Brian Abbott – Historical Fictions: Music for 31 Tone Guitar

Releases March 6, 2026

Music by Brian Abott

TRACKS
1. Evolver
2. The Bittersweet Love Between Tornadoes and Barns
3. Occasional Cadences
4. Evolver (Reprise)

CREDITS
All music composed and performed by Brian Abbott
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Mark Zurawinski
Album art by Elizabeth Szotak
Layout by Jamie Thompson

Historical Fictions is available for pre-order from:

What the heck is this music you are about to listen to? Well, it’s an album of solo guitar music, except that the guitar in question has 31 notes per octave instead of the usual 12. It’s called a 31 tone guitar, a kind of microtonal guitar.

I acquired this particular 31 tone guitar from Elliott Chapin. He came to one of my gigs once, floated in like a ghost, and said, “Hey, I had this lying around and thought you could put it to good use.” With Elliott’s generous act of gift-giving, I was off and running trying to figure out how to play this ridiculous instrument. The frets are VERY close together and for a while I had to deal with wrist problems from all the minor physical adjustments needed to play the instrument accurately. But I kept at it and built a lasting relationship with what is now my favorite guitar.

One thing that is cool about this instrument (and many microtonal instruments in general) is that the tuning gives the composer/performer a wider range of consonant AND dissonant intervals. The major thirds on the instrument are actually more in tune than the major thirds on “normal” guitars. Keep that in mind if you’re ever on Jeopardy.

Anyhoo, I could ramble about this instrument for a long time, but I will let the instrument speak for itself. Thank you for listening!

Thank you: Jordan and Redshift for releasing this album, Mark for doing a great job with all the tech and the last-minute master job, Elizabeth for the art, Jamie for making it all look professional, and Elliott for giving me my favorite guitar.