When playing Arabic Maqam music on a standard guitar we need to figure out how to play microtonal notes. The easiest and without any economic cost method is the use of fretlets.
Fretlets or Tastini are short frets added to the guitar. The way they are added to the fingerboard is non-invasive and it does not damage the instrument. It is also very easy to put them on and off as pleased or needed.
There are different ways to get fretlets or make
them. The usual used to be going to a luthier and asking him or her to cut a few frets into the
length that only covers one string. However not everybody have access to a luthier or wants to spend money in something they don’t know how long they will stay at.
THE SOLUTION TO PLAY MICROTONES ON A STANDARD GUITAR
It happens that we all have free fretlets available on our guitars. All you need to do is to take the extra string length you have on the guitar headstock and cut it in short pieces. You can use the sixth, fifth or even fourth string depending on the heigh of your guitar frets. Another available materials to use for fretlets are paperclips. You can easily find them in many sizes. Cut them in small pieces with some pliers. If your string is buzzing when you play on it means you need more heigh so get bigger hence thicker paperclips. If you hear buzzing when playing on a fret before the fretlet it means your fretlet is too high.
Once you cut the short pieces all you need is a small piece of tape in order to stick them to the fretboard. You can even use double sided tape and cut it to the length of the fret. In this way the tape is totally covered by the fretlet and can not be seen.
The place where you put the fretlet can vary. Among Arabic musicians there is not a standard measurement about where the pitch of a microtonal note is. It can vary depending on the musician or even the country or area where he or she comes from.
The difference is not big though. They can differ in a matter of few cents. Hence many times you won’t even notice if you are off and the music still will sound fine. Some teachers would defend the placement of the microtonal pitches. That is totally fine. However just know that it is not a hard rule that applies to everyone playing Arabic music.
Having said this I would suggest you to place your fretlets in an area between -35 to -45 cents. You can always adjust if needed when playing with somebody who uses a different set up.
Last but no least it is the issue or I should say the beauty of the melodic attraction which makes certain microtonal notes to be a little higher or lower depending on the melodic direction. This is something you will learn and apply as you raise your level as an Arabic music player.
This article comes from teh book “ARABIC MAQAM MUSIC ON GUITAR by Fernando Perez”.