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There are two types of marine life shells used for inlays called nacre and abalone. You'll see clay simply called "clay," but it's really a polymer mixed with clay for strength and resistance to impact and humidity. Let's look at what needs to be said about each one real fast. These are the main top-level categories, but the names you'll hear reside within them.
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Inlays are mainly made of a handful of materials: That’s a simple breakdown of some of the common ways fret inlays are used and why they are on the guitar in the first place, other than making you look cooler with some of the modern styles. The math is as simple as this: Add 12 frets to your current position and keep shredding! All you gotta do is scoot up the neck 12 frets and all your hot licks are boosted up an octave and sound fresh and more intense!
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Let’s say you are shredding a solo in the open position E Minor Pentatonic scale and are running out of ideas and need to kick your sweet lead melodies into hyperdrive. The guitar has a mathematical principle that can be used based on the octave. There are 12 notes in the chromatic scale (this includes flats / sharps) before you find yourself repeating the original note an octave higher.įor those of you who don’t know what an octave is, it means you ran all the way thru your scale and found yourself back at the beginning at the first note, but at a higher pitch. That double dot 12 th fret inlay might be the most important of all of them. It’s an interesting design, and a unique way of interfacing with music, if you ask me. Your hand will typically cover four to five frets at a time.Īny position you play in will encompass two inlays, and when you hit the third one, you know you the following note in sequence is available on the next string up instead. The C Major Scale plays out along the E strings on the inlays, with a caveat at the 9th fret…Īnother reason the frets are so important is they help to define hand positions while playing the instrument. That’s where the “follow the dots” reference originated. The only exception to this rule is the 9 th fret, which explains why banjos tend to have a 10 th fret inlay instead. It turns out that the natural notes of the C Major Scale lie along the open E strings on all of the inlays, which are the odd numbered frets. Because the guitar is capable of playing chords, there needs to be a quick reference for the bass notes that you are stacking notes on top of. Here’s an easier answer for beginners: “They tell you which fret you're playing when you look down at your neck.”ĭid you ever notice that the inlays are mainly on the odd numbered frets? Guitar fret inlays are the markers along the neck of the guitar, usually circular dots, that serve as a visual aid so you can guide your hand to the notes you intend on playing. Put your thinking cap on because we're going to start with a little music theory in our grand discussion on. Using them might take a little practice but what else are you doing, you guitar freak! What materials are inlays made out of? How do I use them? Let’s check out the history of classical guitar fretboard inlays from the past right on up to the present day custom inlays and stickers.īy the time we're done, you'll have a handle on all of the types available and how they work. What’s the deal with all these markers on my fretboard, anyhow? Why do they look like they do? Why are they spaced out as they are? What purpose do they serve? Sometimes we have to follow the diamonds, vampire bats, roses and thorns, and even the solar system planets. There may be some truth to that "dot" statement, but we can’t always follow the dots these days. “Playing guitar is easy, just follow the dots!” Playing the guitar is that easy, huh? I guess that explains why my grandma shreds like Steve Vai, right? I guess that's why nobody rage quits daily.