses the mid 2nd and/or the mid 3rd.
- Play and sing a zigzag chromatic melody: P1 vm2 P1 ^m2 P1 vM2 P1 ^M2 P1.
- Play and sing a zigzag microtonal melody: P1 ^1 P1 vm2 P1 m2 P1 ^m2 P1 ~2 P1 vM2 P1 M2 P1.
As before, start by singing along with the guitar, then try singing first and checking yourself later with the guitar.
Parallel Thirds
For all your favorite scales, play ascending and descending lines harmonized in 3rds. If the two notes lie on the same string, use the scale's innate fuzziness to move one of the notes a half-fret up or down. The fuzzy notes are bolded:
| high voice | vE | D | C | vB | vA | G | F | vE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low voice | C | vB | vA | G | F | vE | vD | C |
Upminor with a raised 7th at the end, a sort of "macro-fuzziness":
| high voice | ^Eb | D | C | ^Bb | ^Ab | G | ^F | ^Eb | D | vB | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low voice | C | ^Bb | ^Ab | G | F | ^Eb | D | C | vB | G | G |
Equi-minor is reminiscent of Maqam Bayati:
| high voice | ^Eb | ^^Db | C | ^Bb | ^^Ab | G | ^F | ^Eb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low voice | C | ^Bb | ^Ab | G | ^F | ^Eb | ^^Db | C |
For pentatonic scales, play parallel "penta-3rds", which span 3 notes of the pentatonic scale. For downmajor, these are mostly 4ths.
| high voice | vE | vD | C | vA | G | vE | vD | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low voice | C | vA | G | vE | D | C | vA | G |
Downminor penta-4ths are mostly 5ths:
| high voice | vEb | C | vBb | G | vF | vEb | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low voice | G | F | vEb | C | vBb | G | G |
The harmonic and subharmonic pentatonic scales aren't fuzzy. They have a pleasing variety of intervals.
| high voice | vE | D | C | vBb | G | vE | D | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low voice | C | vBb | G | vE | D | C | vBb | G |
Major and minor modes of the subharmonic pentatonic scale:
| high voice | ^E | D | C | ^Bb | G | ^E | D | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low voice | C | ^Bb | G | ^E | D | C | ^Bb | G |
| high voice | ^Eb | C | ^A | G | F | ^Eb | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low voice | ^A | G | F | ^Eb | C | ^A | G |
This decatonic scale has deca-4ths that are mostly downmajor 3rds.
| high voice | vE | vEb | vvD | C | vB | vBb | ^Ab | G | Gb | vF | vE | vEb | vvD | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| low voice | C | vB | vBb | ^Ab | G | Gb | F | vE | vEb | vvD | C | vB | vBb | G |
Half-fret Bends
The fact that each 41-edo note only occurs on every other string makes certain scales awkward to play, for example scales with pythagorean or neutral 3rds. But for 5-limit or 7-limit scales of low odd-limit, it usually works out that you're forced to move to the next string just about when you would want to anyway. For example, the downmajor scale is P1 -- M2 - vM3 - P4 -- P5 - vM6 -- vM7 - P8. The double dashes indicate where you have to move up a string.
There are however two problematic scenarios:
- You're playing the 4th of the scale and you want to hammer on or slide up to the 5th.
- You run out of strings. You're playing the 4th on the top string, and you want to go up to the 5th (but see also unison leaps below)
The solution to both is to move 3 frets up from the 4th to the down-5th and do a half-fret bend. It's a good idea to practice doing accurate half-fret bends. Here are some exercises that involve playing an off-perfect interval and bending it into tune. No need to practice them all, just find one or two you like.
1) Play a note on the 6th fret and simultaneously play the next highest string open. This is an up-unison. Bend the 6th fret note up a half-fret to make it a unison.
2) Same as #1, but played up the neck. Put your 4th finger up the neck far enough that 6 frets is not too big a stretch. Put your 1st finger 1 string higher and 6 frets back. Bend the lower (4th finger) note up.
3) Same as #2, but your 1st finger is 7 frets back. Bend the higher (1st finger) note up.
4) Put your 1st finger on any fret. Put your 4th finger 5 frets higher on the next string up. Play as an interval, this is a down-5th. Now bend the higher (4th finger) note up half a fret to make a good 3/2.
5) Put your 4th finger on any fret. Put your 1st finger 2 strings higher and 5 frets lower. This is a down-4th, so bend the higher (1st finger) note up half a fret.
6) Same as #3, but your 1st finger is only 4 frets lower to make an up-4th. Now bend the lower (4th finger) note up.
In relative tab, these exercises are unison = (+1,-6.5), 5th = (+1,+5.5) and 4th = (+2,-4.5).
Exactly how far you have to push the string sideways depends on your location on the neck. The most amount of travel is needed halfway up the neck, around the 5th dot. Closer to the nut or the bridge, you'll need less travel.
The Circle of 5ths
The most common intervals for root movements are 4ths and 5ths, so it's good to practice moving by these intervals. This exercise walks you through the entire circle of 41 frets.
First play the circle as a bass line:
- Play a low Ab, 6th string 1st dot.
- Move up a 4th to Db. In relative tab, the move is (+1,+2). This puts you on the 5th string.
- Move up a 4th the same way to Gb. This puts you on the 4th string.
- Move down a 5th by (-2,+1) to return to the 6th string.
- Continue cycling through the lowest 3 strings, 6th --> 5th --> 4th --> 6th, until you reach the 4th dot.
- Move down a 5th by leaping down 3 dots, which is (0,-12) or (0,-3+0).
- Continue as before, cycling through the lowest 3 strings and steadily moving up.
- Whenever you reach the 4th dot (or overshoot it by 1 fret), leap down as before.
After 5 leaps, you should return to where you started.
To sum up, there are three valid moves: (+1,+2), (-2,+1) and (0,-3+0). This exercise moves up by 4ths and down by 5ths, i.e. fourthward in the circle. There is a complimentary exercise that moves fifthwards. Starting at Ab, leap up 3 dots to Eb. Then slowly walk down, cycling through the strings 6th --> 4th --> 5th --> 6th. Once you reach the 1st dot, leap up again. The moves are (-1,-2), (+2,-1) and (0,+3+0).
Once you get the general idea, test yourself by counting the notes out loud as you go. If you say (or sing) "one" for Ab, "two" for the next note, etc., you should return to Ab just as you say "42", which is after all The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything!
Get to the point where you can play this 42-note bass line in under 15 seconds. The final step is to play an actual chord over each of these bass notes. It can be a v7 chord or an ^m7 chord, or really any chord you want to practice. Use an open voicing for root-6 chords, a close voicing for root-4 chords, and either for root-5 chords.
If you're really obsessed with music theory, rather than counting to 42, say the actual note names:
Fourthwards:
- Ab Db Gb=vF#
- vB vE vA vD vG vC vF vBb=^^A
- ^^D ^^G ^^C ^^F ^^Bb=vvB
- vvE vvA vvD vvG vvC=^B
- ^E ^A ^D ^G ^C ^F ^Bb ^Eb=D#
- G# C# F# B E A D G C F Bb Eb Ab
Fifthwards:
- Ab Eb Bb F C G D A E B F# C# G# D#=^Eb
- ^Bb ^F ^C ^G ^D ^A ^E ^B=vvC
- vvG vvD vvA vvE vvB=^^Bb
- ^^F ^^C ^^G ^^D ^^A=vBb
- vF vC vG vD vA vE vB vF#=Gb
- Db Ab
Because 41 is a prime number, any one of 41edo's intervals will generate a similar circle (except the octave of course).
Leaping by 5ths, 8ves and Unisons
Being able to leap up or down by 3 dots can be useful when chording (see the "I Will Survive" translation). Again, start with a bass line, and add chords over them later.
- Play a low Ab (6th string 1st dot), leap up 3 dots to Eb, and leap back down.
- Move up one fret to vvA, leap up to vvE and back down.
- Move up to A, leap up and down, move up to ^^A, leap, etc.
Try to get a steady rhythm going. Keep going up fret by fret until you run out of room, then move down fret by fret. A complimentary exercise starts at Eb on the 4th dot, leaps down to Ab and back up. Then go up one fret and continue.
Leaping up an octave is useful when switching from chording to soloing. Start at the low Ab, leap up (+1,+3+2) to Ab and back down. Go up 1 fret and continue. A complimentary exercise starts high, leaps down and leaps back up. Then go up 1 fret and continue.
Leaping up to the unison is useful when you are soloing and you run out of strings. For example, you're playing the 4th of the scale on the top string and not too far up the neck, and you want to go up to the 5th. Start on Eb (1st string 1st dot), leap up to the same Eb on the 3rd string, and leap back down. The leap is (-2,+3+1). Move up a fret and repeat. Keep moving up a fret until you run out of frets.
A complimentary exercise is for when you are on the lowest string and high up the neck, and you want to go further down. Start at the highest fret of the 6th string, leap down by (+2,-3-1), and leap back up. Move down a fret and repeat.
Combination Exercises
These are not for the faint of heart!
If you have enough frets, you can combine any leaping exercise with the circle of 5ths exercise. For example, start at Ab, leap up a 5th or an 8ve, leap back, move up a 4th to Db, leap up and down, move on to Gb, etc. Or start on Ab, leap up an 8ve, move up a 4th to Db, leap down, move up a 4th to Gb, etc.
You can leap up an octave using a half-fret bend by a move of (+2,+7.5). Finally, you can combine this with the circle of 5ths exercise by repeatedly leaping up, leaping down, and moving up a 4th.
You can add a vocal exercise to all this by singing what you play.
Quarter-fret Bends, Sixth-fret Bends, etc.
This is a very advanced technique that requires a keen ear, and frankly may or may not appeal to you.
When soloing over an ^m7 chord, a sustained 4th creates an innate-comma pentad. The effect is subtle but noticeable, and once you hear it, it's hard to unhear. The comma can be tamed by splitting the difference. Play the plain 4th, then bend it up a quarter-fret to a half-up 4th. The bend needn't be exact. Unlike bending the down-5th a half-fret up to the 5th, the end result isn't to lock into a specific ratio. In fact, rather than play a static perfectly-bent 4th, a moving bend that starts at the plain 4th and goes up to the half-up 4th or even beyond sounds better.
Most tetrads create such "bendy" notes. Over a v7 chord, play the down 4th and bend it up to the half-down 4th.
| chord category | what to bend | example chords | no need to bend if... | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7th chord | the 4th | ^7 | v7 | ^m7 | vm7 | ^d^7 | vdv7 | the 7th is major, dim, or plain minor |
| minor add4 chord | the minor 7th | ^m,4 | vm,4 | the 3rd is plain | ||||
| 6th chord | the major 2nd | ^6 | v6 | ^m6 | vm6 | the 6th is plain | ||
| major add9 or major9 | the major 6th | ^,9 | v,9 | ^M9 | vM9 | the 3rd is plain | ||
| 9th chord w major 3rd | the 4th and major 6th | ^9 | v9 | 4th: see 7th chord, 6th: see add9 chord | ||||
| 9th chord w minor 3rd | the 4th | ^m9 | vm9 | see 7th chord | ||||
One can hide pitch shifts by sharpening an entire chord by some fraction of an edostep. Obviously it won't work if a chord uses open strings. Play a progression with a pitch shift, e.g. Iv - vVI^m - vII^m - Vv7 - Iv. The 3rd chord has vD and the 4th chord has D. Bend the entire 3rd chord up a quarter-fret by ear, so that its vD becomes a half-down D. This creates another pitch shift, because the chord now has a half-down A which differs from the previous chord's vA. However, two small 15¢ shifts are better than one large 30¢ one. Alternatively, bend the 2nd chord up a sixth-fret and the 3rd chord up a third-fret, to create three pitch shifts of 10¢ each.
To practice such bends, do one of the half-fret bend exercises in two or three stages.
In 41-edo, 5-over intervals like 5/4 and 5/3 are about 6¢ flat. This issue is even more subtle than the innate-comma pentad, but still noticeable. One can correct this by applying a tenth-fret bend to certain notes of the chord. This sounds hard, but fortunately there are only a few chord shapes to apply this to. One quickly gets in the habit of "leaning on" certain notes in these shapes.
For example, in a downmajor chord in R-5-3 voicing, bend the 3rd up slightly with your pinkie. Listen closely for interference beats that slow down as you bend up. It may help to play the actual coinciding harmonics first. If your chord is 4 . 3 . 5, play harmonics at 11 . . . 26 and . . 10 . 17. Except for the last one at fret 17, touch the string just behind the fret. For a 4 . 3 5 5 voicing, to bend the 3rd up, you'll need to pull your pinkie down towards the treble side of the fretboard. For a 1st inversion . 4 3 5 . voicing, push your finger up towards the bass side. It's rather difficult to bend the 3rd in a close 4 4 3 5 voicing.
It's also possible to correct the 6¢ sharpness of 5-under intervals by bending a note slightly down. Press the string firmly against the fingerboard and push it towards the bridge. This is harder to do by the nut, because bending down stretches the string behind the fret, and there's very little to stretch there.
Interesting Root Movements
This is not a playing exercise for your fingers, but a composing exercise for your mind. Given a chord, what chord can you move to that has at least 2 notes in common? Root movement intervals tend to be not plain. Harmonic chords tend to be followed by subharmonic chords and vice versa. The ^9 chord can often have its root omitted, becoming a vdv7 or ^m6 chord. These tables list only some of the possibilities.
| common tones | progression | guitar tab | notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| root (of I chord) | Iv7 -- IVv7 | 4 - 3 1 5 | - 6 6 5 3 | only 1 note in common, but too basic to leave out |
| 5th | Iv7 -- Vv7 | - 6 6 5 3 | 4 - 3 1 5 | ditto |
| Iv7 -- V^9 | - 6 6 5 3 | 4 5 3 2 2 | ditto, two nice 1-fret voice movements | |
| root & 5th | Iv7 -- IVv9 | 4 - - 1 5 4 | - 6 6 5 3 4 | |
| Iv7 -- IV^9 | 4 - - 1 5 4 | - 6 7 5 4 4 | one tiny half-fret voice movement | |
| Iv7 -- I^9 | 4 - 3 1 5 | 4 5 3 2 2 | less satisfying because the root doesn't change | |
| Iv7 -- vVI^d^7 | - 4 4 3 1 | 5 - 2 3 5 | vVI chord can "flip" to a IVv9noR chord | |
| root & 3rd | Iv7 -- vII^9 or #IVvdv7 | 4 - 3 1 5 | (7) 8 6 5 5 | leads nicely into the IVv7 chord |
| 3rd & 5th | Iv7 -- vVI^9 or #Ivdv7 | - 4 4 3 1 | (5) 6 4 3 3 | #Ivdv7 leads nicely into the vVI^m7 chord |
| root & 7th | Iv7 -- vbVI^9 or
Iv7 -- vbIII^m6 |
- 4 4 3 1 | 3 4 2 1 1 | vbVI^9 leads nicely into the Vv7 chord |
| 4 - - 1 5 4 - | - 2 - 5 3 2 2 | vbIII^m6 leads nicely into the IVv7 chord | ||
| 5th & 7th | Iv7 -- vbIII^9 or vbVII^m6 | 4 - - 1 5 4 | 0 (2) 3 1 0 0 | leads nicely into the Vv7 chord |
| 3rd & 7th | Iv7 -- ^VII^9 or vIIIvdv7 | 4 - 3 1 5 | (3) 4 2 1 1 | a weird one |
| common tones | progression | guitar tab | notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5th | I^m7 -- Vv7 | - 6 5 5 4 | 4 - 3 1 5 | only 1 note in common, but too basic to leave out |
| root & 5th | I^m7 -- ^VIvm7 | - 4 3 3 2 | 6 4 5 3 | weird but cool |
| root & 3rd | I^m7 -- IV^m7 | 4 - 3 2 4 | - 6 5 5 4 | |
| I^m7 -- ^bVIv7 | - 4 3 3 2 | 4 - 3 1 5 | nice | |
| 3rd & 7th | I^m7 -- ^bIIIvm7 | 4 - 3 2 4 | - 3 1 2 0 | weird but cool |
| 5th & 7th | I^m7 -- V^m7 | - 4 3 3 2 | 2 - 1 0 2 | |
| root, 3rd & 5th | I^m7 -- IV^9 | 4 - 3 2 4 4 | - 6 7 5 4 4 | one of my favorites, even though 3 common tones |