Kelstone Guitar: keyboard-esque 9 stringer offers great possibilities

Take a gander at this amazing looking instrument. The Kelstone 9-string guitar (reported by GizMag) is a monster of an acoustic instrument which spans some five-and-a-half octaves and is played horizontally by both hands.

In case you were wondering, that’s why we’ve featured it here (we haven’t suddenly turned into a guitar-based web site).

You can get a really good feel for the possibilities of the instrument by watching this video by creator Jan Van Kelst. Naturally it has many similarities with an acoustic guitar or bass, except that you play it flat and there are potentially more playing techniques and expressions.

GizMag writes:

Essentially, the Kelstone offers the range of a bass, baritone and standard guitar in one instrument – spanning just over five octaves and tuned in fourths (B, E, A, D, G, C, F, Bb, Eb). Van Kelst says that as such: “if you know, for instance, the fingering of a major chord, you can use this form anywhere on the arm, regardless of the position or note you start with.

It’s completely acoustic so at present wouldn’t be so easily usable in any MIDI rig. However, imagine either retrofitting or having Jan create an electroacoustic model with MIDI or some other standard communication system built in. What possibilities then.

Your challenge is to appear on stage with the highly tactile Kelstone and the look-no-hands Airpiano. Go to it!

How to tune a guitar to piano or keyboard

Most guitarists I’ve worked with now carry around their own tuner, so there’s less need to assist them in tuning their guitars.

Occasionally, though, their battery dies, or they just want a quick aural indication of whether their instrument is in tune before playing.

Here’s how to assist a guitarist in tuning their guitar.

1. Make sure your instrument is in tune

This is less of an issue with digital pianos and keyboards, because (unless something goes very wrong) they’re always in tune.

Do make sure that there’s no unwanted fine tuning set on the keyboard. Most instruments tune with an A at 440Hz. Just make sure any fine tuning adjustments are turned off.

If you’re working on an out-of-tune acoustic piano, then I’m afraid your problems are only just beginning.

2. Play the required notes in turn

Assuming the guitarist wants to tune to standard tuning, these are the six ascending notes you’ll want to play.

Here are the notes written in the bass clef. Click for larger view

Here are the notes you need to play on a piano keyboard. Click for larger view

1. E
2. A
3. D
4. G
5. B
6. E

Here’s what these notes sound like (this is a MIDI file. Your web browser should be able to play it directly):

Guitar tuning notes played on piano [MIDI]

The guitarist will likely tell you if you’re playing a note too often or not enough to be helpful.

Generally, it’s best to use a standard acoustic piano sound without much reverb or other effect.

Play the note clearly, either holding it or using the sustain pedal. As the note wanes, play it again. The idea is to maintain the pitch while the guitarist tunes each string to that note.

It may be sufficient to simply play the low E so the guitarist can tune that string. They can tune all the other strings relative to that one.

3. Play the notes through again

Once the guitarist has finished the initial tuning it can be helpful to play each note fairly quickly in succession, with the guitarist echoing.

It’s usually fairly obvious if any string isn’t tuned correctly.

Playing through some chords together will also likely throw up any issues, either with the whole guitar sounding ‘sharp’ or ‘flat’ in comparison to the piano, or just a few notes sounding dissonant.

4. Be ready for alternative tunings

This process is exactly the same for a guitarist who wants to tune the instrument to non-standard tuning. Just ask them to name the notes they want you to play and proceed as in step 2.

5. Other instruments

You can also use a similar process for other stringed instruments including bass guitar, cello and violin. The notes and positions will vary by instrument.

iPhone gets Star Guitar synthesiser

The number of music applications available for the iPhone just keeps growing, with Star Guitar being just one.

Amidio Software, creators of noise.io, put together an app that lets you play guitar in a variety of styles from a single touchscreen interface.

144 of the most common chords can be played just by tapping a few buttons on the interface, and there are several varieties of guitar and style available.

Unlike some software, the app isn’t designed to simulate the method of playing the guitar, but instead is meant to inspire and to provide an adequate “stand in” when you don’t have a real guitar or guitarist available.

It also allows vocals to be recorded along with the chords, and compositions can be saved in WAV file format and also used with the iPhone’s Beatmaker sequencing software.

Of course it’s not a perfect substitute for a real guitar but it can aid in composition, impromptu performances and just having fun.

Here’s a video demo of the app in action. It currently costs US$3.99 and can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store now.