Dijilele, a startup based in Waterloo, Ont., is using digital technology to give acoustic instruments greater range. The company has developed what it believes is the world’s first fretted, digital instrument for microtonal music. “It uses one of these quarter tones, that doesn’t exist in Western music and gives the musicians a lot of new options and capabilities,” explained Ali Tehrani, Dijilele’s CEO. “And basically, create what previously was not possible to create,” added co-founder Narme Hejri. Microtonal music is having a moment thanks to Angine de Poitrine, a math rock duo from Montreal, Que. They specialize in the technique, playing pitches in-between typical notes. “It’s mostly about breaking those musical rules that we all grew up on, but at the same time discovering new ones,” said Eric Alper, a music industry expert. The tuning technique isn’t new to Tehrani, who has a background in electrical engineering and taught at Conestoga College for decades. He was also inspired by his Iranian roots and passion for music and design. “When the idea came to my mind I said, ‘OK, I want to turn that instrument digital,’” Tehrani recalled. “I said, ‘OK, I can create some sensors for fingering, some sensors for strumming, and then that’s it.’” After 15 years of fine tuning, he finally got the instrument just right. Digitization lets musicians take control, whether it’s a Bluetooth recording or simply tuning at the touch of a button. “You can change the instrument to 128 different sounds,” said Hejri. That is setting the stage for a cultural shift. “It’s nice to see artists doing new things,” said Lukas Bouda, an instructor in electric and acoustic guitar at Wilfrid Laurier University. “It’s nice to see it resonating with a wide demographic of people.” Dijilele is just happy that their instrument is helping put microtonal music on the map.
