Why 10th fret dot?

opus20000 · October 2015

Most gypsy jazz guitars have a dot on the 5th, 7th and 10th and 12th fret, it it because on those frets they're all natural notes (except for second string, 7th fret) ? That makes more sense than the "standard" 9th fret one.

Buco · October 2015

There are lots of good points for both in this earlier thread on the topic:
http://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/13998/10th-fret-inlay-mark/p1

alton · October 2015

I feel like I have made the adjustment from the ninth fret marker to the tenth fairly well. I can play songs and pieces that I have known for a while on a GJ guitar and I can land on the right frets without thinking too hard.

Where I run into trouble is when I try to play a song that I learned on a gj guitar on a guitar with a ninth fret marker. Now I keep looking for that tenth dot.

ChrisMartin · October 2015

I thought the 10th fret marker was usually a product of the Sicilian/Italian/French luthiers, Bucolo, Busato, Di Mauro etc (although I have seen Favinos with either 9th or 10th fret dots) and this in turn came from the traditional mandolin neck pattern.

Jazzaferri · October 2015

Better we all learn on no dots...then there is no confusion lol

NylonDave · October 2015

Tenth fret gives Bass notes for G and D and C. Pretty common it Django rep. Gb,Db and B not so much.

Fretmarkers are great as they help you get your bearings visually. The better classical teachers that I have known find this obvious and self evident.

I think there are so many diehard cliches which help support snootiness that classical guitars still don't have fretmarkers to avoid alienating the confident but ignorant snob market. I am not the biggest fan of John Williams but he plans every shift visually before moving his left hand and as a result never overshoots or falls short.

I do the same when someone hands me a cup of hot coffee. I mean I could do it without looking but why make it hard. The only time I ever spilled a cup was when I stopped looking during the exchange. That's a good definition of innatention, failing to look at the vital moment.

D.

Jazzaferri · October 2015

Interesting that none of the classical guitars , i have owned or played have ever had a fret marker.

Prettty hard to rely on a fret marker for position when you are sight reading a classical piece.

NylonDave · October 2015

I think I covered why they don't have dots. You seem to confirm it ?

Yeah it is hard to get the timing so you know when to look at the guitar whilst sight reading and how to orient yourself back on the page after. It is well worth doing, shouldn't just give up.

Quite common to see a classical with fret markers on the side of the neck where only the player can see them. I guess what a player knows is useful might not cut the mustard with an expert in the audience.

I will tell you what is a bad idea though. Looking at your left hand all the time as you play. You should look at the object (in this case a position on the guitar neck ) and not the hand itself. Some people struggle with the distinction but again well worth thinking about it till it clicks rather than stampeding for received wisdom.

D.

DragonPL · October 2015

Classical guitar was my undergrad major and visualization is drilled in pretty strictly. (Visualizing fingerings for both hands, and solfege-ing) Look at most Classical guitar soloists, their eyes are glued to the neck. Most of us did put fret mark stickers on, or some drilled tiny holes and filled them with whiteout. Reading snobery comment, the jazz department guitarists were the worst but l digress.