What are the marks (dots) on the guitar neck for?

When buying a guitar, you may notice special marks, including in the form of dots, on the surface of its neck. They can be found both directly on the frontal surface of the neck - the fretboard, and on its upper rib. On the edge of the neck, these markers look like dots that novice guitarists do not always notice.

In this article we will explain what these marks are and what they are for.

White, black (or some other color) markings on the guitar neck are nothing more than a beacon (landmark) for the guitarist.

• These marks on a classical guitar indicate the location of the fifth, seventh and twelfth frets (sometimes the ninth).
• On an acoustic instrument with metal strings and an electric guitar, there may be more of them (5 or more).

The marks are called positional markers.

The markers located directly on the fretboard come in a variety of shapes: round, square, rectangular, polygonal. There are guitars in which they are made in the form of images of birds or animals. For touring musicians, there are models with glowing markers specifically tailored to performances in low-light conditions.

In general, there are no standards for markers - both in shape and color, and in placement. The only exceptions to this are models of classical guitars.... Traditions are still preserved here: strict forms, color and location of markers. Most often, markers on these instruments look like white circles located at the 5th, 7th and 12th frets.

Since on the guitar, different sounds are obtained by shortening the length of the strings, then all these contractions are strictly calculated on the scale of the fretboard. Each sound corresponding to the pitch of a certain note on a particular string has its own place on the neck of the instrument.All these places are limited to metal frets. On a classical guitar, there are 18 or 19 of these saddles, depending on the model of the instrument.

It can be difficult for a novice guitarist (and not only him) to locate the desired note on the fretboard, although he knows for sure that it is, for example, on the V fret of the first string. It is for better orientation of the musician that there are markers on the fretboard.... Each of them denotes a specific position (scale) on the guitar, which the musician can lean on while playing the composition.

The fretboard marks are quite handy for experienced musicians as well. For example, in cases where you need to change position over a long distance. It is much easier to visually determine the place of movement of the left hand from the first position to the ninth or eleventh fret, if there are markers than without them. This is the undeniable advantage of markers.

In bands, the frontal fretboard marks are required for other members.so that they can see from the side in what position the guitarist is playing during the improvisation, and can support him harmoniously.

Of course, you shouldn't attribute the markers present or missing on the guitar fretboard to any level of professionalism of the guitarist. It's all a matter of habit - if the guitarist is used to visually observing the markers on the instrument, then their absence can distract him a little or even discourage him. The same will most likely happen to a musician who studied guitar without markers and was given an instrument with markers in each fret.

Sometimes you come across instruments, the neck of which has either few markers, or they are absent altogether. For example, Not everyone likes the markings on the side of the neck, especially those guitarists who have changed dozens of instruments that have their frontal arrangement. The guitar is great, but the markers are not good. In this case, you can make the marks yourself.

There are several ways:

• Stick them out of small self-adhesive rhinestones;
• draw with marker pens of a suitable color (no large marks are needed, small dots are enough);
• glue circles of white self-adhesive paper (the easiest way is to cut them out with a clerical hole punch).

If there are no markers at all, neither on the front side of the neck, nor on the side, then it is better to make marks on the side so as not to spoil the fretboard in the most visible place.... This option is suitable if it is not important where they will be placed. In addition, the marks on the central part of the neck will have to be updated over time - they will wear off.