Basically fret markers are on the odd frets. Except theres no marker on 1 and 11.
The marker on 12 is the octave.
I learned the first three markers are the notes without sharps or flats on the bass strings (6th and 5th). That theory goes to crap after the third marker.
The only rule you can count on is there are no sharps or flats on the 2nd marker. Helpful to know playing in the key of C.
Is there any rhyme or reason for where fret markers are placed? I mostly use them to find my bass notes when I change chords. What else are they useful for?
Hold your finger on the string at that 12th marker … but don’t push down … and pluck the string. Not only does the string vibrate on the side your plucked, but also on the other side. This gives you the octave note. It’s a bit of a touch thing to hold your finger just right so both sides of the string are allowed to vibrate.
Now try that at the other fret markers and you’ll get the same effect, except of course higher pitches. The 7th fret divides the string into thirds, 5th fret into quarters and the 3rd fret into fifths.
When tuning, the 7th fret of the low E string is the same as the fifth fret of the A string. Once you get both of those harmonics going, you can adjust the tuning post and get the strings in near perfect tune. That works all the way up the strings except for the G and B strings.
There’s a Yessong called “The Fish” that makes use of this technique, sounds really cool
Other way around. 7th-fret harmonic on the A string is the same as the 5th-fret harmonic on the E string. (yes, I pulled out my acoustic to check this before I posted)
There is no perfect explanation, as there will always be an exception.
But to me, this makes a certain amount of sense:
You wouldn’t put a mark immediately adjacent to a previous one (so, counting the nut as a “fret,” there would be none on the first fret — though I swear I’ve seen some guitars that use the shading across the fingerboard method rather than the dot one that have a mark on the first fret).
You would want to avoid sharps and flats in the more common keys played near the nut (including open non-sharp/flat chords, which are all played within the first three frets). So it makes sense to place the first mark on the third fret, which is involved in playing the common G, C and F chords.
From here on down, every marker involves a full interval — on the top and bottom strings: G to A, A to B, and B to C#.
Since you obviously need to mark the octave fret, it’s the next logical place to put one…resulting in the same three-fret leap that’s found between the nut and the third fret.
Yeah, having a position mark on the first fret is common on lots of guitars with block inlays, too. My Bass VI has them, and so do plenty of Jazzmasters and Gibsons. I imagine it’s less common on guitars with dot markers because dots are usually used on the less expensive guitars, and they’re saving themselves an inlay.
It’s an interesting question in general though. I’ve never considered why they were on the frets they were on, but I have been frustrated when I was playing an odd ball guitar that had them on non-standard frets.
Looking at that image, I’d guess the marker on the first fret is there solely for aesthetics. The first couple frets are the largest, and without the marker, you’d have a large, bare gap. It’s not needed at frets 11 and 13, since the frets are half as large, plus three markers in a row would look bad.
Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t. And sometimes, it’s fretted bass with the frets filed off, so it’s just a smooth version of the fretted neck (I did this once, I don’t recommend it).
My fretless bass (a MIJ Fender Jazz) has no markers on the surface of the fingerboard, but has small markers on the side of the neck where they are visible to the player. They seem to be placed to mark where the actual fret would be, not where a fret marker would normally be.
Kinda. Guitarists take their fretboard markers personally, so there is more to it than mere need.
In my case:
I used to like the thought of no fretboard markers, but over time found I appreciated their convenience. I have come to look at a neck with no markers as a sign that someone is trying to be badasser than I aspire to be
I really don’t like non-dot markers. Fancy blocks, artsy motifs = yuk. My guitar is a tool first - do folks want fancy markers on their rulers or levels? Or special binding on the handle of their screwdrivers?
Don’t get me started on bling - those PRS Dragon guitars make me just laugh out loud at how stooped they look. But they go for thousands of dollars, so there’s clearly a market.
I really prefer no binding on the neck - a simpler look and less hassle and cost if works needs to be done. I have one guitar out of my nice old guitars that has a bound neck and non-dot inlays - an old Gibson L-7c.
What does any of this have to do with the actual positioning of the markers? Not much - I have always assumed it was a harmonics + spread them out for usefulness combination…
Without reading the other thread, it doesn’t seem that strange or arbitrary to me.
Obviously how many markers is a usefulness/esthetic choice: not too many nor too few; and it’s worked out over time for what seems to be useful/pleasing for most people.
For musical reasons I assume you start off with wanting the 5, 7 and 12 frets because those mark the intervals of a perfect 4th, perfect 5th and octave from the nut/open string. All of which are useful and common intervals, for nearly any kind of music; they’re places you want to pick single strings when playing a melody, but also put bar chords and harmonize, so very very good places to mark, musically speaking.
Now, for useful and esthetic reasons people want another marker between the nut and 5 fret. Freats 1 and 4 are out because they’re right next to another marker. Musically, fret 2 (the perfect 2nd interval) and 3 (minor third) are probably equally good choices, but I think esthetically it looks and feels better to have the marker closer to the 5/7 ones than the nut, so fret 3 wins.
Similarly you want one between 7 and 12. 11 and 8 are Right Out. 9 is a perfect 6th from the nut, while 10 is a minor 7th. Not very big musical reasons to choose one or the other, but evidently it looks nicer to group it with the 3/5/7 fret group rather than the 12 fret. And there we are.
I mean, if you find this bafflingly arbitrary, suggest another layout that is equally useful (musically and physically) and pleasing. Excepting minor differences of opinion about usefulness and esthetics, I doubt there really are any.
Don’t get me wrong - the inlay work is amazing, and the dragons look kewl - and the guitar looks like it should be on someone’s wall. But from this player’s standpoint, it just looks all kinds of silly as a tool.
