The Microtonal Guitar: Liberating Fretted Instruments from the Confines of 12-Tone Equal Temperament

Rodgers discusses liberating fretted instruments from the confines of 12-tone equal temperament. He shares a brief description of the fretting systems of three of the four guitars that he modified: Quartertone Guitar (24-Tone Equal Temperament), 1/4-Comma Meantone Guitar, and Gamelan Pelog Guitar. 2...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAmerican Musical Instrument Society. Newsletter - American Musical Instrument Society Vol. 52; no. 1; p. 1
Main Author Rodgers, Dylan
Format Trade Publication Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Canton American Musical Instrument Society 01.04.2023
Subjects
Guitars
Instrument tuning
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Summary:Rodgers discusses liberating fretted instruments from the confines of 12-tone equal temperament. He shares a brief description of the fretting systems of three of the four guitars that he modified: Quartertone Guitar (24-Tone Equal Temperament), 1/4-Comma Meantone Guitar, and Gamelan Pelog Guitar. 24-tone equal temperament, also known as the quartertone system, is closely related to the 12-tone system that we are familiar with except for the fact that it divides each whole step not into two semitones, but four quartertones. In order to achieve this system, it was not necessary to place 24 frets within an octave in order for every note of the quartertone system to be readily available along the fretboard.
ISSN:0160-2365
2374-362X