Why can't you tune your guitar? (2019)
2 days ago
- #music-theory
- #harmonics
- #guitar-tuning
- Prime numbers and harmonics explain why guitars can't be perfectly in tune.
- Strings vibrate in whole lengths and subsections (halves, thirds, etc.), producing harmonics with different pitches.
- Harmonics are useful for tuning and form the basis of Western tuning systems.
- The first five harmonics (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) produce notes C, C (octave), G, C (2nd octave), and E.
- Tuning systems based on harmonics (just intonation) create pure intervals but conflict when changing keys.
- 12-tone equal temperament (12-TET) is a compromise where all intervals are slightly out of tune but consistent across keys.
- Guitars use 12-TET, making some intervals (like fifths and thirds) slightly off from pure harmonics.
- Alternative tuning systems (e.g., Harry Partch's 43-tone scale) explore just intonation with larger primes.
- Blues music may use just intonation, bending 12-TET notes back to pure harmonics.
- Guitarists struggle with tuning due to physical limitations and the inherent imperfections of 12-TET.