Electric Guitar Fret Guide

Electric Guitar Fret Guide

As a beginner guitarist, it'll likely be your first proper theory lesson (don't worry, it's easy!) and should come before you move on to learn chords, scales and technique.

It's important to get to know the fretboard because doing so will help you understand the relationship between finger positions, strings and notes when you come to playing chords and lead guitar. As with a lot of guitar theory, you only realise how important it is once you've learned it.

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Your guitar's fretboard has a sequence of raised metal wires called frets. Most electric guitars have 21, 22 or 24 frets and acoustics tend to have 20.

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Each fret represents a new note for each string, but when we come to press our fingers on the fretboard, we actually use the spaces in between the fret wires to create the note, not the wire itself.

So when we refer to the 2nd fret or 6th fret we are actually referring to the space just before the actual fret wire. Because of this, guitarists tend to think of frets as the spaces rather than the wire.

We'll look at finger positioning in the chord basics lessons. But when fretting, ensure your finger is as close to the fret wire as possible/comfortable, without actually being

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You'll notice on your guitar's fretboard there are inlay markers, either dots or symbols at particular fret intervals. Most commonly, these are found at frets 3,  5,  7,  9 and 12.

The 12th fret marker is often more prominent than the others (e.g. 2 dots instead of 1, or something more decorative). We'll see why the 12th fret is particularly significant in a moment.

Once we get beyond the 12th fret, the pattern of inlays repeats itself. So, the inlay markers will be at frets 15, 17, 19, 21 and 24 if your guitar accommodates it.

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Note:  You'll often see/hear people refer to the strings with numbers. From the lowest/thickest string we have: 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st (thinnest string).

Playing any of the strings without pressing any fingers on the fretboard is known as playing the string open. So an open string is basically an unfretted string (e.g. open E, open A, open D etc.).

Now, here's where the 12th fret comes in - if you play any of the 6 strings open, then press that same string at the 12th fret, you get the same note but what is called an octave higher. This means the equivalent of 12 frets higher or 12 semitones higher.

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You will better understand why this is as you progress, but in short there are 12 notes in total in the musical alphabet. Once you get passed the 12th note, the alphabet repeats, with the higher pitched octave notes. More on this another time!

If your guitar has 24 frets, the 24th fret will be an octave higher than the 12th fret, and therefore two octaves higher than the open string!

Electric

This also means that notes/frets past the 12th fret will be an octave higher than their corresponding lower fret for each string.

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For example, the 13th fret is an octave of the 1st fret for each string. The 17th fret is an octave of 5th fret. Try and learn all the corresponding octaves past the 12th fret as you'll be referencing these all throughout your guitar playing life.

We'll be looking more at what we actually call the notes in between the open - 12th fret - 24th frets in a later fretboard lesson. For now, though, just ensure you can identify the open strings, the fret numbers and their octaves beyond the 12th fret.

Numbering your frets is also beneficial when it comes to reading guitar tab (the above form of notation for guitar), it basically shows you at which fret numbers you need to press your fingers for each string.

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In the next part, we'll start learning the note names on each fret - a hugely beneficial use of your time in these early stages. But spend all the time you need on this lesson first. No rush! Keep your time balanced between this stuff and learning any songs you like.Every beginner needs to become familiar with the guitar fretboard. Knowing about the layout, string names, note names, intervals, and other characteristics prepares you for growth.

By the way, some people refer to the fretboard as the fingerboard. Either term works. I tend to use fretboard on this site.

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The fretboard (or fingerboard) is divided into a number of segments, called frets. Each fret is carefully placed to allow you to create a specific pitch. The difference in pitch from one fret to the next is one semi-tone (or one half step).

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Each note is based on a mathematic formula. The formula defines the length of string needed to produce a specific pitch. When you depress the string at a particular fret, it's the same as if you'd cut the string to that length. That's why it's important that you place your finger just behind the fret marker, and not apply too much pressure. If you put your finger in the wrong place, place too much pressure on the string, or bend the string out of position, you're changing the pitch. Soloists often do this on purpose. It's called bending the note.

In a perfect world the correct pitch could be produced at each fret, on each string. In reality guitar designers work with a set of compromises that produce the closest set of pitches across all six strings at each fret location. If you've ever worked hard to tune your guitar, only to discover that a particular note or chord still sounds a little off, you've stumbled onto one of these compromises. Some guitars allow you to adjust the intonation (the slight problems in tuning up and down the fretboard). Sometimes you need to have an experienced guitar tech or luthier fix these problems (if they bother you).

The number of frets varies from one guitar to another, but all should have at least twelve. Most electric and acoustic guitars have twenty-two frets, which is plenty.

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Why at least twelve? With twelve frets you can produce one full octave on each string (an octave contains 12 distinct notes).

More frets means a wider range of notes on a given string. However, past a point additional frets become hard to play, and a very long fretboard would interfere with the acoustic guitar sound hole or electric guitar pickups.

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Nearly all electric guitars, and many acoustic guitars, have a cutaway or cutout on the body. The cutaway (see the image below) is on the same side as the hand used to play notes and chords, near the fretboard. The cutaway allows the guitarist to reach upper frets without contorting their arm and wrist around the guitar body.

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A smooth surface prevents damage to your fingertips as you constantly press down on the strings, allows smooth bends, and prevents undue damage to your strings.

Most guitar fretboards are made of rosewood, maple, or ebony. Some experienced guitarists can hear the slightly different tones produced by these woods, but most beginners can't. As a beginner, you're better off choosing the fretboard wood for it's look, if that's what will motivate you to play more often.

Fret wire is not round, though it appears to be when you look at your guitar. It is actually shaped like a mushroom. The portion similar to the cap of a mushroom, which you can see, is called the crown. The equivalent of the stem of a mushroom is called the tang. There are slight barbs on the sides of the tang to help hold the fret wire in place. Fret wires are also held in place with glue, and sometimes with lacquer on the fretboard.

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The crown, or cap, of a fret wire is available in several different widths and heights. Some players prefer fret wire that is wider, taller, lower, or thinner than others. If you ever need to take your guitar to a tech or luthier to fix intonation problems, they may trim the frets. This means that they carefully sand down one side or another. The altered shape is frequently enough to correct even the most severe intonation problems. If you missed our explanation of intonation, see the section called 'Notes of The Guitar Fretboard', above.

As you learn guitar, you'll hear references to fret positions, such as first-fret, third-fret, and so on. Frets are counted from 1, beginning at the space adjacent to the Nut. Fret markers are a visual reference point to find frets quickly. They are traditionally placed on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th frets. The twelfth fret usually has a double-dot marker. Fret markers then repeat, beginning at the 15th.

Guitar

It does matter where and how you press your fingertips on the guitar strings. It's better to place your fingertip as close to the fret wire as possible (without putting your finger on top of the fret wire) and to use as little pressure as possible.

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Strings are numbered from one to six, beginning with the thinnest string (the top string in the photo above). This may seem upside down to you when holding the guitar, because string six is the

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