absolute and relative systems
intervals
modes
chords
chord scales
fourths tuning for guitar
Piano-style keyboards are designed from an absolute pitch reference. When I look at a keyboard, I can instantly locate any specific pitch based on how the recurring pattern of white keys and black keys. When I look at the fretboard of my Warr Guitar, I see… a bunch of frets. This arrangement forces me to focus on the relative relationships of the notes I'm playing.
The difference between the absolute arrangement of notes on a keyboard and relative relationship of notes on a fretboard could be likened to the systems of absolute and movable do solfege. With the movable (or relative) do system, the first scale degree is always do, no matter what key you are in.
Absolute and relative systems have their advantages and disadvantages. When learning scales on a keyboard, you have to learn each key individually, because each scale pattern is different. This may help explain why some composers tend to ‘think’ in a range of specific keys. Alternatively, once you learn a scale pattern on a relative instrument, that pattern is transposable to any key without modification.
I attempted to develop a set of tools that would help me visualize notes on the Warr Guitar while maximizing the benefits of a relative tuning system. As a composer, I tend to use diatonic structures in a chromatic framework. In other words, even when I'm at the keyboard, I like invoke a standard, friendly chord, but surround it in a context that is decidedly not in a defined key. Relative tuning systems are great for this. You can hold a chord pattern on the instrument and chromatically move the chord by moving up or down a fret.
Most Western music is comprised of a set of standards. We assign A4 on a piano keyboard the frequency value of 440 for its fundamental frequency. If we double that frequency to 880, we call that an octave. The ratio of these two frequencies is 2:1. Other mathematically pure ratios are pleasing to the ear such as the 3:2 ratio. A vibrating string can be divided easily into these ratios by a careful tap at the correct position. Guitarists call these positions ‘harmonics’
The relationship of frequency ratios and how they are interpreted by the human brain is a fascinating topic , but sadly, out of the scope of this humble web page. For more information, I like the book Harmonic Experience by W.A. Mathieu.
Absolute Reference
One exercise is to map an absolute chromatic pitch reference onto the fretboard of the Warr Guitar. I have created a .pdf template that you can print out, cut into strips and affix directly to your fretboard using small strips of tape. Obviously, this is a temporary visual aid. You don't want the tape adhesive to damage your instrument and you certainly do not want your friends to see this. Embarrassment aside, this can really help those familiar with a piano keyboard to begin making music quickly with the Warr Guitar. Spend two weeks with the crib sheet in place and explore how your keyboard patterns translate to the fretboard. You will soon discover useful chords and arpeggios and have these patterns under your fingers for later use.
Key Agnostic Reference
It is sometimes valuable to visualize the absolute positioning of notes on the fretboard, while maintaining the advantages of relative interval reference. One method of obtaining this is to disassociate note names from their positions and refer to them as abstract symbols. You can still see all like notes by their corresponding symbols, but the disassociation of key focuses your awareness of how each symbol relates to its neighbors.
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