timbre and microtonality: guitars vs. all. pt1

Timbre and Microtonality: Guitars vs. All. Part 1: 00:00 Intro 01:30 12edo reference 02:30 5edo 05:22 7edo 07:56 8edo 10:32 9edo 13:40 10edo 16:06 11edo 20:00 Fin This video showcases sound examples highlighting the difference in consonance between the electric guitar and other instruments in microtonal/xenharmonic music. The goal is to have a consistent reference of these systems across different instruments, ensuring precise tuning. - this series will continue in order, I omitted here 13ed3 (the known equal-Bohlen-Pierce) that fits between 8 and 9edo; I will test tunings with other equaves after finishing the octave-ones. ----------- About precision: Microtonality generally emphasizes precise tuning, but guitars aren’t perfect instruments. Even a theoretically perfect guitar (built, tuned, and played flawlessly) can’t reproduce notes with exact cent values. Measuring pitch accurately is another challenge, as tuners aren’t perfect either. On an average guitar with new strings, intonation is good enough, but it quickly deteriorates as the strings wear down. The player’s technique also affects the final pitch due to varying degrees of bend, pressure, and tone. On some guitars, a hard palm mute can even sharpen a note by a whole semitone or more. It’s important to note that even a perfectly programmed virtual synthesizer with an infinite sample rate audio interface wouldn’t generate frequencies with absolute precision due to the inherent limitations of the universe. The point is, the regular, common use of the guitar doesn’t align with the fanatic precision required by microtonality, often concerned over fractions of a cent. There are great players here on YouTube with 27, 31edo, or even higher EDO guitars; these people and guitars are exceptional! The rule is that guitar tuning and music are flexible! Every guitar player already has incorporated inadvertently some microtonalism in their music and playing, by just using worn/dirty strings, which are often the same depending on the guitar type (classic, acoustic, electric). I mean, we are all used to poorly intonated and tuned guitars and agree with the sound. That’s why, while I will test smaller step size EDOs, I don’t think they can function as needed on guitar. Fine-tonalism is for synths. About consonance: If consonance is related to timbre, and the electric guitar overtones follow the harmonic series... why don’t just search for the EDOs that approximate them? Many other instruments’ overtones follow the harmonic series and sound agreeable even with tunings barely aligned with them. Every EDO approximates some JI intervals, many times close to the harmonic series. That criteria isn’t enough to predict that a given tuning will work on the guitar. Timbre might be a major influence on consonance, but being harmonic or not doesn’t tell you everything about how it will sound and interact. Testing each one individually is not a waste of time! (I keep telling this to myself). About guitar role: Using the electric guitar as a lead, monophonically (occasionally polyphonic: a guitar solo), even with heavy distortion, doesn’t really conflict with any type of tuning. This video is focused on the guitar in its broader general harmonic and tonal use, like playing chords in a band or song arrangements! About familiarity: Many music or acoustics related theories incorporate this concept, which is unquantifiable? Is it? What exactly is? Depending on the specific debate, it is more or less important, but still used along with objective concepts. How fast do you familiarize with something? In my experience, with tuning systems, one familiarizes, on average, very quickly. You start playing a new system, everything sounds out of place; in less than 4 hours, you recheck the synth, thinking that it rebooted back to “normal“ or something, but nothing happened; it’s ok, you just get used to it. ----- Animation misses some notes. The central note in the graphics is not always in the same spot. All the music was performed/created by me.