Stringfret

Stringfret is a term used in music technology and instrument design to describe a class of approaches that couple the fret mechanism of stringed instruments with modern sensing and digital control to alter pitch and intonation beyond conventional fretting. The concept spans hardware and software interpretations, and there is no single standardized product or method associated with the name.

Hardware-oriented stringfret concepts typically involve fret positions that can be repositioned mechanically or electronically. Actuated frets or movable fretboards can be controlled by a microcontroller or computer, enabling quick changes to scale, temperament, or microtonal tunings. Sensing elements such as pressure, touch, or string vibration data feed into digital interfaces (MIDI, OSC), allowing real-time mapping from physical contact to pitched output.

Software or hybrid variants implement stringfret concepts as virtual fretboards or mapping schemes within digital audio workstations and sound synthesis environments. In these designs, finger location on a traditional string can be translated into nonstandard fret numbers or microtonal offsets, facilitating experimental tunings and chord systems without altering the instrument’s hardware.

Applications include education in intonation, experimental performance with microtonal scales, and composition workflows that require flexible tunings. Stringfret ideas continue to influence discussions around ergonomic design for string instruments and the integration of tactile interfaces with digital sound production.

See also: guitar, fretboard, fretting, microtonality, MIDI, OSC, digital instrument design.