Fretboard Position Indicators

Mark Vinbury · From: N. Kingstown, Rhode Island, USA

Is any one aware of any alternatives to the traditional placement of fretboard location markers? Judging from the amount of scribbled-on tape I've seen I'm not alone thinking the traditional locations may be confusing to a newcomer switching from spanish guitar.

Dan Sawyer · From: Studio City, California, USA

Mark, i've seen some Melobars from the 1970s with some complex information including dotted lines on the board. Maybe someone here can explain what it was supposed to mean. There have been many number schemes like you mention, where the fret positions are simply marked out sequentially. In that system, add 12 to go up an octave, add 7 to go up a fifth, etc. But i don't really see why you are confused. The markers on your steel should be in the same positions as your guitar; 3,5,7,9 and 12. You can always put tape or other marks under the strings, but as soon as you change tunings, the marks might not be relevant.

------------------
Dan Sawyer
Fender Deluxe 8® (stringmaster), Fender Deluxe 8 (trap), Gibson EH-150, Wayne Lap Steel

Dwayne Martineau · From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Yeah, they're usually all the same, but I've seen markers at the 10th fret, rather than the 9th.

If you're just learning steel positions, it may be useful to put some colored masking tape on the neck to indicate the positions of all the major chords.

If you're in a C tuning, for example...



Fret  Chord


----  -----


 2      D


 4      E   


 5      F


 7      G


 9      A


 11     B


 12     C

(Add 12 frets and repeat the color pattern for the 2nd positions... i.e. 14th fret=D, 16th fret=E)

As long as you know where your chords and notes are, it doesn't really matter where you put your markers. If it makes sense to you, then go for it.

[This message was edited by Dwayne Martineau on 29 September 2004 at 01:53 PM.]

John Bushouse · Posted 29 Sep 2004 1:03 pm

I like my National markers, which are Roman numerals. I'd even go for "1" "3" "5" etc on the fretboard instead of "I", "III", "V", etc.

Denny Turner · From: Oahu, Hawaii USA

My brain thinks of position markers primarily as locators for tonic root, ...and secondarily where relative roots reside, ...and next where the abstract upon tonic and relative roots reside.

On spanish guitar the markers give us a template of finger positions relative to tonic root. On Steel Guitar they give us a template of scale / chord substitutions relative to tonic root.

I often get lost in playing over the fret marker scheme ...on both spanish and steel guitar. It seems that it would have made more sense for fret markers evolution to have been placed along the neck in the Major7 scale step sequence starting from the nut as "I" (one). But learning on and using the present common fret marker scheme keeps the academics standard, which is much more important than inventing another scheme, IMHO. BUT, if someone did invent a more desireable scheme, it might be added to one side of the fretboard and the standard scheme placed on the other side.

It is not terribly difficult to make templates of keys, scales and chord positions on paper and have them laminated ...to place upon the neck for woodshedding; But it is similarly effective to simply practice drawing them out onto blank fretboards printed on paper. In either case the act of drawing them out goes a LONG way in learning.

Aloha,
DT~

[This message was edited by Denny Turner on 29 September 2004 at 05:13 PM.]

chas smith R.I.P. · From: Encino, CA, USA

Joaquin Murphey preferred to have the fret markers at the end of the fret.

Steve Waltz · From: USA

I've been playing for about six months and the best thing I ever did was to put all of the notes of the c major scales everywhere in the first twelve frets of my guitar.( no sharps or flats) They are removable but I dodn't know when I will. I can find anything that I need by just looking down. If I'm playing and E and a C# and want a new voicing or something closer to where I want to be I just look down and find it. I am able to find multiple locations for the same notes fast. My theroy has improved due the the notes being so right there. I can't explain how much it has helped me.

The next best thing I did was to print out a chart in c6th of my neck in the key of E with intervals showing everywhere across the neck. I memorized it in E and then in as many keys as I could. By having my notes on the neck and then refferencing the intervals I was able to put the two together faster and remember them better.

It has helped me and I thought I would just suggest it for others.

Steve Walz

George Keoki Lake · From: Edmonton, AB., Canada

I seldom refer to fret dots or markers. What does bother me though is the Ric bakelite scale. The body comes in at the 10th fret whereas most other guitars have the body coming in on the 12th. Gets a bit confusing when going from a Ric to, (for example), a Gibson.

George Ballentine · From: Muncy, Pennsylvania, USA

I found it was best to write out the notes of the fretboard on a piece of paper and then memorize them. As I learned different tunings, I repeated the process. Connect the octaves and build from there.

George

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

"Keoki"...........I was really confused over the placement of the 12th fret on my first Rick. I'd always mess up as I was playing up the neck, using the BODY, as my twelfth fret indicator.

As years have rolled by, it no longer seems to be the negative factor it originally was.

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