The fretboard, also known as a fingerboard, is a major part
of the acoustic and electric guitar. It is a thin, long strip
of wood that is laminated to the front of the neck of a guitar
and above which the strings run. When playing a guitar, a musician
presses the strings down to it in order to change their vibrating
lengths, causing changes in pitch.
Ebony is the first choice in wood for the fretboard, it is also
the most expensive. Rosewood and other dark hardwoods are in common
use today, they are available at a lower cost. The frets are set
into the fretboard at right angles to the strings. The number
of frets on a guitar differ according to the style of guitar.
A classical guitar has a shorter neck, it joins the body at the
12th fret. This fret is called the body fret. A
cutaway dreadnaught acoustic guitar has 17 playable frets. Electric
guitars commonly have more frets available, a Gibson Les Paul
may have 19 frets. Other electric guitars such as an Ibanez, may
have 22 to 25 frets that are playable.
The location of the frets on the fretboard are determined by
the scale length. This is the term used for the
total length of the vibrating open string, it is measured from
the inside edge of the nut to the point where the top E string
comes into contact with the saddle. Scale lengths for most acoustic
guitars can range from 24 in.(61 cm) to 26 in. (66 cm). To find
the correct location of the first fret, divide the scale length
by 17.835. To find the distance between the first and second fret,
divide the remaining distance by 17.835. This method is continued
down the length of the fretboard. The location of the 12th fret
is one half of the scale length, the 7th fret is two-thirds of
the distance between the nut and the 12th fret.
Almost all standard acoustic and electric guitars have fret
markers. They are dots or pearl inlays in the fretboard
to help you know your position on the fretboard. They are located
at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th frets; and they may continue
to the 15th, 17th, etc.
Each fret raises the pitch of an open string one semi-tone or
half-step. When you fret the top E string at the 5th fret, you
raise the pitch of the open E string five semi-tones to an A note.
Memorization of the notes on the fretboard is essential to utilizing
your knowledge of music theory. For the average beginner, this
will not happen immediately, but over the course of time and study.
I will provide you with the most necessary locations to memorize
and with tips to help you gradually aquire the name of every note
on the fretboard.
Throughout the lessons I will be using the standard diagram of
the fretboard shown below. The black area to the left is the nut.
These diagrams will cover the 1st to the 15th fret. A fretboard,
generally has markings, indicating the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th
fret. At the 12th fret the notes have the same pitch as the open
strings at the nut. This is indicated with the double dot. Depending
on the available length of the fretboard, the markings will repeat
on the 15th, 17th, etc.
This diagram shows all of the notes on the fretboard from the
1st to the 15th fret, including the sharp notes and the open strings.
This diagram shows all of the notes of the fretboard from the
1st to the 15th fret, including the flat notes and the open strings.
Notice that the enharmonic flat notes have two possible
names, for example an Ab note is the same as a a G# note.
The six red circles to the left of the nut are the open strings.
Unless otherwise specified I will be using standard tuning throughout
the lessons.
The diagram below shows the key notes a beginner should memorize.
Notice that the 1st and 6th strings are the same, knowing these
notes is essential for using movable chord patterns. You should
know the names of the open strings in standard tuning. The 12th
fret contains the same notes as the open strings, only at a higher
pitch. The notes at the 5th and 10th frets on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th
and 5th strings are an option to your memorization. The reason
I included these optional notes is that there are only a few places
on the fretboard where all the strings on the same fret contain
all normal notes, no flats or sharps. These locations are the
open strings, the 5th, 10th, 12th and 17th frets (22nd and 24th
frets also, if your fretboard is that long).
Some Fretboard Tricks
The first trick requires you to have memorized the notes on the
6th string. The first trick applies to the 6th and 5th strings.
The trick is to skip a fret and skip a string to find the eqivalent
note on lower string. The two diagrams below show the results
of using this trick. In the diagams I have only shown a few natural
notes but, this trick applies to all notes including sharps and
flats on the 6th and 5th strings.
The use of the trick on the 5th string requires you to have memorized
the notes on the 5th string. In the lesson on moveable chord patterns
you will find this is essential to using a very common chord pattern
and some of the simple power chords.
The next two tricks apply to the 4th and 3rd strings. This trick
is very similar to the previous one, the difference is to skip
two frets and skip one string. The two diagrams below show the
result of this trick. Hint: if you see the principle behind these
tricks you will realize you can also use them in the reverse direction,
for example the bottom diagram could name a note on the 3rd string
from a note you have memorized on the 1st string.
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