The only issue we need to solve when playing Persian music on a guitar is how to play microtonal notes.
Since my intention i always to keep everything as close as possible to the standard guitar, hence making it available to any guitarist, I have opted for the easiest and without any economic cost method. That is the use of fretlets.
FRETLETS or added frets…
Fretlets or Tastini are short frets added to the guitar. The way they are added to the fingerboard is non-invasive and it can not damage your 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. But not everybody have access to a luthier or wants to spend money in something they don’t know how long they will stay at.
Therefor here is my solution. 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 need to be well adjusted. Remember that koron and Sori notes are between -38 to -42 cents. This is roughly located a little further than the middle point between two frets. But the best way is to place the fretlet and use a tuner displaying cents to see exactly where you are.
A VIDEO SHOWING HOW TO MAKE AND PUT FRETLETS ON YOUR GUITAR…
THIRSTY FOR MORE…?
This article comes from the book “PERSIAN MUSIC ON GUITAR Vol. I RADIFF by Fernando Perez”.