Equal temperament

Equal temperament divides the octave into twelve exactly equal semitones. It’s the tuning system used by a piano, a modern guitar or any contemporary fixed-tuning instrument, and it lets instruments of different origins play together without frequency clashes.

The Asturian gaita historically tuned against its own roncón —each instrument was an island—, which made it impossible to bring together several gaitas from different workshops or to play alongside melodic instruments like the piano. The adoption of equal temperament, driven by craftsman Alberto Fernández Velasco in the 1980s and 1990s, changed that picture radically: it made gaita bands possible and opened the gaita up to collaboration with any other instrument in the contemporary world.

That change came at a minimal cost: the purity of the intimate dialogue between a specific instrument’s punteru and roncón was traded for a universal system. Most gaiteros and listeners never notice the difference; the gain —being able to play together— is obvious.