Dear Stuart and All:
My question on your fret placement (I haven't subjected the numbers to
measurement yet) is whether they are in equal temperament or some sort of
meantone. I highly recommend fifth-comma or sixth-comma fret placement if
you want the instrument to sound in tune with itself. This is not only my
direct experience with years of cittern playing, but also observable on
virtually all of the high-quality extant instruments, of which there are
many. Take a look at Haynes' picture book of early instruments for a good
illustration of this idea.
Cheers,
Jim
Stuart Walsh
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Subject: [CITTERN] fret
positions on 18th century citterns
10/26/2006 03:03
PM
I think I may have asked this before but I've done more homework this time.
I'm trying to work out how to fret a home-made cittern and I'm having
help from a local maker. He's going to re-fret my instrument - my fret
placements just didn't work. Embarrassingly, I can't remember what
string length I was working to when I made the instrument, but I think
it was 50cms.
When I made the instrument I just used the guitarists 1/18 rule (or a
more precise fraction) to set the fret positions and whether I'd
miscalculated or simply sawn the frets in the wrong place (or both) I
don't know. But I've got an opportunity to have it put right.
Assuming a string length of around 50cms (or a bit different; it has a
floating bridge), any ideas on how to work out where to put the frets?
I've got very precise instructions form Carpentier's Methode of 1771.
But his written instructions and an accompanying diagram differ
although it's just one detail, and an important detail. Carpentier is
giving instructions for placing frets for an eighteen and a half
'pouce' diapason (= eighteen and a half inch string length). A'pouce' is
25.4mm.There are 12 'lignes' to a pouce.
So Carpentier is giving a fretting pattern for an instrument with a
string length of 46.99cm.
The written instructions for fretting the 'e' chanterelle up to the
note b (but Carpentier gives instructions for notes beyond the twelfth
fret) translating from lignes to mm are:
e-f 29.63mm
f-f# 22.2mm
f#-g 23.283mm
g-g# 21.166mm
g#-a 21.6958mm
a-a# 21.166mm
a#-b 19.579mm
The diagram in Carpentier's Methode doesn't mention notes just frets
(sillets) - fret 1, fret 2 etc and the numbers (given in 'lignes')
match up with the written ones except that he misses out the g-g#. So
the fret positions derived from the diagram are:
nut - fret 1 29.63mm
fret 1-fret 2 22.2mm
fret 2-fret3 23.283mm
fret 3-fret 4 21.6958mm
fret 4-fret 5 21.166mm
fret 5-fret 6 19.579mm
fret 6- fret 7 19.049mm
I wonder if these figures look at all plausible for an instrument with a
string length of 46.99cms? And, if they do, which is right! The diagram
misses out the g-g# but
for the fifth fret (the interval of a fourth) the numbers add up the
same for both diagram and written instructions: 117.9478mm. But for the
seventh fret (the interval of a fifth) the numbers add up differently.
The written instructions would have the seventh fret 158.7198mm from the
nut. The diagram would place the seventh fret at 156.603mm from the nut.
So a relatively simple question to anyone who knows about fretting is
(to repeat): on a cittern with a string length of 46.99cms, which is the
more plausible to have the seventh fret at 15.87198cms or 15.6603cms?
Many thanks for any guidance or advice.
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